{"id":1058,"date":"2021-01-01T20:32:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T03:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2021-01-01T20:33:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T03:33:11","slug":"2021-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/2021-resolutions\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Before we begin, a little song . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Image from Imgflip<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More on that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we kiss 2020 goodbye (more like kick its sorry ass out the door), 2021 has a head start on being a better year for the simple fact that it\u2019s a new year. We won\u2019t get into the deets on why, that’s already been established<\/a>. With a new year comes new chances, new adventures. And the dreaded New Year\u2019s Resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To cut to the chase, this year I vow to write everyday\u2014be it a sentence, a paragraph, an entire chapter. Every day I will write. Something. Even if it\u2019s garbage. Even if it has nothing to do with anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
At times, my writing may closely resemble this. (L, Death Note)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I vow I will write for ten minutes every day in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will allow myself to break this resolution only in extreme circumstances\u2014illness, special occasion, my birthday. This should be an easy resolution to keep. Every night I have my computer on my lap (I guess that’s why they call it a lap-top, duh). There is nothing keeping me from opening a new document and spilling out the digital equivalent of word vomit. Resolution met!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s gonna cost me precious writing time, but I\u2019m gonna read more than I do already. I typically go through a book a month. I\u2019m no marathon reader, for sure. This year, I\u2019m going to try to double that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So to meet that, what’s the first thing I did? I splurged. I bought myself a monthly subscription to a book box. I\u2019m a bit bummed to see only YA available in monthly boxes, at least those that will ship to Canada at a reasonable price. So my monthly sub will provide my YA fix, and my monthly trip to the book store will have to continue to provide my Fantasy fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
I chose FairyLoot<\/a>‘s monthly subscription box, approx $36\/month USD. Image owned by FairyLoot<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dream More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

80% of my ideas come in those long hours it takes me to fall asleep at night. Insomnia\u2019s kinda a jerk that way. Since the pandemic began and I\u2019ve been relegated to the confines of my house for medical reasons, my anxiety has shot through the roof. As a result, I\u2019ve sometimes refused <\/em>to dream up ideas for my novels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, I\u2019m going to throw that out the window. That is because I’ve figured out why <\/em>I refused to dream. Fear. I was afraid that if I dreamed up a really good idea, I wouldn\u2019t be able to write it. Working from home during the day means just that\u2014I need to focus on the real world. I’ve learned that’s much easier to do in an office environment, but takes an effort at home where there are so many distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Image from Imgflip<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My number one fear was getting a great idea and either shrugging off work to write it (and risk losing my job) or doubling-down on work and forgetting the idea completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I realized something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admitting my fear was the first step to getting out of this writing rut! From there, I could only go up. So once I get to spewing out the word vomit, I figure I also need to take care of the stuff I’ve already written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edit More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have two novels that need to get out the door. They\u2019re in rough draft-mode. I need to get them through self-edited mode and out the door to venture into the world of The Professional Editor. Dun-dun-dun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editing, especially the professional stage of the art, is something I\u2019ve come to figure out is more like smoothing out the icing on the cake. It\u2019s not meant to be hurtful or painful. It\u2019s not meant to feel like you wrote a piece of crap. I\u2019ve come to realize that I\u2019m great at spilling out a story\u2014I can mine the gems but I can\u2019t polish them. That\u2019s what my editor is for\u2014polishing up the chunks I\u2019ve dug out of my mind and organized onto paper, digitally speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I need to get those novels out the door, and they won’t get anywhere until they’re edited. So above and beyond my reading and writing resolutions, I will also edit my novels and get them out into the world to be come grown-up novels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay Attention to my Muse(s) More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Okay, okay. That is not grammatically correct, but nothing in my mind is. Least of all, my muses. And of those, I have an army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
My army’s not as cool as the survey corps from Shingeki no Kyoujin<\/a> \/ Attack on Titan<\/a>, but close. Image owned by Hajime Isayama<\/a> and Kodansha<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now, I\u2019d like to think my army of muses is well-put together, mildly behaved, and perhaps just a little introverted. But in reality, they\u2019re just as messed up as I am\u2014prone to silliness, absent-minded, and definitely less mature than they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the things I need to learn is how to organize my army into a strategic, plot-killing armada. When writing, I often pull out one muse at a time, put them through hell, and then put them back in their cage. I\u2019m not too good with making them work together. Each muse is a one-man\/woman-show. If my army is gonna write a novel, we all have to work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Team work! Gif found on Tenor.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I suppose that means I need to start with organizing my own brain first. I\u2019m far too obsessed with making lists, organizing things, and putting pen to paper. This is exactly the opposite of my pantser tendencies, and I\u2019m fairly certain I do this just to procrastinate. So that leads me on to my last goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease up on the journalling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have five writing journals. FIVE! I\u2019m certain they\u2019re enabling my procrastination and lack of actual writing. This year, I\u2019m going to retire three of them and allow myself two: my reading planner and my writing-journal-slash-bullet-journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m keeping my reading planner as a way to organize my reading. If you\u2019re interested in one, you can find one in your local book store, or download templates for free with a simple internet search. This planner is something I couldn\u2019t come up with on my own (that, and I just love the quality of a mass-market planner).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
