To Make Resolutions or Goals or Knot?

by Diana McCollum

 

Each year up to now I’ve made resolutions. I’ve written them down, reviewed them weekly and by the end of February most have gone by the wayside.

 

This year I’ve made up a motto which is tacked to my bulletin board by my desk.

 

“Try something new monthly, work on goal list weekly, smile and be happy”.

 

My goals list is for writing and personal goals. Those lists are also on my bulletin board.

 

I am really looking forward to trying something new each month. This month I bought a skein of cord and I will use my husband’s book on knots and learn to tie various knots. 

 

Sounds like a silly thing to learn, right? But It’s a handy skill to have. It’s also completely out of my comfort zone. One of the key components of relieving stress is to do something with your hands, and also to learn something new. So learning something new to do with my hands will help me.

 

I ask all of you who read this post, do you have a skill you plan on learning in the New Year?

 

Happy New Year!   

What's new, pussy cat?

Ah, those lofty New Year’s resolutions. For many of us, if written down, they’d make great birdcage liners by February. Unfortunately, I no longer have a birdcage and the hens prefer wood shavings.

I’m pleased to say I’ve learned a thing or three in the nearly sixty years (gulp) I’ve been alive. One thing I’m finally accepting is life is a marathon, not a sprint. Another thing I hold to be true is that one tiny, inconsequential decision, good or bad, can change your life.

Case in point:  Many moons ago, I saw a notice in the local paper for a writing workshop. This was before I started writing in earnest and was just playing around and had less than a clue what I was doing. I almost talked myself out of attending due to a combination of introvert tendencies and fear of the unknown, i.e. real writers. Who’s to say how my life would have evolved if I’d hesitated? I did go, discovered a whole new world, and now have good friends and a strong support network. One two-hour meeting of an RWA chapter slowly and gradually (that marathon thing) changed my life. I believe my evolution as a writer hasn’t ended, but I feel stuck. I’ve set goals for this year, both writing and non-writing, but they’re similar to last year and the year before, and the year before that. I need another “two-hour meeting”, except it’s not safe to breathe the air of a bunch of strangers for that long!

Funny story. I was scrolling through my Kindle the other night/early morning when Mother Nature’s furnace woke me and I couldn’t get back to sleep. And what did I find? A whole bunch of unread or partially read writing craft books that I’d been excited to buy but never got around to reading. I’ve decided that this year’s writing “two-hour meeting” is the challenge of reading and absorbing one of those books per month. I even created a page in my planner to keep track. Perhaps I’ll learn something that will be life-altering, or at least settle once and for all where the blasted commas go.

Another funny story. Regular readers of this blog, or my personal blog when I had one, or my newsletter will know that I love to bake. I especially love trying new recipes. I also enjoy cooking, though baking is my first love because I have a serious sweet tooth. For years and decades, we’ve subscribed to Cook’s Illustrated magazine – yes, an honest-to-goodness bunch of pages that are delivered to the mailbox.

Any guesses as to the last time I tried a recipe from the massive collection of back issues? Exactly. So my non-writing “two-hour meeting”, and a great way to relax, is my second challenge – cooking or baking two recipes from each new issue, which will work out to be one per month since it’s a bi-monthly publication.

I’m not expecting life-changing consequences from a new cookie recipe, but I may discover a new food culture that will enrich my soul as well as my body. As for learning where the blasted commas go, I have a feeling that ship sailed long ago.

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing spicy contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband, one spoiled cat, and five hens. 

Website ~ Bookbub ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads 

2022! Wow, Happy New Year!

by Diana McCollum

What are you doing the first day of 2022? Me, I'm getting a cup of tea and a good book and relaxing. I can see the six inches of snow we have out my window. It is supposed to be sunny on New Years Day and I'm hoping it melts enough to go for a walk.

Do you go out to celebrate on New Years Eve?

We are having sparkling cider at home and will be lucky to stay awake till Midnight.

Christmas came and went too fast. Have you taken down any Christmas decorations you put up?

That is my chore on New Years Day! Along with making pork and bean soup for good luck in the New Year!

And what are your feelings on New Years resolutions or goals?

I have a list of Author goals and a list of personal goals. None are so hard I can't accomplish in 2022!

