The 'R' Word

It's that time again - whether you love making them, whether you make the same one every time or whether you are highly vocal about not making them at all - it's resolution time!

But before I make mine for 2018, let's look back and see how 2017s went.

2017 - Write more.
Well, I certainly managed that. I have endeavoured to write regular weekly blog posts. I have tentatively started to write weekly poems and flash fiction for my Wattpad profile - check them out if you haven't already, perfect for that five-minute coffee break. I had two short stories published, Underground Scratchings in the sci-fi & fantasy anthology Tales from the Underground and Patient Data in the Sci-Fi Knights of the Roundtable anthology The Quantum Soul. I also self-published a humorous collection of short stories, plays & blog posts with Tales from Suburbia and of course, my humorous fantasy, The Rose Thief. I also managed to 'win' at NaNoWriMo with 50k words for The Gaia Effect sequel.

2018 - Write more.

It's a great resolution or focal point. Whilst many words were written last year, they did tend to be in fits and starts rather than a daily commitment to continual writing. It will be hard because I do love a good procrastination, I have excellent writer's self-doubt and I have a new baby plus her big brother to entertain/keep alive. But if I can commit to 1000 words a day, and I do have a lot of projects in mind, then I think 2018 can be just as productive as 2017!

2017 - Read more.

It's no secret that I love Goodreads and I love setting up reading challenge shelves and giving myself a goal. 100 books read was the target and somehow I made it! The big question is, what will I realistically be able to read next year?

2018 - Read.
I think I ought to play it safe next year and just try to read books. I belong to a real-world book club who read 1 book a month, plus 4 for Dec/Jan (which I haven't even started yet). I belong to a Goodreads book club who read 1 sci-fi and 1 fantasy book a month. I belong to a Facebook book club who have set 12 books for the year challenge that I accepted - and also failed at last year. I also want to get stuck into some series, I'm constantly reading the first in a series and loving it, marking up the rest to come back to and then 56 books later I still haven't read a single book 2 yet. Slight flaw in my plan there. I've also committed to buying and reading more indie books next year. Maybe I'll have a moveable goal, set it to 50 and see how I'm doing in the summer. All that extra writing might take up the miniscule amount of spare time I think I'm going to have.

Don't forget the golden rule when reading a book!

2017 - Bake more.
I think I rather let the side down this year. I mean I can talk a mean cake but I didn't really bake that many. Truth be told I seem to have fallen out of love with the kitchen. I don't really feel like cooking or baking much of anything at all. I basically exist on toast and crumpets at the moment. Plus gallons of tea. It is a valid life choice but just imagine all those cakes I could've made! More effort needed methinks.

2018 - On your marks, get set, BAKE!

While I am not Bake-Off candidate material, I do love a challenge - at least I did - so my goal will be to get back in the kitchen and stop making the same old, same old meals & bakes. Let's try something new. 

So on this New Year's Eve let's raise a glass - wishing you all a happy & healthy 2018, may it bring you more good than bad, more fun than regrets. Have a good one!