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A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey
New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain
For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce
I am Fyndorian and this is my Happy New Year Newsletter. Let 2008 be the year we all write that awesome poem, finish that novel, learn more of the art of writing, and perfect our craft to the best level we are capable of at this time in our lives.
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New Years. Old Years. The passing of time when we seem to be instilled with the thought that the new one will be the best ever as we close a door on one that might not have been all we optimistically thought it would be a year ago.
Personally, 2007 was a fantastic year for me. The best one in decades, actually. I got a job that I love. I have good folks working for me and we've developed into a real team! My son-in-law and daughter both made it home safely from difficult and dangerous positions overseas. I am reasonably (cough cough) healthy. I wrote some poems and short stories I am very proud of. I became a moderator here at WDC. I only hope that 2008 is as good. But that is the magical part of celebrating a new year...we are full of hope.
New Year's is when we typically sit down at our desks and thrust the whole of the previous year under the microscope of time, where we examine it in 40x detail and sift through the good, the bad, the exquisite and the horrific. We can stuff details into boxes in our mind's attic. We can clean out the junque drawers of our lives. We can flip through the mental photo-album of days gone past. Then comes the hard part. Deciding what, if anything, we want to change for the upcoming year.
I am terrible about resolutions. They typically fall screaming by the wayside within a week. I went back today and reread what I'd written last year for the WDC 'Dear Me' contest. Shame on me. Yes, I reviewed more. ... ... ... Did I finish my book? No. Did I get published? No. (Helps to send stuff out and not lollygag and miss deadlines....) Did I get organized and do the research necessary? No. But I wrote. *smile* And I learned much about my writing and how to write better. I gained insights
into my writing and, frankly, I sometimes surprised myself with some of the material I wrote. I think my biggest gain was in the learning.
Resolutions: 1. Get organized. (mostly this translates into organizing my non-work time better and not letting 'stuff' get lost in the shuffle of deadlines, overflowing in-boxes as well as keeping the 'I want tos' and the 'I should dos' straight in in their proper priority. OK, make that 'resolution'--singular. It is enough for me to accomplish that as far as writing related stuff is concerned. No point in overwhelming myself with wonderful LONG lists of what I'd like to do in a perfect world. I will be realistic this year and maybe it will make the difference. I know i will continue to review. I know I will continue to write. A friend of mine here, Kayla Sullivan  , says in her bio block that 'I bleed black ink. I dream on paper pillows.' For me not to write would be to quit breathing and I have no intention of turning any bluer that I am already! *grin*
Last newsletter I asked for folks to send me their New Year's Resolutions pertaining to their writing. And you did! Many more than I could ever include here. I've included the ones that seem to best typify what we all want to do (to some degree at least!)
twyls sent me an email which included the following: 'I'm writing in response to your request for our writing goals. I actually have a static that has my goals for the next two plus years: "101 Goals in 1001 Days". I made 101 goals to be finished within 1001 days. I saw this on another blog, and I fell in love with the idea. I've
been making steady progress in the four or so weeks I've been at it. One of my
goals is to donate money to a charity for every goal I don't complete in time.
Plenty of incentive to go, huh?
Anyway, my writing goals for the New Year are ...
1. Writing a new poem somewhere near every week. I would like at least
45 new poems.
2.Write at least 10 new short stories, to work towards my goal of 30
by the August 22nd, 2010.
3.Write as close to 100 reviews on Writing.com as I can get.
4.Organize my Writing.com portfolio, putting proper tags and ratings
on each item.
5.I would also really like to back up all my writing into a safer
place.
There are twelve writing goals total in that 101, but these are the ones I will
focus on in 2008. '
That is what I call organized. Inspiration for me!
Acme wrote 'my WDC resolution is to be an active reviewer, as reading and reviewing has really helped my own writing. To give me the impetus to do so, I've committed to reviewing programs run by a number of WDC site wide groups. Reviewing others not only supports the site community, encouraging good practice and constructive criticism, it also flexes your own analytical muscles; making it much easier to judge your own work more objectively as an editor. '
Reading the work of others is an excellent way to improve writing skills. We learn from both the well written and the 'in need of serious work' pieces we encounter. Sometimes seeing a mistake made by another writer will point out to us the places where our own writing needs some help.
johnjohnny wrote 'My goals for 2008 are to finish 50 to 100 poems to have in my portfolio before I start looking for publishers (I have 30 to 40 now), and to finish my collection of memoirs. I've been sporadic with my writing the last 6 months, and my resolution is to be diligent.'
Diligence. A marvelous thing! Many writers and teachers of writing counsel that one should set time aside to write every day. Something. Anything. But write! I, myself, try to do this. It doesn't always happen, but I find that the habit of writing every day is a good one, and also I find myself looking forward to that time of day. My time. My treat.
heartofahawk said 'As I finished my novel this year, I thought my resolution for 08 would be to get published - and it is, but I realized while reading the latest issue of "Writer's Digest" something higher on the list. Writing - and continuing to develop my skills as a writer. After all, that's the ultimate carrot, isn't it? To have more moments when you are whisked away and something else is coming through you, and you're just taking dictation? I love it when that happens...
Me too. Or going back and rereading something and having that 'I wrote this? Hey! I'm pretty good!' feeling is wonderful too!
GirlsNGlasses writes: 'I'd love to get published in 2008, but that's a lofty goal, given my current status. My goals are to: get my blog rolling (a build-up toward publication), and get my novel manuscript ready to submit to agents, then, submit it. I would also like to attend a writer's conference this year.'
