REALISTIC WRITER RESOLUTIONS FOR 2023

 by Judy Ann Davis

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MAKE TIME FOR YOUR WRITING ~ This tops the list for almost all writers. We resolve to make more time for writing every year, but it’s so easy for life to distract us. We rationalize we have other tasks and chores to do for our kids, our husband, friends, or family. If we wrote only 500 words at day, we would have 15,000 words in a month. One thousand words would net us 30,000, quite an admirable word goal. Don’t feel like writing? Research, writing exercises, outlining, reading for information, and editing also count as part of the writing process since these activities propel us forward.

READ, READ, READ ~ Not only do we need to read in our genre to stay on top of the latest trends and to study other writers’ styles, structure, plotting, voice and pacing, but also we need to read outside our comfort zone. We need to delve into a memoir, a nonfiction book, editorials, the newspaper, and anything we don’t normally read. This will give us a new perspective when we sit down to write again.

GET ORGANIZED ~ Organize your writing space. File that pile of papers you were going to take care of. Clean out your emails. Clean up your hard drive. Back up your data. Review and update your blog, website, Facebook page and Twitter account. Set a timetable for writing a certain project and determine how you’re planning to track your progress.

SET REALISTIC GOALS ~ Stop beating yourself up when you don’t accomplish what you planned. Stop comparing yourself to other writers. Set realistic goals. Maybe you will only accomplish one novel per year. However, you might want to try writing a seasonal short story, or an opinion or a blog piece as well.

EXERCISE ~ Good health is important. Get plenty of rest and find some activity where you can get exercise: swimming, walking, golfing, tennis, zumba, dancing or any other activity that takes you away from the keyboard and gets you moving.

                 Have you made your New Year’s resolutions?
                 If so, share one of them in the comments below.

        

JUNE ~ The Pianist

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Grunts and Groans by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

Hope 2018 has been kind to you so far. The crud I had in November came back right after New Year's, but I consider myself lucky that it wasn't the flu. (Knock wood. February is labeled as the peak month for that particular ailment.) A lot of people have posted on social media about their health and the horrible weather. I've come to the conclusion everyone is cold and sick.

I think I mentioned once that when we moved to Germantown, Tennessee, we decided to get in shape--or at least in better shape than we were. So we joined a local health club. Up until Thanksgiving we worked out regularly three times a week. It didn't take long, got us out of the house, and because the kitchen was undergoing renovations for most of the summer, we indulged in lunch at some of our favorite restaurants. (Yeah, I know, Mexican food and Margaritas kind of undo all that exercise, but hey, you only live once, right?) After the holiday, illness and the cold kept us home for a few weeks, but now we are back on schedule.

For those of you who work out or want to work out, I decided to give you a rundown of a day at the gym.

I used to spend the first ten minutes on the cardio-bike, but abandoned it a few months ago. I hated pedaling to nowhere. And treadmills scare me. I visualize tripping over my own two feet and flying out into the walkway thereby humiliating myself. The stair machine was not on the agenda from day one. So, while hubby does the bike, I head immediately for the weight room.

Being an aficionado of torture, I start with the standing pull down ab machine. I put on forty-five pounds of weights, grab the over-the-shoulder straps, and bend at the waist. My lower abdomen tightens. I do twenty reps twice before moving on the the next device. By the way, my reps are usually between twelve to fifteen and I try to do three sets.

Now it's time for the biceps curl. Twenty-five pounds for twelve reps three times. Not too bad. The next machine works the triceps. I do thirty-five pounds for this one since I find it easier to push down, than pull up a la the biceps contraption. A year ago my arms were pathetic strands of spaghetti. Now, I can actually feel my triceps and when I flex my biceps can see muscles. Well, I'm impressed at any rate.

When done with that, I slowly walk down the aisle to the most hated machine in the gym--the thigh killer. And I do mean killer. I adjust for fifty pounds of weight, grasp the handles, move the knee pads to the correct position and push my legs apart. I'm grunting and groaning by seven reps before finally giving up at twelve. By the end of two sets, I want to cry. Panting, I change the knee pads to squeeze and push my legs together. This position is no more comfortable than the previous one. Honestly, by now I should be able to crush bowling balls between my thighs.

