It’s that time when we review what we’ve achieved in the past year and think about what we hope to get done in the next. Why not write down your writing targets for the year ahead? Make these as specific and as challenging as you can. Yes, resolutions are often made to be broken – but in trying to meet them you can often get more done than if you had not set yourself a goal in the first place.
Your targets could be a number of words you want to write, or a number of stories or chapters, or to enter a certain number of writing competitions – anything you think you can achieve, even if its means a huge effort. And it will require an effort, because writing, as you all know, is never easy.
Above all, though, you must write what you want to write – because you want to write it. Don’t get caught in the trap of writing what you think other people want you to write, or what you think might get published, or what you think is fashionable at the moment. Just write whatever you are drawn to, however strange it might seem. Booker prize-winning author wrote a fantastic piece this recently in The Guardian which touches on this theme – you can read it here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/27/mental-tyranny-black-writers
So: happy writing, and I wish you all the best for a fulfilling and creative 2015!