Happy New Year

Greetings all.

I was all set to post a new year message yesterday, but I was...overcome. Yeah, that's the word I'll use. I'm sure a ton of people were overcome with something, whether it be a hangover or pressure to stick to resolutions. I guess I'm one of those people who like to make resolutions every year and don't quite make it through all of them. I'm not even sure what mine were for last year. *goes to check*

Huh. Apparently I didn't put one here, so maybe I was so excited about signing my first book contract I didn't think about anything else. That pretty much sums up the first quarter of last year. (Ugh. It still feels funny to say last year.)

So what am I going to do this year? I've got a list of things in mind that I will probably refer to several times this year, provided I stray off course.

1. I will not obsessively check book ratings and reviews.
2. I will release at least four stories (shorts or novellas) while I'm completing several novels.
3. I will put less pressure on myself to be a perfect writer.
4. I will start my serial story on my website (more on that much later).
5. I will try to be more supportive of my critique group.
6. I will set aside a set word count I have to get every day, unless I truly don't have the time.
7. I will post more reviews of the writers and stories I love on my blog.
8. I will host more contests (what kind do you want to see? free books or gift certificates or both?).
9. I will try to update my blog on a schedule. (Ha. So far I have flash fiction and...yeah. This one's going to be fun.)
10. I will spend less time on the internet.

That last one's going to be interesting seeing as how some of what I'm doing requires the internet (my blog and website) or at least access to a computer. But I can always write offline and just get on to post stuff. But yeah, that means I will not live on facebook this year, no matter how much I love playing Words With Friends (just started Thursday) and I'll have to force myself to focus more on just writing. And not stressing when I can't get every word perfect. And wondering what everyone thinks. Basically, this is the year writing is the true priority, not social networking. Here's hoping I can stick to it.

And here's hoping all of you out there can stick to what you're trying to accomplish this year.

Happy New Year