During each month my new personal calendar has a spot for writing goals for the month. At the end of the month is a spot to write what I did accomplish. I'm looking forward to using this as a guidance tool.

All the best to all of you! Wishing good health and good fortune to all!!!

Wellness and Writing for 2021 by Lynn Lovegreen

I don’t have traditional resolutions, but I do have goals or watchwords for each year. Last year, my word was wellness. Ironic in a year of a worldwide pandemic, right? I did pretty well with it considering the circumstances, but thought I’d give wellness another try in 2021.

 

Here are some of my personal goals about wellness:

Drink tea and eat nurturing food, in moderation

Get enough sleep, even if it means sleeping in to catch up

Exercise three times a week and stay active (yoga, walking, hiking, etc.)

Spend time with loved ones once a week (often done online right now)

Those things help me stay healthy and well-grounded. I encourage you to try similar goals if you are working on your own wellness this year.

 

I also have some writing goals for 2021:

Write five days a week (writing, planning, revising, etc.)

Participate in critique groups

Give three online classes

The first of those classes is an online workshop for the Yosemite Romance Writers:

THE PERFECT SETTING = YOUR PERFECT NOVEL

Amp up reader interest with a great setting! 

Dates: Feb. 1 – Feb. 26

PRICE: $20 YRW members/$25 non-members

https://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/copy-of-workshops-2

Please feel free to check it out if that helps you with your writing goals this year.

 

May 2021 be a year of wellness, hope, and love!

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for over fifty years. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult historical fiction is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

DREAMS OF FUTURE PAST by Sarah Raplee

Hi! I'm Sarah Raplee, and I write scary, funny paranormal and steampunk romances. I write because I can't help it, and it's more fun than most of the alternatives. My short story, The Telltale Heart, was published this month in GIFTS FROM THE HEART  from Windtree Press.

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you’d kept all your past years' New Years’ resolutions?

Your first reaction may be to think your life would be perfect, full of butterflies and daisies and unending sunshine. After all, we make resolutions to try to improve ourselves and our lives. Making them makes us feel powerful, in control, as if we’ve caught a magic bullet. If only we can hold on to the magic long enough, our problem(s) will be solved and we’ll float off into the future as thinner, healthier, calmer, more accomplished, more spiritual versions of ourselves who are married to our equally perfect soul mates and have a fat retirement account and great health insurance.

What’s wrong with this picture?

It’s a fantasy, an unrealistic figment of our imaginations. Change is hard work. It takes commitment and perseverance, and many, many small steps to achieve a major goal. Success depends, among other things, on being able to forgive ourselves for moments of weakness as well as a willingness to accept the tests and difficulties life throws at us with grace—because railing against them is like whining about the weather, a useless waste of energy.

But like unanswered prayers, unkempt resolutions may produce a better outcome than we can imagine. If I had been able to easily give up chocolate and caffeine, I not only would have missed out on their (at that time undiscovered) health benefits, I guarantee I would be a grumpier old woman!

If dieting and exercising had come easily to me, I would have had much less compassion for other people’s struggles. Failure helps us to be less judgmental. It is a humbling experience.

If I’d spent as much time cleaning house and exercising as I thought I should, I never would have finished writing two novels and a slew of short stories—not without neglecting my marriage and other important relationships.

Writing has taught me that baby steps, perseverance and an acceptance of the things we can’t control or change are more likely to produce positive results than a lifetime of New Year’s resolutions.

Have you failed to keep a New Year’s resolution? Did something positive come from that failure?

~Sarah Raplee

Hearing the Waterfall, Seeing Possibilities

Hi, I’m Linda Lovely. I write a mix of romantic suspense/thrillers/mysteries. My four published novels (available Kindle, paperback and audiobook) are all set present day, but I’m very excited about my just-completed manuscript set in 1938. I’m also well into a new cozy mystery series—spiced with romance, naturally. To learn more about me and my books, please visit my website: www.lindalovely.com.

The week after Christmas our South Carolina home filled with family. A dozen of us to be exact, ranging in age from nine to seventy-three. Four of our guests traveled from Utah, two more made the trek from Iowa.

I’m sure they hoped for a warm, sunny holiday. During their stay, they got one prize day—warm enough for a boat ride and kayaking. The rest of the week was pretty dreary—fog, drizzle and/or chilly temperatures. Yet we didn’t let the weather put us in a funk. (Stay with me, this does relate to the New Year and writing.)

