I don’t think I’ve ever stuck to one properly, and I think hat maybe that’s because everyone gives themselves a free pass on New Years to leave their resolutions in a ditch on January 2nd.

So this year I’m going to set some resolutions a little early, in the hope that this will be of assistance to me. I live in hope:

Resolutions for 2011:

1. Finish the damn book (s)

I’m dreadful about getting 30,000 words into a book and then abandoning it. No longer. If I start a project i has to be finished.

2. Keep writing and submitting short stories

I still want an agent and a publishing deal and it can’t hurt my case to get a few more short stories published. Besides, i like writing short stoires, so this one won;t be too hard.

3. Have at least one, if not two, books to publishable standard by the time I go to WFC 2011

This is the tough one. I think it can be done, but it’s going o take daily work, which leads me to….

4. Write every day.

I used to be a burst writer, and that was fine if I wrote in bursts of 5k or more, but that hasn’t really worked out for me.

5. Outline

I’m a pantser, even though I stick to normal story structure, but I waste a lot of words figuring out what’s going on. My mission for January is to completely plot out the next book I’m writing.

6. Write a script

I want to try my hand at script writing. No real reason, I just do.

7. Learn to take compliments

I’m so bad at this. I spent so much time training myself to take bad reviews and criticism in my stride that I’m now utterly suspicious of people saying nice things about my writing. This is bullpucky, trying to avoid all praise is just as pretentious as giving yourself praise. Next time someone says something nice, I’m just going to say thank you.

8. Keep fighting

It’s so easy to quit. to think the writing life is too hard. The most important thing I can do in 2011 is not stop writing.  Even if it all goes wrong in 2011, if I don’t quit, it can only get better.

What are your (slightly early) pre-emptive resolutions ?

You guys are pimps.

Anyway, on to the main post.

I’m not a huge proponent of chronofetishism (that’s my big word for today) but I do love New Years resolutions. At 1am on the 1st of January anything seems possible. The problem of course is at 6am on the 21st of January nothing seems possible. Getting out of bed has become a herculean task that you would write an eipc tale about… except you can’t get out of bed.

My goals this year, once I took out the odd tweak are actually the same as last year:

Write stuff.

Get it published.

Keep writing blog posts.

Be less lazy/apathetic.

These aren’t the most specific of goals I know, and perhaps they fall down a bit there, but they are the real goals I have for 2010 once the fanfare has died off and I actually consider my year ahead. If I was forced to be more specific I would have to say that the number one goal this year is to finish my book and get it out to an agent or publisher by the end of the year.

I can’t force them to accept it of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to finish the story and make it as good as it can be. So that’s what I’m doing  at the moment, writing The Downside of Being Dead. I hope to be doing more blogging/podcasting too, but the book has to come first instead of last or I’m never going to be finished. Putting the book first is going to mean making some sacrifices with my time.

I don’t agree with the idea that you have to sacrifice everything you love to be a writer. That’s a load of bollocks. You can have a family, keep fit, have a life and write. The things you need to look at cutting out of your life are the things that are actually very hard to give up.

I for one, watch far too much television.

I’m prepared to give that up to get my book done, but it has been harder than I thought. I used TV to wind down at the end of the day, to relax with my partner and to try and quiet my overactive brain. In the last month I have cut down my viewing to a few hours a week and I’m spending the time writing instead.

It’s working. I’m as happy with Downside as I’ve been with anything I’ve ever written and it’s chugging along slowly into something I think I can be proud of and all I had to do was give up blobbing out for ten to fifteen hours a week and write. I’m not saying I don’t watch anything (The Daily Show is still required viewing) but just by giving up the things I was watching out of habit I’m making more progress than I ever have before.

So the next time you think you have to sacrifice something big to be a writer, have a look at the small things you do first. Even freeing up two hours a week will give you a written book at the end of a year. Keep the big stuff in your life. Family, friends, things you love doing. All of these things will make you a better writer.