New Year’s Revolution

Well, that does it. 2012 is officially over. I have taken down my holiday décor, changed my Christmas ringtone back to a non-holiday song, and even reset my playlists. And I’m trying to get my new house (the temporary rental) semi-decorated now that there is a tree-sized hole in the room around which the current décor seems to revolve. Funny how that happens when you move over the holidays.

But in the process, I got thinking about resolutions and revolutions and change. Things that always tend to come up in January.

First, I thought about resolutions. And how my life has been so dramatically upset in the last six months, that I don’t think I could handle much more change. And then I thought, well, of course I can handle it. I just hope it’s good change. The kind that means forward progress.

It’s what I hope. And that’s my goal for the year. To move forward and progress in all areas of my life. No resolutions needed.

It’s my personal revolution to take 2013 by the hair and drag it along behind me.

What about you? What are your personal goals for the year?  

Start with Change

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend a workshop session taught by the poetic and brilliant Martine Leavitt. During one of her lectures, she gave our class a bit of advice about beginnings. I don’t remember her exact wording, but she basically told us to start our story on the day when things change.

Real people have those moments regularly. They are the parts of life we may not always want to face, things we don’t always see coming, but they are also the moments that come to define us as people. How will we feel when our town is hit by a natural disaster? How will we react when our parents get divorced? What will we do when someone gets sick and dies, leaving us behind grieving? OR conversely, how will we feel when we reach a goal we’ve been aiming toward for years? How will we react when we find love? What will we do to transplant ourselves in a new place?

These are questions we need to explore with our characters and within our stories. Because change is, by very definition, a conflict of sorts. And every good story is defined by conflict and how the characters overcome the obstacles and beat the odds, just as people are defined by these same things.

So though we might begin with a small glimpse of how things are before, the real story, the part we all look for, happens in the moment when things change.

What life changes have defined you? Have you used those experiences in your writing?  

Looking Forward

Today is officially the last weekday of summer for my children. Come Monday morning, everything changes. There will be no more staying up until 2:00 am writing, reading, or watching TV. There will be no more sleeping past nine and then waking up slowly. There will be no more homework-free afternoons, or spur of the moment trips to the lake or the mall.

*cries*

But. But. BUT. It also means my family will be back on a sort-of schedule again. And that means I will *hopefully* have more writing time. The kids will have somewhere important to go every day, and their social skills will get a workout. And they’ll be getting smarter every day, and…

See? There’s a silver lining to this situation.

Even if you don’t have kids, the beginning of school sort-of signifies oncoming autumn, the harvest, and the end of an important cycle of life.

*sings the Circle of Life at the top of my lungs*

You know what? I’m looking forward to the next cycle. The next season. The next big thing.

What about you? What are you looking forward to?

It Begins

And by “it” I mean summer.

I’m not going to lie. I *heart* summer. It’s my favorite season by miles and miles. Always has been. Shorts? Check. Swimsuits? Check. Sundresses? Check. Sunscreen (yes, I always use it)? Check. Sandals? Check.

Vacation plans? Yep. (In two weeks, peeps! TWO!)

Boating plans? Absolutely.

Water in the nearby lakes. Uh. Let’s cross our fingers.

Writing time? Um…well. That one gets a little tricky. But. I do have goals, and I intend to accomplish said goals, DESPITE the fact that it might mean staying inside sometimes, or staying awake when I’m tired, or skipping a trip to the pool.

Why? Because I’m a writer. That’s what I do. When I don’t have time to write, I create it.

My goals: Draft a new novel, complete edits on and begin querying my current WIP, write one or two short stories (for the fun of it), and, well. Keep querying. (Because that’s another thing I do—a lot.)

Oh, also, I’d like to go to WorldCON in Chicago (somehow), turn my ab-flab into a six-pack, and get a nice, even tan.

How about you? What are your goals this summer?

My Kind of Resolutions

Oh yes, it may be a trendy thing. I have lots of goals this year, too. But more importantly, I have resolutions.

What’s the difference? Hm. I think goals are like targets for which you can aim. For instance, go to the gym four times a week, polish two manuscripts and draft a third, send at least 100 queries (or find an agent or get a deal, whichever comes first), read 75 books, learn to scuba dive. Stuff like that.

But a resolution is more of a state of mind, a type of behavior, a change to the very way we act.

Over the holidays, I’ve had a lot of time to think about people. About human beings and our different conditions and circumstances. I think part of my thinking was spurred on by L.T. Elliot’s post about being capsized. But that’s not where it began. I think it started a long time ago, and was brought into sharp relief over the holidays.

And so I’ve made a different list of resolutions this year. I hope some of you will join me.

1. Love. Love everyone I should, and even some I shouldn’t, and love hard, because you never know when the important people in your life won’t be there anymore.

2. Forgive. Even the people who don’t deserve it. Because holding onto anger and hate only serves to make us miserable. And no one wants to be miserable.

3. Give. Give back to the world, give up impossible expectations, give of myself, and give something my all.

4. Create. Happiness, dreams, and the kind of life I really want to live. Because happiness starts from within, and must be created first within our hearts.

5. Dance. Alone, with a group, with people I love, as well as strangers. Because dancing, well. It’s fun. And healthy. And it makes me feel amazing.

6. Sing. Because I like it. Because I can. And really, besides myself, who’s listening anyway?

7. Jump. Off a cliff, into the water, into new ideas and out of old habits. Just jump.

8. Smile. At everyone. Even when they make me mad. Because everyone has bad days, and a smile might make things better.

9. Shop. For the best possible deals—some of the best things in life come free.

10. Ride. The wave fate has thrown for me. And never let it suck me under. I AM strong.

So now you know my plans for 2012. Which do you think are more important, goals or resolutions? What are some of yours?

Happy New Year!

I'll be back to blogging later this week! Can't wait to hang with you all again.