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.
I always try to make such resolutions, and life always gets in the way of them. Or rather, I let life get in the way of them. Even with six weeks off work I have not been able to get very much writing done. Perhaps it is because I am aiming too high - not breaking down my work into achievable goals as you have here. Perhaps I need to listen to your advice and write 'even during the horrid slumps'.
Happy New Year! Thank you this article. It is so important to be reminded of such things. So now I am going to race through my working day so that I can get home and add that little bit to my work in progress that has been gnawing away at the back of my head.
Many thanks and best wishes (and I like the trainers/plant pot idea!)
Stephen
Hello Bizzie,
A Happy 2015 to you! I'm very pleased you managed to take some inspiration from this post - if one person finds it helpful, then I am a very happy bunny indeed.
Your memoir sounds extremely interesting. I admire anyone writing anything in this category, I really do. I am sure I would absolutely fail miserably writing anything remotely autobiographical! I can't remember what I was doing last week, let alone 10, 20 years ago so I admire that! Thank you for the link.
Ah, the MA in Creative Writing! I am currently in my third year of part time study (think it's going to take me another 2 or 3!), and though the study and work itself is great, for me, studying forces (I should say gently persuades!) me to sit down and write every day. It may not be fiction itself a lot of the time, and more essays and notes, but I find if I'm writing daily, even just stringing together a sentence or two for my own notebook, it helps with my writing in general. Aside from that though, one thing this course has taught me is how beneficial plot planning can be when it comes to ending up with a first draft with one or two "holes" instead of 56 thousand. I never plotted. For some reason, I was against it. But now I wouldn't dream of writing "blindly" because of how helpful it's been for me. I am a plot-planning convert :)
The absolute best of luck to you for your MA if you choose to do it, Bizzie. It's hard work, but totally worth the time and effort.
"Enjoy writing your book". Perfect advice.
Thanks for the message and lots of luck to you!
Lia