Did You Plan to Write a Book This Year?

Broken New Year's  Resolutions?

Did you resolve to pursue your talents this year? Write more often? Finish that story? Give poetry a try? And you've already broken your resolution? OH, NO!

Hey - don't worry about it! Here is your chance to start again.

Don't be cross with yourself. It is only natural for people to need a "reboot" now and then. You must renew your pledges daily to work new vows into old habits. This is true of every kind of habit – dieting, smoking, gambling, etc. And it is most definitely true with writing.

Make daily resolutions. They are the only kind that really accomplish anything. Here are a few ideas to help you refocus:

Break your writing time into small chunks that you can work in every day. Fifteen minutes is a good choice. That will give you five minutes to clear your mind and ten minutes to get into the groove. You will be surprised what you can write in fifteen minutes.

True story: An unpublished author wrote and finished a book within a year by writing fifteen minutes a day on her lunch hour. She sent it to a publisher. He bought it.

Writers, you set your own limitations. You also create your own chances in life.

If you don't feel inspiration when you sit down to write, don't let that concern you. Write about your work, your boss, your mate, or how you want to remodel the house. Read editorials in the newspapers and reply to them. Do whatever you must, but write!

Don't allow yourself to be satisfied with complacency. It won't work in a writer's life. Get on or off the pot.

Writing is calling to you or you wouldn't be reading this. Starve it, and the urge will die entirely. Feed it, and surprise yourself.

Get back on the writing horse and start again - as many times as it takes!

Reprinted with permission from Deborah Owen of the Creative Writing Institute. You can send your work to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and ask for a free evaluation. One per person, please. Visit Deborah's website at http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com