Make the most of 2010

Revision update: Things have been going well. I’ve been steaming through the chapters, getting about six done in the past few days. It feels good.

Utah Children’s Writers’ Scott Rhoades wrote a fun New Year’s blog post yesterday with some ideas to help writers in this year. I thought I’d share my favorites and add some of my own.

From Scott’s list:

Make more time for writing. I’ve let this slide over the holidays, but I’m renewing my dedication to writing every day. It helps my writing, and makes me much happier. 🙂

Extend your writing circle. Writing is so solitary, and it’s great to go to conferences, local and far away, and make friends who can broaden your support group. I’ve got two conferences in the first two months, and I’m excited about them.

Make every day an adventure. This is similar to something I read in The Artists Way years ago and have always kept to heart, that to replenish our pool of creativity, we have to get out and inspire ourselves, either by visiting a museum, or going for a walk along a pretty street. It would be great to do it every day, but with work and everything, that can be tough. But do it as often as you can, and when you can’t get out, here’s a tip from me: Take a couple seconds to Google “flowers images” or “architecture images” or whatever inspires you and enjoy what comes up.

Now some of my own:

Set goals. Don’t make them too big or too small. Set goals that you can reasonably attain in a short time and reward yourself when you reach them. There’s nothing more encouraging than a feeling of accomplishment.

Read, read, read. Reading is the best way to learn to write better, and reading the bestseller books in the genre you write, is great research — as well as wonderful entertainment. Seek out the best of the best, classic and new, and read.

Read blogs. No matter where you are in your writing journey, it’s a good idea to keep up with what’s going on in the industry. But blogs also help us see that we’re not alone. The blogosphere is filled with writers at all stages of their amateur and professional writing careers, and we can learn from them, empathise with them, by inspired by them.

Keep your characters in your head. No matter what you’re doing, washing dishes, driving, walking the dog, cooking, laundry, let your characters come into your mind and play around. Listen to them talking. Keep them in your head, and when you sit down at your computer or notebook to write, they’ll be right there waiting for you. And they’ll have figured out the next part of the story already.

Got any tips for making the most of your writing in 2010?

Write On!