The collective edition. I don’t have any stellar writing resolutions for the new year. Enter the Golden Heart. Write some more. Finish current WIP. But I noodled around on the net to see what other writers have on their lists. Many of them are the same we all know. Butt in the chair, words on the page,
Goins, Writer has 17 (from 2013). #6 is ‘write when you don’t feel like it’. I like that one, although I know that isn’t on Elizabeth’s list this year. #14 is ‘make money’. I don’t see that happening for me this year.
Writer’s Digest only has 5 (also from 2013). #3 is ‘self-edit as I write’. Nope. Not doing it. That is how I stall and don’t get words on the page.
The Writer’s Cookbook has a whopping 52 (from 2019). I really like the bonus resolution: read 52 books in a year. I’ll probably get that done in one quarter of a year.
Proedit has my favorite: Improve my fiction by having one conversation with an imaginary person each day.
Wordcounter has one close to Justine’s heart. Back up your data. And another personal favorite: sleep more. Oh that I could. I am much more creative when I get a good night’s sleep, or several in a row, but that doesn’t happen much these days.
What are your resolutions for the year?
Eight Ladies Writing 
Most years, I go with “be a better person,” which is hard to quantify, thus freeing me from self-determined expectations and reducing the possibilities of failure and therefore disappointment in self. Do I make a list? Sure, I do. Do I execute it? Sometimes. Sort of. Parts of it. Occasionally. When the mood strikes.
I think this year, in addition to striving to be a better person, I will resolve to hope that everyone achieves their goals and fulfills their resolutions!
Happy New Year, y’all!
I really, really like the idea of “make money” on my writing. Not “make a profit” but just do something that breaks the psychological barrier — that extra validation that comes from someone forking out cold, hard cash for my work.
Since the bar is so low, here are some ways I could do it:
1. Sell a short story. I have at least six short stories that could “make the rounds”, if I brought them up and took another look at them.
2. Self-publish a collection. I’m not quite there yet as far as having a cohesive set of short stories based on a theme. I don’t think I could make it there quite yet.
3. Start up a blog about teaching English (first by setting up a private blog and posting two or three posts a week, then publicly publishing one of those a week once I have a backlog of twenty good ones). Must do a lot of research about monetizing a blog — I think I’d want to self-publish a collection of related worksheets and craft templates to go with the blog, with some new materials. And have an affiliate link to the bookstores. Very ambitious, but I could do it. I’ve been thinking about it for some time. It’s not fiction, but it’s still writing.
4. Freelance translating. Again, not fiction, but it’s still writing.
Options #1 and #4 sound like the easiest way to break the barrier. Not easy! But easier.
(-: Thanks for the food for thought, Michille!