A New Year’s Resolution could be described as promise
made by a person to change themselves or something in their lives for the
better. It could be being nicer to their neighbour, reading more, or having
more fun. This change begins on New Year’s Day and is supposed to last for the
year.
Making a New Year's Pledge is a custom
observed mainly in the Western Hemisphere but is sometimes found in the Eastern
Hemisphere.
Eight of the top ten resolutions are: spending more time
with loved ones; getting in shape through exercise; losing weight; quit smoking;
stop drinking; enjoy life more; pay off bills; learn something new.
How
do these resolutions relate to my writing?
1.)
Spending
more time with loved ones.
Writing
is a solitary undertaking. I sit in a room alone with my computer (some writers
use pen and paper.) I don’t like to be disturbed because that disturbance
usually comes when I am right in the middle of a scene and I want to get it all
down the way I am visualizing it. In order to spend more time with loved ones, I
have to cut back on my writing. I read an article about one best-selling writer.
Her son asked her if she would go to his baseball game. She said she couldn’t
because she had to work on her next great book.
2.) Getting in shape through
exercise.
I spend
my writing time sitting in a chair. If the story line is going well, I want to
keep at it to the detriment of other activities.
3.) Losing weight.
Hunger
distracts me. I find that I write better if I have a full stomach, usually full
of chocolates, but anything works.
4&5.) Quit smoking and
drinking.
I have
never smoked so that is easy. I only have an occasional drink so I am fine with
that, also.
6.) Enjoy life more.
Again,
doing anything outside that room takes time away from my writing. And since I
enjoy writing my books and planning more stories, I guess I am enjoying life.
7.) Pay off bills.
Many
writers write in order to pay off their bills. Some write hoping that they will
have the next great best seller and earn lots of money. Most write because they
love to write. Learn something new.
8.) Learning something new.
Most
beginner writers take writing courses to learn their craft. For others writing comes
naturally. Many writers take a course in something they are writing about so the
reader feels that the writer knows what they are putting in their books. When I
write my historical novels I do a lot of research—reading books, visiting the
places I am including in the book, and checking sites on the Internet. I have
learned so much about Canadian history that I didn’t know before. I like to
live by the saying: keep learning because it doesn’t cost anything to store the
information.
So
how do my New Year’s pledge(s) relate to those resolutions? I am going to
continue doing my exercises in the morning before I begin writing so that I
stay in shape. In spite
of liking to write with a full stomach I work at maintaining my normal weight
and will make sure that I continue to do so. Luckily at this time in my life, I
don’t have any large debts and can write because I love to. I am not going to
take up smoking nor will I drink more. But I think the most important one is I am going to
continue enjoying life by writing more but also by spending more time with family
and friends.
In the past I have set aside my writing
so that I could do things with my family and friends. They laugh with me, go
places with me, are happy for me when I do something new and different. Writing
is words on paper.
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