I’m using OwlCrate’s 2021 Reading Planner, $14.99 on OwlCrate.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m also keeping one of my writing journals for the sake of jotting down ideas when I get them. This journal will also double as my bullet journal to track my day-to-day. Keeping my writing journal whittled down will force me to type out more of my thoughts rather than writing them out by hand. I have so many ideas stuck in my journals that organizing them and typing them out is taking away from my actual writing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
I use Jingu Stationery’s “Sakura Cat V3<\/a>” journal, $17.99 on AliExpress<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Keep up with the Wiki<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This one was a pleasant surprise for me. Although 2020 was the first year in a long time I didn\u2019t complete NANOWRIMO, I did keep the wiki on my latest WIP alive and growing. One of the hurdles of picking up an old work and continuing it was trying to figure out what the heck I was doing in the first place. What is this character\u2019s motivation? Why did I make this bird talk? Was Number Five really the shooter on the Grassy Knoll?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Netflix<\/a>‘s The Umbrella Academy<\/a>‘s writers are amazing!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When I kept my wiki up-to-date, I found I wasn\u2019t back-tracking as much to figure out what in the world I was thinking when I wrote scenes or chapters. It was also a place to keep track of the little details, like eye colour. As I wrote my scenes, I\u2019d take notes on the purpose of the chapter, where I wanted to go, and any little Chekhov\u2019s Guns that may need to be fired somewhere down the storyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use an open-source product called wikidPad<\/a>, available at SourceForge<\/a>, which I think I’ve mentioned before. I believe there\u2019s a scaled-down Android version but I haven\u2019t used it. In any case, I love it to pieces. In place of my library of notebooks, I\u2019m going to strive to use my wiki more often. Keeping things digital instead of analog will be a challenge in itself as I love writing things by hand. My pens and pencils will need to take a break this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrap it all Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, since I\u2019m putting all my eggs in one digital basket\u2014aka my computer\u2014I\u2019ll need that most important of regiments, the backup. With a Gmail <\/a>account, that\u2019s easy. Google Drive<\/a> is an easy place to drop off files I\u2019ve been working on. With that I need to keep in mind that Google\u2019s cloud storage isn\u2019t infinite as they\u2019ve recently implemented an inactivit<\/a>y<\/a> trigger<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Android tablet will serve as a secondary back up and will also double as a portable version of my works should I find myself stuck in . . . well, I dunno. In the \u201cnew normal\u201d will we still be allowed to loiter in doctor\u2019s offices and watch our children in karate classes? Those are questions for future me. For now, I\u2019ll consider that as a \u2018piece of mind\u2019 back up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll set a schedule for these backups. Depending on how much I write, I\u2019ll backup to the cloud at least once a week and backup to my tablet once a month. Backups won\u2019t be limited to just my word files. I\u2019ll back up my wiki and any Photoshop files I have on the go, such as cover art ideas and maps\u2014betcha didn\u2019t know I do my own cover art! Five years in website design before my current adventure in environmental services has taught me well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you set your goals for 2021 yet? My advice would be to not go all-out. Start small. Make a small goal you know you can meet every day or every week. Write ten words a day, or write for ten minutes a day. Do ten sit ups a day or exercise for ten minutes a day. Small things. Baby steps. I find if my goals are too big they start to feel like work and obligations. My inner teenager rebels against those societal strangulations outside of my adult world and actual paying job, in which I thrive on deadlines and obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
From the movie What About Bob?<\/a> 1991, Touchstone Pictures<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Work-life balance, right? Or maybe real world, fantasy world balance fits better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Rissa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before we begin, a little song . . . More on that later. As we kiss 2020 goodbye (more like kick its sorry ass out the door), 2021 has a head start on being a better year for the simple fact that it\u2019s a new year. We won\u2019t get into the deets on why, that’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,35],"tags":[103,105,107,104,106],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates","category-writing-techniques","tag-103","tag-planning","tag-reading","tag-resolutions","tag-wiki","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2021Res.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6odz9-h4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1225,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2022\/01\/covid-19-and-new-years-resolutions\/","url_meta":{"origin":1058,"position":0},"title":"COVID-19 and New Year\u2019s Resolutions","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"January 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m late to the game on the whole New Year\u2019s Resolutions thing, but I have a good excuse. 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