Happy 2014! And those writing resolutions?

2014Best wishes for a Very Happy New Year to everyone!

The new year is always the time to reflect on what we’d like to achieve in the coming year. And, writers, if you’re masochists  like me, it’s a good time to start considering your writing goals for the next year.

The ball has dropped, the champagne bubbles are flat, and we’re all getting used to writing 2014 instead of 2013… so it seems hard to keep putting it off.

Time for 2014 Writing Resolutions!

Generally, I’m not a resolution kind of gal, but last year, for the first time, I posted on writing resolutions for 2013 – and, miraculously pleasantly- I pretty much managed to stick with them. I did complete revisions to my manuscript set in Abruzzo, Italy In the Shadow of the Apennines. I completed my time travel manuscript set in Bath, UK, Dark Blue Waves …although I am still tweaking and editing down. And I also finalized- and published- many short stories I’m gathering for a collection.

So, for 2014, I would like to finalize all my edits on Dark Blue Waves. I’d also like to finish writing my first multi-narrator novel. I wrote the first chapters, and then set it aside. This story takes place in contemporary Rome, with three very different women who meet and become friends after their lives fall apart. I’m having fun exploring the different voices of the characters, and switching between points of view for each chapter. By the end of the year,  I hope to have a finalized and polished novel, and I’d still like to interrupt my novel often to write short stories. If I have time, I’d also like to start researching an historical Balkan novel I’ve wanted to write for some time… I’m guessing the actual writing will be next year’s writing resolution.

So, writers, what about you? Do New Year’s writing resolutions work for you? If so, what are yours?

With or without writing resolutions, a very happy and productive writing year to us all!

8 Comments

  1. Catherine on January 3, 2014 at 9:30 am

    Congratulations Kimberly it sounds like you’ve stuck to your guns over the past year. I wish you all the best with editing and querying. It takes so long, doesn’t it? Although last year I vowed to revise my Ghananian thriller and a novel I wrote before DLC, I’m well into a new collection of short stories. My aim is to publish some, and also enter a few competitions. I’m very excited about this project.
    I’ll also be promoting Pelt at literary festivals and trying to keep up with blogging and visit my writing mates in Rome!
    Happy 2014!

    • kimberlysullivan on January 3, 2014 at 6:30 pm

      Yes, I remember you telling me about your Ghanaian thriller. How exciting that you’re working on another short story collection! I’ll look forward to hearing more about that. And yes – 2014 will be the year for your Rome visit. : ) Buon anno!

  2. wordfoolery on January 3, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    Happy New Year, Kimberly. Sounds like 2013 was productive and you’re on track for 2014. I don’t particularly do resolutions, but I’m a huge fan of goals (they really work, if detailed, flexible, and deadline focused). 2014 holds the following for me (apart from regular blogging, columns etc) – finish “Julia & the Free Wedding” and move it into Critique Circle, revise “Hooked”, publish five short fictions, begin work on my collection “A Light Touch”.

    • kimberlysullivan on January 3, 2014 at 6:33 pm

      Happy New Year! Great “resolutions”, Grace. I enjoyed the early version of ‘Hooked’, so I’ll look forward to seeing the final version. Nice to hear about your new project, too! And shorts, too. Sounds like you have an ambitious writing year ahead. Happy writing!

  3. ProfeJMarie (Janet Rundquist) on January 4, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Hurrah for achieving/meeting goals!
    I don’t do NY resolutions often; instead I have rotating goals throughout the year. However, this year, for writing, I’ve determined that carving out specific time for writing is necessary. So it has joined a couple of other NY resolutions that I decided to take on this year, after all. I wake up at 5am during the week and instead of meandering around the Internet distractedly, I am opening my laptop to an Internet-free state and spending at least 30 minutes of that early hour writing. I’ve already been feeling a much more grounded start to my day. Other than that, I have no timelines, yet. (Actually, writing timelines tend to stress me out, so I avoid them.)

    • kimberlysullivan on January 7, 2014 at 6:05 pm

      Happy New Year, Janet! I think your decision – resolution, or not – to dedicate 30 minutes a day to writing each morning is fantastic. I’ve done this for stretches and it’s a great way to carve out time each day. I think you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish even with these short bursts. Look forward to hearing how it works out for you.

  4. […] two weeks ago, I was a good girl, getting out my writing resolutions for the new […]

  5. […] year I posted my writing goals for 2014. I’ve – ahem! – somewhat achieved them. But a busy year kept me from […]

Leave a Comment