2020 New Year’s Resolutions for Writers

We are 9 days into the New Year, and if you haven’t made your New Year’s Resolutions, it isn’t too late. Here is a list of resolutions for writers.

1.) Start (or Finish) your novel – Have you been kicking around the idea for a novel? Or maybe you have already begun one but haven’t finished it up. This is the year to get motivated and start writing. (For tips on starting a novel, click here. And for tips on dealing with writer’s block, click here.)

2.) Stay on task – Do e-mails and Facebook distract you from working? Or maybe you get caught up in marketing your books? Can you find any reason to procrastinate? Make this the year that you learn to stay on task. Make your resolution specific. Don’t just say you will “procrastinate less.” Resolve to set a timer for 20 minutes and work until the timer stops. Or vow to write for an hour BEFORE you do any marketing or check email.

3.) Find time to write/Write more – Maybe distractions such as Facebook and e-mail aren’t your problem. Perhaps it is the fact that you are working a full-time job, raising a family, doing charity work, volunteering at your kids’ school, taking care of your elderly parents or a host of other responsibilities we all take on as adults. It often becomes hard to find time to dedicate to writing, but most of us can easily carve out 30 minutes to an hour for writing. Get up earlier or dedicate the time after the kids are in bed for writing. Even a few minutes here and there can add up. The more you write, the better you become as a writer.

4.) Set a realistic writing goal – To help you stay on task or find time to write, you may want to set a writing goal. You might set an amount of time you want to write or set a number of words to write per day or week. Check out how to set realistic writing goals and stick with them!

5.) Become a better writer/Read more – You are never too old to learn something new. Even if you have several published books under your belt, there is always something new you can learn. Take the time to read a blog or a book on writing. Heck, just take the time to READ! The more you read, the more different styles and genres you read, the better your own writing will be.

6.) Increase your marketing – Sometimes promoting your novel (and yourself) is hard. Many of us would rather be writing…or heck even editing – than figuring out how to effectively market our book. Now is the time to plan your Facebook page, blog or web page or to set up a marketing campaign. Again, be specific. You want to post twice a week, send out 10 tweets or appear on 4 blogs a month or whatever you think will help your marketing plan.

7.) Improve your social media skills – Social media is a great way to interact with readers and build your audience. This year set your social media goal to join a new platform or increase your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter reach. And don’t be afraid to drop platforms that aren’t working for you. You can use the time you spend on these for other marketing methods.

8.) Take a break – Sometimes you just need to take a break from writing, editing, or marketing. Consider this time to refresh yourself so when you do come back to these tasks, you come back with more creativity and energy. This break could be just a walk around the block, an afternoon at the movies or a weekend getaway. While a break is good, don’t let it go on too long. Remember, writers need to write.

So, whatever your writing resolutions or goals, just make them simple and realistic. And most importantly, write them down and keep them posted above your computer so you follow through! Happy New Year everyone, and may 2020 be an awesome year for you and your writing!

Counting calories to lose weight – again

Plenty of people make a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight. And many people will have failed to stick with their resolution a few short months or even weeks later. Losing weight can be hard. Heck, change of any kind can be hard.

I am not one who likes to make resolutions as I know how hard it is to stick to them, but I am determined to lose some weight.

As I look back at my former posts, I found this issue began three years ago when after the New Year, I posted that I would like to lose about 5 pounds. At the time, I wasn’t that concerned about the weight and dieting even though I had noticed a slow weight gain over the years. I just vowed to do better.

Yep, it didn’t work because in September of that same year, I posted for the first time about counting calories. I had been to the doctor in July, and their scale showed me over 130 pounds. Now I didn’t just need to lose 5 pounds, I needed to lose 10! It was then that I knew if I didn’t do something, I would keep gaining weight. So I began counting calories with the help of the MyPlate app. (See the post for details on the app and counting calories.)

And with counting calories, I did lose weight. By the end of October of 2013, I posted that I lost 13 pounds in just 12 weeks! Yeah! And the good thing is that I really didn’t feel like I was dieting. It was all about making better choices and watching portion sizes.

That didn’t last long as the holidays hit. I ended up gaining 4 pounds over November and December. I again started counting calories to adjust my weight.

Fast forward to 2015. I knew this past Fall that I probably had been putting on some pounds when my jeans felt tighter. We had gone on a family cruise during the summer, and I ate whatever I wanted there. And before I knew it, there were lunches out with my hubby and family birthday celebrations, and then it was the holidays.

So when I stepped on the scale after Christmas, I found myself 13 pounds heavier than I wanted to be! (Make that 18 pounds if I went back to my original goal of 120 pounds from three years ago.) Yikes!

Needless to say I want to lose those pounds so I am back to counting calories. Now that I have done this before, I find it easier. I have hit my calorie mark every day within 100 calories. If anything I am more often under by a few calories rather than over. It is the times we eat out that really don’t help with counting calories.

I have been doing this for almost 5 weeks, and I have lost 6 pounds so far. But looking back at my history, I know it isn’t the losing of the weight that is my problem. It is keeping it off.

So this time, I vow that once I meet my goal weight that I will continue to count calories for at least two weeks (I prefer a month) so that I can get a good idea how much I should be eating each day. Only time will tell if that works. I may just have to step on the scale more often so that I can make adjustments sooner rather than finding out I am much heavier than I want to be and starting all over each time with a bigger weight loss goal.