I am terrible at keeping New Year's resolutions – awful, in fact. You’ve probably seen me, lumbering by your house every morning from New Year’s Day until January 8th, wearing brand new running shoes and a pained expression, breathlessly muttering “I think I might be about to keel over”. You won’t see me after that, though, and that’s because by then, the only place I can be found is lying horizontally on the sofa, while my new jogging shoes get transformed into upcycled plant pots for the porch. But last year, there was an exception to my failed list of resolutions. Just one, but it was the one that I was sure was harder than all of my goals put together. Last year, out of the eight New Year’s resolutions I scrawled down in the front of my diary – along with save money (ha!) and of course, jog three times per week (double ha!) – was “finish my novel, once and for all, no matter what”, and it was the one resolution I saw through to the end.
So, as I sit down, eyeing last year’s dusty running shoes in the porch, diary and pen in hand, and an excited fizz in my belly for the year ahead, I start to think about my writing; those things that hold me back, and those things I know I should be doing for my own good, but not yet managed to. Spurred on by last year’s solitary exception, I jot down a few writing resolutions – well, more like friendly reminders, actually – that can be carried through not only 2015, but for as long as you may write.
Write as often as possible
It’s such an oldie, but a goodie I intend on sticking to the front of my mind like a post-it note on a fridge door. Write often, as much as possible, and even during those horrid slumps, where the words flat out refuse to flow, and you wonder if somehow, your creativity was taken away by yesterday’s refuse collectors to never be seen again. Write through it, and as much as you possibly can. “If you wish to be a writer, write”. That was Epictetus – another oldie with a goodie.
Self-encouragement, not self-doubt
If, out of all of 2015’s resolutions I once again only live by one, I hope it's this. To banish self-doubt; the calculating voice inside your head that tells you that you aren’t a writer; that every other author/piece of work/novel is a thousand times better than yours and you shouldn’t be bothering to write a single word. This year, and every year after, quash it. Slay it and take it for a jog along the canal (that’s of course, if you can get further than next-door-but-one’s, like me) and chuck it in. Instead, ditch self-doubt and make space for self-encouragement. Many stories, novels, opportunities and even writers themselves are lost due to making a space at the dinner table for self-doubt. It’s as Sylvia Plath said: “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt”.
Take more walks
When the plot hole seems impossible to fix, when you cannot write another single word because you haven’t a clue where you’re going to go next but find that you are too hell bent on sorting this mess out that you refuse to walk away from your novel... get up and walk away. Not forever, of course, but for a few hours. Get up and do something far away from writing. Go for a long walk, cook something, watch some television, or finally clear out that bursting airing cupboard – take a break. But do have a notebook nearby. When away from the intimidating blank page, the mind has an amazing way of churning out the solutions you've been searching for, and it's usually when we start to think about something else entirely.
Read more
Life can be a busy, stressful whirlwind of bustle. Reading is a wonderful escape, it broadens the mind, it inspires, it can teach you many things about story-telling, what works and what doesn’t, and it quietens the noisy, chattering mind. Read more. Read the genres you love, read something from a hundred years ago, and read something you’d perhaps never look twice at on the shelves of Waterstones.
Trust your voice
I may get this one tattooed. Your voice is what sets you apart from other authors. Trust it. Trust how you write and how it flows out of your fingertips or out of your pencil. It doesn’t sound like Anne Rice because you aren’t Anne Rice. It doesn’t sound like George Orwell, because you’re definitely not George Orwell. Like you, your voice is unique, and unique, original writing, and being unapologetically true to your story and voice will be the thing that makes your writing stand out. Don't – and never – compare.
Lia is a mum-of-one, working as a copywriter and studying for a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing. Her first novel, Bubbles, is in the submission process and she is currently writing her second novel. She lives at home, in Hertfordshire, with her boyfriend, three year old, and stacks of clothes and books. Find her on Twitter here.
Barbara,
I'm so happy I could help! Hope you're currently in a writing frenzy :)
Lia
Lisa your advise is spot on thank you, I've been in a black hole with my writing and I was finding it really hard to get out but after reading your advise I now realise I let life get in the way and quash me down. Thank you
Stephen,
Happy New Year to you and thank you so much for your comment. It's always nice when you want to race through your day to get to the part where you sit down and write! I'm slightly jealous as I seem to be entering a slump. Must resist it! Good luck with your work in progress, Stephen!
Natasha, thank you for reading and commenting.
I really feel your frustration! I am the same, and in a slight slump at the moment, though doing my best to just push through. And aiming too high... yep, the same for me again! For instance, I say "I'll do 40 pages this week". Then of course it's like looking up at a huge, huge mountain and like most sane people, I think, "Okaaaay, I'm taking a lie down and will climb another day!".
Keep chip-chipping away. We'll get there!
Good luck with your novel.
Lia