As I’ve been considering writing this post about my writing resolutions for 2022, I kept tripping over a thought—someone’s going to think I’m crazy.
Because, dear Reader, if we have the pleasure of getting to know one another, you’ll find me to be a big dreamer. I don’t go small. I don’t have that in me. I just don’t. I never have.
So when I sit down to reflect on my past year and then envision the coming, my visions are anything but mediocre. I don’t know how to do mediocre. Okay? So if you think I’m nuts for these writing resolutions I’m about to tell you about, well, you’ll likely soon find that they’re just par for the course around here.
Welcome to my world, I suppose.
Now, before I get to my resolutions, know where I’m coming from, having just concluded probably the wildest year of my life, 2021.
2021 Reflections
In 2021, I became a mother for the first time. End of story. For those of you who’ve lived through this too, you know that’s enough of a story. No more explanation needed.
I also happened to draft my very first novel.
Writing a novel, writing fiction in general, had been a dream of mine for my entire life. Well, close to it. Since I was around six years old and in Mrs. Edwards’s first grade class. I was good at spelling, having not missed a single word on a spelling test that entire year of school. And for some reason that doesn’t make even a lick of sense to my new fully-formed adult brain, my six year-old self concluded, “I’m a good writer.” And that was that. Really. That was that. From then on, I dreamed of being an author. Specifically, an author of fiction. Why fiction? Because that’s what people wrote, right? At a six year-old that’s what people write.
The thing is, I hadn’t written a piece of fiction since the one single creative writing class I took in college. Fast forward ten years later, eight months postpartum, that’s when I decided it was finally time to start writing fiction.
Hey, at least it happened. Never mind the utter lack of logic to the whole thing.
So, I just completed my first ever first draft. Literally, today, I finished the first draft. From here on out, any time I touch my manuscript, it’ll be considered second draft activity.
Now what?
2022 Intentions
With a first draft complete, here’s what I will allow* next:
*Side note: I use the word “allow” deliberately here. Writing is art. Art is creativity manifested into physical form. This is slippery stuff here, people. When I write or do anything even closely adjacent to the act of writing, I allow things to happens, rather than MAKE then happen. I open up my creative channels and allow things to come through. Simple (and woo-woo) as that.
- I will take a 4-6 week hiatus away from my manuscript. Let that puppy lie.
- I will publish a new blog post every day for 45 days. Watch me.
- I will dive into The Big Edit—the first big overhaul of the first draft, making it into the second.
- I will attract the perfect agent. *Is it you?*
- I will attract the perfect editor. *Or is this one you?*
- I will attract the perfect publisher and sign a big fat book deal with them.
- I will get my manuscript into beta readers’ hands!
See? I don’t do mediocre. We’re going for it. In the name of allowing, art, and big dreams.
Have you set 2022 Writing Intentions yet? I’m intrigued to hear about them in the comments!
