Writing resolutions from 26ers
Start knitting, stare out the window more and finish that novel. Here’s the goals 26ers have dug in the sand this year.
My first resolution for 2014 was to join 26 – recommended by an associate I met on a recent press trip. Eager to see how I can get involved and benefit from the community across the year. Personal goals for this year: Get more freelance work, and understand how to pitch for paid writing work. Network and build up a body of contacts. On a more creative note, write something (small) creative every day. I’ve started keeping a digital journal to help me with this, and have begun writing column pieces on experiences I’ve had… From experiences with my dementia-suffering grandmother to intern-culture, the focus I’m working on is finding my voice. Betty Wood
My resolution is to focus on one personal project (my novel, the first draft of which is written) and bloody finish it. I’m setting aside my morning commute to devote to it. Mike Reed
Aside from my favourite resolution (unrelated to writing), ‘Never eat more than you can lift’ (Miss Piggy), I’m determined to dedicate longer chunks of concentration to my novel writing, rather than scribbling in scraps of time on buses and park benches. Elen Lewis
My resolutions are to get cracking on a concept poetry collection to follow up my first book, take up knitting, stop going on about neuroplasticity and make strides with my steampunk novel. Oh, and to stop getting apoplectic at the whimsies of Windows 8. Kirsten Irving
My writing resolution is to put my own creative work at the centre of my week, every week, and to finish my novel in 2014. All power to everyone’s elbows. Vicky Grut
Finish my novel this year. Richard Pelletier
Read more novels, fewer newspapers. Finish my memoir. Elena Bowes
David Whyte’s poem The House of Belonging chimes with a New Year thought to shop less and stare out the window more. He reminds us to “love all the things/it has taken me so long/to learn to love”. Julie Batty