Ah. The book is done. Edited. Finished...Now comes the hard part! Research, innumerable query letters, high expectations and enough rejection letters to wallpaper a room....What we put ourselves through for our craft. But we do it because we must. And if one never buys a lottery ticket, one will never win the lottery!
The Unknown King 'write[s] interactives but I want to try to start writing stories of my own invention without help.'
We've all got to start somewhere! Jump in--the water's fine! Writing is a craft. It takes perseverance, practice, tears, practice and gumption. It is a leap of faith and it is good you are ready to go to the next step!
Niroveka says, 'This is the year I finish a novel for publication! I have been writing "novels" since I was in middle schoole, and have never fully completed one...unless of course you count the 20 page hand-written-on-notebook-paper "draft" at age 9. But the NaNoWriMo competition has changed my outlook on noveling. I'm going to do it this time! The 50,000 words are written, now it's on to the rewriting and agent-hunting! 2008 is my year! Hopefully, this is only the beginning, too. I've got so many novels inside me...I just know it!'
The themes here seem to be write more, finish what we start, trying something new, organization and, of course, getting published. If, in the course of the year we all learn something about ourselves and something more about our craft, I think we shall all do just fine!
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For this week, I am featuring works by some of those who offered feedback to my last newsletter *smile*
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Inspired by last my last newsletter's word list.
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nomlet  writes, 'I have mixed feelings when it comes to the use of "unusual" words. I prefer to stick with simple, familiar words, but mix them up into new combinations, striving for fresh imagery. As bad as I may feel for that word at the back of the dictionary that never gets picked for use in a story (sorry macarize), I don't think more words is necessarily a good thing.
Of course the matter of which words are included on your word roster will vary from writer to writer, and will increase the more you read. Personally, I'm a big gloaming fan, and I like roister as well. Good to be reminded of some old favorites. Certainly one must be judicious in the use of the more unfamiliar words. There is nothing quite like reading a piece that seems as if it were written with a thesaurus being used for every word! (ugh)
But vocabulary is something that can be increased and it is nice to have the odd word at ready (so to write) should it be the perfect word to use! I rather like gloaming myself!
Dorianne writes 'What an interesting 'fun to say' word list. Thank you for supplying the meanings. I think that Reader's Digest Word Meaning section would be proud of you. My goals are to organize my work area and to write more short stories. I think that I will try to use some of the words that you have shared with us. I think of the words as prompts for the future. thank you! I used to cut out the word section and save them in a folder. When the kids and i were on road trips we'd have spelling bees and word challenges with them! Let me know if you end up using some of them :) and along those lines....
alfred booth, wanbli ska responed: 'I regularly try to use unusual vocabulary in my poetry, but doing so in short works like poetry is often difficult because there are not enough words around the new word to help the reader make a guess at its meaning like in well written fiction. But I will take your list and make a project of turning each of these new words (some of which are already familiar to me) into a poem. [See one of these poems above]
What a nice compliment and I am so please to have offered a bit of inspiration!
The Critic  requests...'Specially for fyndorian:...er... now will you please use each one of those words in a sentence... please, besides I can't tell which of them words are nouns or verbs...interesting just the same..'
Perhaps this may help...
It is the crepuscule of the year. In the gloaming I reflect upon a year full of Apollonian acheivments. While some of these were aleatory in nature, I am pleased that my writing has lost the algidity it has shown in recent years. In fact my writing had become frigorific...not something to be proud of necessarily. But that has changed along with, and due to the serendipitious events that, upon reflection, still cause a frisson of joy to course through my body. This past year has been one with halcyon days, effervescent moments, and fulgurant writings of which I'm quite proud.
A lambent lightness, sericated and susurrous caresses my writing now, indeed, my life in general. I am inclined to allow the fremescent whisperings to macarize, to rise up and maffick the New Year in, in a roisterous manner singing paeans to that
which has placed me in this place at this time. Nay I shall not get squiffed this new Year's Eve, I shall simply enjoy what I've been blessed to receive.
windac wrote: What a delightful issue fyn... full of beautiful winter imagery and whimsical words for future use. And might I say 'better you than me' when it comes to all that snow? So glad you enjoyed...and snows like all things...years included....have a habit of slowing, eventually melting into memory!
Acme adds 'I loved this edition of the newsletter, and have to add 'crepuscule', and 'frigorific' to my list of favourite words to drop nonchalantly into conversation.'
Love doing that myself!
Hannah Thanks for the vocab; it was really helpful, and I plan on using them. My goals for the next year are to really get my novel started (and hopefully finished) as well as to enter some contests and be more active on WDC. Glad you found them helpful!!! Good goals and I'm always happy to see the better use of all WDC offers as a part of someone's goals! There is so much here!!!
April Sunday 'Groovy rendition for your setting. Startling how the world changes overnight with winter's occupation to spread snow & ice. The list of words is marvelous.' Thank you :)
Helen McNicol 'The best thing I did in 2007 was to join WDC. I've learned so much since joining, everyone is wonderful and helpful and creative and positive...I just can't say enough to everyone who has reviewed my work and helped me improve my writing. Definitely my goal in 2008 is to continue the learning curve to a point where I feel my worth is publisher worthy.' Pretty good description of what WDC is all about!
DRSmith 'Ok Fyn... just describing that yard, the tree, the cardinal, and the fireplaced living room was good enough for me. What I want to know now is... where are you that you got so blanketed, and if there's a cozy fun place around the corner where we can get squiffed on hot toddy's?' In Michigan, four miles from Hell. Yes, it really is a town here in Michigan!
Happy New Year, everyone *smile* May it be full of wondrous new ideas, delightful surprises, new things learned, and writing you are pleased about. |
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For Authors: January 02, 2008 Issue [#2147]
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