Happy New Year!
However you celebrated, I hope you had a good one. I spent it on the sofa, watching movies, eating food and then watching the London fireworks on TV – it was absolute bliss.
Today I’m not planning on doing much except enjoying my last day of holiday freedom… which means I really need to be doing some writing! I had planned on using my ten days off work to relax, recharge and get some much needed words in, but then I came down with a horrible bug on the 26th and spent three days in a haze of sleep. So no words for me.
As much as part of me wants to punish myself for not writing, I’ve realised that I really needed the break – especially because of how stressful the end of 2018 turned out to be, and now I feel a lot of more rested and ready to let the words flow.
So for January, and 2019 as a whole, I’ve reset my goals and adjusted them based on what I’ve learnt over the past few months. When I started on my current project, I was sure that 3 months would be plenty of time to turn out a 70-80K first draft. But I hadn’t counted on life stress, illness, fatigue and writer’s block. I’m still learning what works for me, and what doesn’t. So while 1,000 words a day is peanuts for some folk, for me it’s a realistic goal that some days will be easy and some days will be hard.
I’ve also learned to give myself days off – especially if I’m tired, because otherwise I stare at a flickering cursor for two hours and then wonder if throwing my laptop out the window will make me feel better.
It’s all about balance – like yesterday, when I wrote nearly 600 words and ate half a chocolate orange!
So, with all this in mind – I’m aiming for 15-20K this January. About 5,000 words a week. And I’ve written this goal in my new unicorn themed journal/planner/attempt-to-get-my-shit-together notebook so it’s official now.
As for other New Year Writing Goals?
Well I’m going to stick with a simple one: be kind to myself.
I’m terrible at comparing myself to other writers, or berating myself for not getting things done perfect first time, or writing fast enough. I need to remember to celebrate my achievements – like hitting the halfway point, or even starting at all, and take things in my stride.
Now, I just have to do it!
