Here's wishing you a very happy and productive 2011!
A little bit of luck won't hurt either, so make sure to add some of your favorite traditional New Year's food to the day. Hoppin' John, a dish made with black-eyed peas, is supposed to bring luck if you eat it on New Year's Day. According to Wikipedia,
"One tradition common in the Southern USA is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to assure that the New Year will be filled with Luck, Fortune and Romance."
Sounds like the exact recipe we want for 2011!
My mom always said that whatever you did on the first day of the year is what you would be doing ALL year, so naturally I tried to ensure I wasn't doing something I hated on New Year's Day. I'm a bit superstitious about these things! So I always try to get in some writing, or at least some dreaming about writing, along with other things that I would like to see happen the remaining 364 days.
I haven't done any New Year's resolutions for a long time, although I do make plans, and goals, at other times. Last year I finished I Do. . .or Die in the fall, and even though I wanted to rush right into querying, I let it sit for a month, and then took a few weeks to revise and edit. I made it my goal to start querying at the end of January, after I had given it one last polish.
That's the plan I followed, and at the end of February, I got a request for the full manuscript from Christine, which started things in motion for a very interesting year.
I can't wait to see what 2011 will do to top 2010.
So what are your plans and goals and hopes and dreams for 2011? What are your strategies for your writing in this upcoming year? Do you have all your ingredients for Hoppin' John?
I don't have all the ingredients for Hoppin' John, but it sounds yummy!
I will make sure I'm doing something fun the first day of the year. I hope shoveling snow won't be what I'll be doing ALL year. Shivering at the thought! LOL
I do have more strategies for 2011 than I normally do! All I've been doing the end of the year is plan, plan, plan. It seems as if I'm going with the tough love plan on myself this year by micro-managing, but hopefully I won't rebel if I think each task is a small one! No big umbrella statements of what I want to accomplish is my motto for this year. Baby steps all the way! :)
Posted by: Melissa | December 31, 2010 at 02:03 PM
Well, my headcold seems to be on it's way out of my head, so with luck, tomorrow will see me writing. I'm even, sorta, almost...thinking I could wrap up the story I'm working on later today. Sleeping in until nearly noon put me a bit behind, but this is how I get better...
May 2011 see all of us reach our writing dreams! My plans include enticing my publisher into taking several of my more wild projects on... Bwah ha ha!
Posted by: Maureen | December 31, 2010 at 04:42 PM
Melissa, I don't have the ingredients either, so I may have to make it a day late. LOL But hey, procrastination is my specialty, right?
I hope you won't be shoveling the whole year either. Eeek!
And I think your strategies make a whole lot of sense with your busy school schedule. I'm finding those small tasks are a good idea. They're kind of like tapas, or appetizers, much more palatable that way!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | December 31, 2010 at 05:34 PM
Maureen, I'm glad to hear your headcold is on its way out. You've had too many health concerns this December. Shoo, germs! Be gone with you!
I hope 2011 brings a lot of writing dreams to fruition too. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your publisher is definitely enticed!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | December 31, 2010 at 05:35 PM
Well, November was all about the shingles, Dec has been the cold. I will be healthier in 2011!
Posted by: Maureen | January 01, 2011 at 07:08 PM