New Year's Writing Resolutions for 2015 & Every Year Thereafter

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.