Once I'm done with this machine, the rest are a piece of cake. Some kind of rotary twist machine that is supposed to work the obliques--whatever they are--followed by devices for a back leg curl, (works the back leg muscles), a leg extension, (does the front of the thighs), and a leg press, which works both. My knees aren't in the best of shape, but I have noticed going up and down the stairs at home is easier than when we first moved in. I now stagger over to whatever machine my husband is on where we discuss lunch options--usually involving wine. I have priorities. I view it as a reward for a job well done.

My last apparatus is the sit down ab machine. Sixty pounds of weight with all the grunts and groans I can emit for twenty reps three times. At least I'm sitting down and I can feel the crunches tightening my upper abdomen.

I'm done! A quick freshening up and I'm ready to eat and imbibe. The whole process took less than an hour, but the important part is I feel better both mentally and physically. I've lost weight--not as much as I would like, however, those lunches are also important to good mental health. Or so I keep telling myself.

Back at home, I try to get in some writing in the afternoon. If not, then I dedicate the off days to writing. I find I'm spending more down time with family and that my writing doesn't seem as forced as it was three or four years ago. I'm more laid back and relaxed. I no longer chastise myself if I don't write two thousand words a day.

I hope you all have vicariously exercised by reading this. Thinking along the same lines? Check out a few gyms near you. Take out a trial membership if possible and see if you like it. My guess is you will. And sometimes as I grunt, groan, and mentally curse, I think up plot twists, dialogue, and characters. How about that? I write as I work out. LOL

Have a great day and I'll be back in March.

Suzanne Rossi

Starting the New Year Right by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

It is now officially 2017. Can't say that it feels any different from 2016, at least, not yet. I'm looking at the same gray, gloomy skies, chilly temperatures, and frequent rain as I did in December. But then, that's winter in Memphis, Tennessee.

I'm not a big fan of making New Year's resolutions. In fact, I gave it up years ago. I found that by the time the end of the year rolled around, I hadn't kept many--okay, make that any. Zip. Zero. Nada. I finally came to the conclusion that if I didn't make resolutions, I would achieve my goal by December 31st. Made sense to me.

However, that doesn't mean I don't have things I want to get done in 2017.

First off, I need to get back to actually writing--not critiquing, not editing, not revising--but real writing with new stories, new plots, and new characters. The past six months has seen my routine in upheaval. We sold the house in Fort Lauderdale in July, moved to Germantown in August, and have spent the better portion of the fall and winter unpacking and getting used to the climate again. Somehow, writing fell by the wayside. Not only do I have problems finding a decent storyline, but my mind flits from one thing to another like a nervous butterfly.

And then, there are the renovations I want to do to the kitchen along with a room addition onto the back of the house. But that will be another blog on down the road.

I was also determined that my husband and I who are both pushing seventy (he's there, I will be in November) need to get in shape. Writing is not conducive to exercise, and since he retired a couple of years ago, the hubster has also taken to a sedentary lifestyle. That's one reason why I pushed for a house with a pool. At least in the summer we'd get some activity going. Also, our bedroom is upstairs. We haven't climbed stairs in over twenty years. I huffed and puffed like the big, bad wolf. So when a brochure for the Germantown Athletic Club came in the mail, we hustled over and took a tour.

The Club is up to date on the latest of everything. All those machines were intimidating, but the shallow pool, the forty foot regular pool, and the hot tub looked inviting. They also have personal trainers for the truly serious (not us) and numerous group activities like Zumba, water aerobics, and all types of yoga. I may check out some of those later, but for now, we've agreed to take it slowly. We'll go two days a week at first. That should give us time to recover from what I'm sure will be crippling muscle aches before tackling those machines again. When we no longer hurt, we'll increase to three days.

We signed up yesterday, and decided our first experience will be Friday. I'm looking forward to it. We even went out and bought some proper workout clothes. After all, image is everything, right? And speaking of images, I can see me tripping over my own two feet on the treadmill, falling face down, and flying feet first into the aisle where I will cause some little old lady walking by to tumble head over heels and break her hip. Since modern technology is everywhere these days, I'm certain someone will catch all this on their cell phone. So, look for me to become famous on the Internet.

I hope you all are having a good start to the new year. Take care, and since February is a short month, I'll be back in March.

Suzanne Rossi