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January 2: I'm getting a slow start putting pen to paper with resolutions for 2009. It's something I always do, not so much because I expect to KEEP the resolutions--but it's a way of touching bases, seeing where I am and where I'd like to get to. My dear friend Ruthanne in Weymouth, Mass., sent me this journal for Christmas (my only Christmas present), and I've been delaying writing her a thank-you note until I sit down with it and spend some time. I was just about to do that when I thought, no, I really must post my Day 2 pictures. Immediately! Ah, but now I'm done with that, and so it's time to sit and ponder my life a bit.
no runner ups this time....I wasn't catching just the image I was going for.....but since its a bad idea to get overly caught up in having an exact photo in mind, I opted to change my approach and go for the triptych. January and in particular right around the turn of the New Year is a good time for threes.... as we tend to look at past, present, and future: Where we've been, Where we are now, and Where we'd like to be ....
My New Year's resolution for 2013 was to write a complete second draft of a novel because that's something I've never done; I've written one novel first draft a year during National Novel Writing Month since 2006, but I never edited them.
Well, 2013 was a bit of a failure in that regard. I didn't write one second draft.
What I did was draft four novels in a series.
It's been a very strange year for me. 2012 was a horrible year, arguably the lowest point of my life. In 2013, through a combination of life changes (diet and exercise and cutting out the negative influences in my life) and gradual rediscovery of old beloved pastimes (sewing, photography, hiking, biking, writing) I've gotten back to the mental and physical health I had in college. That has been a beautifully productive thing, and I credit a lot of it to this series.
The reason I stuck with this story was because I made one big change in my writing habits: instead of just daydreaming and not getting anything but short stories down, I started a writing journal. Now, I can't even count the teachers and professors who told me to do this ages ago in creative writing classes. I never had the patience or the routine down to make this work. But now I have one thing: a 30 minute work break spent entirely alone. 5 days a week: just me and my journal. Some days I just freewrite about how I have no ideas, and then that gets boring so I think outside the box. Some days I get so excited I plot out entire novels and character arcs, and then I go home and work on my chapters. Instead of letting ideas slip from my brain, I anchored them on the page, and now here I am.
I completed book 1, Nomad, at the end of July. This was my first novel ever completed outside of NaNoWriMo. I finished book 2, Deadhouse, on November 1st of this year, and wrote two novels, Frostbite and Breakdown, for NaNo'13. This is what they look like (...on my unmade bed, sorry) all printed out for me to peruse and annotate on my aforementioned work break.
Because I already have my New Year's Resolution for 2014: I'm going to write second drafts for four novels. And I think I'm actually going to have something to celebrate December 31st, 2014.
Week 50 View 52
Well only 2 more images to go.
I have been reflecting on my life today and realised one thing I have always wanted to do is play the Guitar. I took it up at around the age of 9 but soon gave it up. It then took me another 20 years to decide to try it again. Yes you guessed it yet again I put it down and forgot all about it now 5 years later I have decided it is time to take it up again.
The reason I have decided to do it this time is obviously when I struggle to learn something I tend to put it away and forget about it. And photography has taught me one thing that if I try hard and break through that initial nightmare of learning the settings framing and composition then how hard can it be to learn how to play the guitar.
I know it is a bit early for a new years resolution but this year I have decided to pick something more realistic as for the last 4 years it has been to give up smoking but that last a day and normally because I am nursing a big hangover lol. So I am going to see if I can put in the same time and effort as I do photography. As you can see I have a slight problem only 4 strings but I took the step and ordered some last night so as soon as they arrive I will be off. Xfactor hear I come lmfao