Thursday, September 08, 2011

Writing an Hour a Day

I make a lot of resolutions.  Some almost impossibly ambitious (eat only natural whole foods) and others a little more realistic (submit five short stories for publication every month).

My resolutions usually focus on what I can change (writing, submitting) rather than those goals that are outside of my control (publish more, get accepted by a literary agent).  My mantra is all about "stick-to-it-iveness" (thank you, Principal Skinner).  If I keep creating and putting my writing creations out there, regularly, and strategically, I will eventually be published.  I sincerely believe that.

Oddly enough, I tend to make resolutions all throughout the year, without relying on that anxiety-inducing New Year's Eve fever to start me on my righteous new path.  I make those resolutions, sure, but I also make resolutions in February, March, etc.  Every new season brings a new set of goals.

Many of my resolutions deal with my writing habits.  Write more.  Submit more.  Edit more.  Research more.  Yes...and blog more.

My resolution for the new school year (no, I'm not in school still but I do tend to think the year begins afresh in the fall) is to write for an hour a day.

An hour, you say?  Fie.

Yes, I mean it.  Kinda.

I'll admit that my definition of "writing" will be somewhat loose. I will be perfectly happy if I submit stories, edit, research agents, etc. during my "writing" time. In other words, any writing related effort that I would otherwise be trying to cram into my already packed weekends will now be spread out throughout the week.

The benefit, as far as I can see it, will be inertia. Not a day will go by when I'm not thinking about my works-in-progress and my writing career as a whole.  In addition, it will take the pressure off of me trying to writing for ten hours during the weekend when I need to do things like spend time with my family, see my friends, clean my house and cook.

Will my Hour-A-Day Experiment work?  We shall see.

Come on, try it with me!

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