Hearing the Waterfall...

On yucky days we held a bowling tournament, hiked through the fog to “hear” a waterfall, bet virtual fortunes in spirited poker games—some with imaginative wild card combos, and showed off our general lack of artistic skill in a multi-generational game of Pictionary. I might add the seniors got drubbed, but the highlight was the nine-year-old’s excellent attempt to draw “booby trap.” 

Unfortunately his stick figure’s “boobies” were mistaken for goiters.

We drank a little. Ate a lot. Sneezed some. And laughed. We enjoyed each moment and each other.

So how does this apply to the New Year and writing?  I made only one New Year’s resolution—to try to enjoy the moment, the day, and find something to laugh about every day. What does that mean to a writer? 

Here’s what I hope:

·            I’ll say “no” to more activities that take me away from the activities and people I truly enjoy—especially writing and spending quality time with family, friends, fellow writers.

·            I’ll try to write some every day. But if the sun’s shining for the first time in a week, I won’t become so obsessed that I don’t take a day off and bask in the sunbeams.

·            I’ll remind myself that wrinkles and gray hair don’t mean my imagination can’t run as wild and free as a nine-year-old’s.

·            I’ll try to use all my senses in my writing, having realized there’s something magical about hearing a waterfall you can’t see.

·            I’ll read more books for pure enjoyment, and I won’t feel guilty if I stop reading a book I don’t like.

·            I will not let negative thoughts about manuscript rejections or book sales suck the joy out of writing the next book.

Seeing  the waterfall with the help of digital magic...

Happy New Year! I hope it will be a great one for all of us.

Have Vision! Make it your Mission!

By Marcia King-Gamble

Happy 2015!  It’s going to be a great year!   Now say that over and over and it’s bound to come true.

This month’s blog may well be a continuation of last month’s message.  You’ve heard me say I gave up making resolutions years ago, because I know the moment the words come out of my mouth, I am doomed.  I need a constant reminder to stay focused.   That’s why I create a Vision Board.  If you can see it you can be it! 

Years ago, before my first book was published, I would spend hours in book stores visualizing that prime spot on the romance shelf. I would wrap my hands around some poor unsuspecting author’s book, breathe in the unique scent of paper, and run my fingers up and down the spine.  That author’s book was mine. I owned it and I already felt what it was like to be a published novelist. 

Flash forward, when the call came, I was prepared.  Sure, I felt lucky and grateful, but not all that surprised.  I say this from a humble place. We attract the life and things we want. Of course my sister, the practical one, disagrees with me. She thinks life is about the choices we make.  She may very well be right, but I’ll stick to my guns. If you believe it, it will happen.  

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Secret; the 2006 bestselling book about the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking. I am the classic optimist. I believe positivity attracts positivity and negativity begets negativity.  Positive thinking can create life-changing results. This is something I truly believe, because it has happened to me.

That said, my plan this year is to have more disposable income so that I can do things I love; travel for one.  I juggle too many balls, and according to a New Age friend, my energy is way too scattered.  I kept that in mind when creating my vision board.  

  

Instead of dividing my board into quarters like I usually do, this year all my messages and pics are linked to my central theme of financial security.  The board is now displayed in a prominent place where I can look at it, focus, and know that it will happen. 

What are your goals this New Year? Have you written them down?  Have you dared to dream big dreams?

Believe and it will happen. Don’t let negativity or naysayers derail those dreams.  

Here I  am today (31 novels later) to tell you all things are possible. I re-released  another novel this month. His Golden Heart is about hopes and dreams.

http://bit.ly/1tJMuCY

http://amzn.com/B00R41R8O4
http://bit.ly/1wKsjDM

So write down your goals! Create your map and believe in you!

 If you can see it, you can be it!  

Now go for it!  

 Marcia King-Gamble is a Caribbean American author. She hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue.

She is a former travel industry executive and a self proclaimed globetrotter. 

A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned 31 books and 5 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling, and with her animal family.

She loves hearing from you. E mail her at mkinggambl@aol.com, like her on Facebook

 http://on.fb.me/1GF28CG and visit her website www.lovemarcia.com.