A new year! My granny always told me time flies so I
should try to slow it down with every opportunity. Yeah, that’s not working out
for me, but it would be nice to have such a superpower.
I’m not the type to make resolutions with a new
year. I can honestly never keep to them, so I gave up ages ago. Now, I simply
resolve to do things differently. Maybe I won’t have buns of steel, be the
nicest person you’ve ever met, or become the queen of organization, but I know I
can make small changes that will eventually become good habits…I hope. And this
applies to my writing as well.
First up—read more! Every writer knows reading is a
must. It helps us with our own stories, with our words, and gets our creative
juices flowing. At least that’s what happens when I pick up a book. I generally
only read one or two novels a month (currently reading I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by
Jandy Nelson! If y’all haven’t read it…get on it…amazing voice in there!).
This year I also vow to bring my characters to life.
I seem to struggle with this—making them real, giving them a unique voice. Each
character is different, and I find it hard to switch around while writing
dialogue. I seem to want them all to speak a specific way. This is something I definitely
need to work on.
In 2015 I plan to people watch. Yep. I’m going to sit around—at the park, while shopping, hanging with family and friends—and stalk the heck out of people. This will most likely help in making my characters original and different in their own special ways. I’ll strive to be covert in my attempts, but I fear a very, very dark shade of glasses is in my near future. And I’m okay with that.
Happy New Year Everyone!
*Note: I
do not own the images in this blog post. All rights to original owner.
I LOVE your resolutions! It's so hard to let myself just read, because I feel like I should be working instead, but it's so important for writing. Thanks for the reminder. And I adore that you put people-watching on the list. You're right; it's also super important for writers!
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