New Year's Resolutions

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

Although I have no objection to making and trying to attain goals, I’ve often held New Year’s resolutions in distain. As a twenty-year member of a gym, every January I see well-meaning people crowd the facilities enthusiastically trying to lose weight and to increase their fitness. When I see those people, I try to emit positive vibes supporting their resolve. But I also know that unless they change their mental/emotional perspective, not just adding short-term activities, they are doomed to failure. Few do and, by March, the crowds are gone, their New Year’s resolutions either forgotten or given up as unreachable, and I and my motley crew are again left in peace to workout.

If I do make resolutions, I do so in September, which to me marks the start of a new year more than January 1, because it marks the start of a new school year. It also is the start of a new season. The crisp autumn air attests to newness like a loaf of bread eaten right from the oven. January seems more a continuation of the season celebrated during Christmas, only those same attributes we so relished in December become less admirable in January. The snow is no longer a cozy backdrop. Winter skies become ominous rather than exciting. Icicles threaten to stab us instead of looking like frost lacing our cottages in finery. January may usher in a new year, but it doesn’t feel new, and it looks like old slush.

This year, I was too busy during September to reflect and formulate new goals. So now, I ponder. Out of those things I can control, what do I need to institute, change, or subtract from my life? Physically, I’m fine. Writing keeps my brain in shape, so mentally I feel fit. But spiritually—now there’s the rub--I’m not at peace with my writing, as usual. The dilemma is always the same. I don’t have enough publishing credits. Will what I write get published? Will an agent like my novel? Is writing an effort in futility? Why do I blog if I’ll never get published? Am I wasting my time?

Like those people at the gym in January, unless I change my mental and emotional orientation, I’m doomed to write in frustration and, possibly, fail. Adding more shorts to my publishing repertoire to build an impressive list of publishing credits may help my career, but writing shorts distracts me from my WIP. I’m writing to become a novelist. Writing shorts is an entirely different art form, and although I like writing and learning both forms, my focus must aim on my novel, which is my priority.

Membership in writing organizations is necessary and helpful. Too often, though, those organizations focus on promotion and publishing, resulting in members putting their proverbial carts before the horse, or in this case, driving without a vehicle. I am guilty. Although I’ve written two novels, neither has resulted in my obtaining an agent or contracts. I must focus on my craft, and that is my resolution.

Although I’ll continue to blog and conduct interviews here on WWK, I’ll respond to email less. I’ll write more, break through to the next level, and tell myself what I’ve always known about music and apply it to

writing. It’s the song, not the singer. It’s the book, not the writer. Promoting yourself is all well and good, but the book promoting itself is far better.