Heading into a New Year: 3 Ways to Make 2018 Your Best Writing Year Yet

As we come to the end of another year, ask yourself two questions. Are you and your writing where you want to be? And is this where you want to be in another year?

Don’t give flippant answers. Really think about them without getting defensive.

You may not have finished your novel, which you wanted to do, but it isn’t your fault. You had to help your mother move. Your oldest went away to college. You’ve suffered from an illness or injury. Believe me, we’ve all been there. Life is a very distracting part of the writing experience and it can suck the energy right out of you.

Even if you are more or less happy with where you are really think about the second question. I finished several new books this year and several have also come into print. Hidden Human Computers is up for an award. I’m proud of these books but are they all I want to do? If yes, that’s okay and I can proceed as usual. But if I’d like to do more, than I need to make a change. 

Here are three things you can do to end 2018 in a better-for-you writing place. 

Set a specific goal. Maybe you want to draft that novel or find an agent. Set specific goals. That means that you can’t get by with I’m looking for an agent or I’m going to draft my novel. You have to decide something specific. I will research 3 new agents a month and approach those that are a good match. Or maybe you're writing around moving or helping someone else move. Make your goal do-able. I’m going to write 5 minutes a day. Make your goals do-able and specific. 

Energize. The first thing that you need to do is find the energy required to make these things happen because writing and change both require energy. Where can you find more? Many of us spend a lot of time toiling away indoors. We work at our computers. We do laundry. We help our kids with their homework, and we do it all inside. Spend 15 minutes a day outside. Walk around the block. Sit on the porch with your morning coffee. Toss your yoga mat out on the deck. Did you know that a new type of therapy involves prescribing time outdoors? Write yourself a prescription to spend time outside.

Get rid of energy sucks. We all have them. Research shows that reading news online can be one of these drains on your energy? You aren’t watching the news for 30 minutes or reading the paper. It has no end. So set a timer. Or your energy suck could be your e-mail. If your inbox has 200 e-mails you haven’t dealt with, get rid of 10 a day. Get it down to 30 and keep it there. Or maybe your work space is so cluttered that it doesn’t feel like a safe space. Spend 5 minutes a day cleaning it out until you’re done. 

Set small attainable goals and you’ll soon see the progress. Add energy and get rid of energy sucks to help you meet those goals. Make 2018 a top notch writing year.

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards' writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins January 8th, 2018.