Mid-Year Resolutions

Even after factoring in all the usual springtime festivities, this past month has been a busy one indeed for me. Between the graduations, the birthdays, the unexpected trips and traveling, an epic computer crash, some out-of-the-blue health issues and a flare-up of my favorite bad knee, it's amazing I got anything done this month. And my regular readers might've noticed that I had to cut back to one post a week for a while as I tried to keep up with everything else (apologies for the rerun posts). However, this happens to everyone - especially writers.

Now, I don't want to say I've had writer's block this past month. Far from it - I've been rather productive. However, I haven't been writing the things I've really wanted to write, mostly because I am not sure how to go about them. To me, this is the difference between writer's block and just being very busy - one is the inability to create, the other is not being able to take the time required to place yourself in the creative space required to make those special things come to life. So I haven't been blocked, I have just been in every other place besides my creative one.

And this leads me to the subject: Mid-year resolutions. Now, my regular readers will know I am not exactly a fan of resolutions based on the turn of a calendar page, and most everyone will know that the middle of the year is still a month away. However, this feels like a good time to plan out a few things that I can apply in the second half of the year to help me steer around problems like the ones I have been having over the past month. And I think it will help to start this list now because it's going to take a while to implement.

Firstly - and I recommend this to everyone - I will affix my writing time into a very regular place in the day. This time will be a pretty slack space, preferably right after I eat, where I can just put things together and get things onto the page or simply chase them out of my head. Sounds easy until you try it, so I recommend a half-hour, three days per work week (write on the weekends at your own pace).

Secondly - I will keep my notepad nearby (it's actually my phone, but you get the idea). If I have a burst of creativity, I will take advantage of it. I will write down (or record) any weird idea for a character, a story, a plot twist. It doesn't matter if I wake up at 3 a.m. with thoughts about a homicidal houseplant, I will make sure I commit it to something and look back at it again - probably during my pre-set writing time. 

Thirdly - I will bounce ideas off of other people. Being creative is wonderful, but it can be difficult in isolation. The other week I started bouncing a story idea off of a few friends, and it did wonders for helping me put it together in my own head, where I had been going in circles for too long. Now, it helps to bounce the right ideas off the right people, so choose your targets appropriately. However, in my case, I think I will be more open about these ideas because some just need a little breathing room to flourish.

I am posting these resolutions not to brag about my own goals as a writer, but to offer a little guidance to others who might be looking for a little direction and inspiration, or just a way to get out of their ruts. Everyone can benefit from a little promise-making, so I hope you make some good mid-year resolutions of your own (whenever that mid-year thing actually arrives).