New Beginnings

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The beginning is the most important part of the work. –Plato

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Happy New Year! I’m honored to be the first to welcome TKZers to 2024! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, filled with family, food, and fun, Now that the turkey and dressing have all been eaten, the relatives and friends have left, and the decorations have been put away, let’s get back to business.

January 1 is a clear-cut marker, a notch in time for new beginnings. It’s the start of another trip around the sun. Another 365—366 this year—opportunities to imprint our written work on the human experience. So, naturally, we think about how we can best use our time in this new year. Many people choose to make resolutions.

resolution — noun — the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.

Since this first TKZ post of 2024 landed squarely on January 1, I thought it would be fun to see what resolutions are trending this year.

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The following list of the most popular resolutions for 2024 was compiled at forbes.com. The list shows the percentage of people who mentioned each one.

  • Improved fitness (48%)
  • Improved finances (38%)
  • Improved mental health (36%)
  • Lose weight (34%)
  • Improved diet (32%)

Less popular resolutions include traveling more (6%), meditating regularly (5%), drinking less alcohol (3%) and performing better at work (3%).

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the five major resolutions all concerned health or money.

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Although the Forbes list contains items with admirable intentions, I was more interested in resolutions targeted specifically at authors. So I looked around some more and found several sites that suggested resolutions for writers in 2024. I’ve included the major points from those sites here, but you should visit the sites to get more detail for the individual items.

This list comes from thgmwriters.com:

  1. Read more
  2. Write more
  3. Write to the audience
  4. Paint a picture
  5. Write simpler
  6. Get an editor
  7. Share your writings
  8. Call yourself a “writer”
  9. Start making money
  10. Remain true to yourself

Jeff Goins had a 17-item list:

  1. Measure activity, not results.
  2. Tell the truth
  3. Write what scares you.
  4. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
  5. Try a new genre.
  6. Write when you don’t feel like it.
  7. Do your research.
  8. Rewrite until it hurts.
  9. Shut up.
  10. Read widely.
  11. Fast from social media.
  12. Break a rule.
  13. Publish something
  14. Make money.
  15. Start a blog.
  16. Meet other writers
  17. Quit stalling and get writing!

Did you notice that both lists of resolutions for writers include truth and money? I don’t know what conclusion to draw from that, but it’s interesting.

So resolutions are great. They represent a strong commitment to improvement. However, it’s important to measure progress, so while a resolution might be to “read more,” a goal sets an explicit target: “Read one novel each week in 2024.” Including measurable goals within each resolution gives the best chance for success.

But whether you prefer resolutions or goals, writing them down and posting them somewhere so that you’ll see them during the year is a good idea.

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So TKZers: Did you come up with a list of New Year’s resolutions for writing? Did you see anything on the lists here that inspires you? What other resolutions and goals would you suggest for 2024?

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“DiBianca’s plot is tightly woven, but her cast of quirky and lovable characters steals the spotlight.” –BookLife Reviews, Editor’s Pick

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36 thoughts on “New Beginnings”

  1. Timely. I just clicked on TKZ & saw this first post of 2024 right after having spent some time reflecting on my 2023 stats.

    While typically a rabid, meticulous, detailed goal setter, I’m not doing so for 2024. 2023 was super-hectic & I felt almost ADHD-ish even though I don’t have it. And my creative spark wasn’t as fired up as I would have liked. Yet in 2023 my co-writer and I finished a manuscript & got it off to beta readers & began making revisions before year end. That was an important thing to note because it shows that old adage about ‘butt in chair & write’ is true. You CAN push through on a writing project, even when you’re not feeling ‘all there’.

    So the non-detailed plan is to publish Book #1 in 2024 & finish drafting #2 by end of 2024. If I have time to work on a solo project too, great. But I’m not counting on it. It’s looking like I’ll be spread thin in 2024 as well. Also have to spend some time learning the ‘business side’ of writing next year — including things like learning book formatting in Atticus, etc.

    As to ‘health’ goals–just maintaining. In 2023, weight stayed good & consistent, I’ve been blessed with plenty of fresh fruits & veggies to eat so diet is good (except for a short term bender on chocolate chip cookies over the holiday). Sticking with the same mileage goals to walk each week.

    So just 3 writing goals for 2024: 1) publish one book, 2) draft another, 3) deep dive into business side of writing. That, along with the other activities of daily living, will gobble up 2024 pretty quickly. LOL!

    • Good morning, Brenda, and Happy New Year! It’s so nice to be back in TKZ land.

      As one “rabid, meticulous, detailed goal setter” to another, I think you’re wise to keep the goal-setting simple in 2024. I’m looking forward to reading your new book.

      Have a great year.

  2. And we’re back! Great start to the year, Kay.

    Every new year I set up a fresh spreadsheet to record my output, and the goal has not changed much for 25 years: 6k words a week, writing 6 days, taking one day off. Most weeks I make it, but if I don’t I forget it and start a new week afresh.

    I haven’t formalized any other goals, but have a list of things I want to do, like keep my To-Be-Read pile at a manageable size, re-learn conversational Spanish, travel with Mrs. B, teach chess to my grandsons, and play Pickleball (Okay, Boomer).

    I’m looking forward to another year of TKZ.

    • Good morning, Jim, and Happy New Year! I’m so glad TKZ is back after the break. (And I like your new picture.)

      Your method of keeping a weekly writing goal helped me be more productive. Now if you can let me know how you manage to resize your TBR pile, that would be great. Mine is out of control.

      Best wishes for 2024.

  3. Kay, what a positive start to the new year to wake up and see your post! Happy New Year!

    Health, money, and truth are three legs of the stool on which our lives balance. Remove one leg and life goes off-kilter.

    I found the Forbes list interesting b/c improved mental health was cited by almost as large a percentage as improved finances. That speaks volumes about the times we live in.

    Good to be back in the Zone.

    • Good morning, Debbie, and Happy New Year to you!

      You made a good observation about health, money, and truth. We need to pay close attention to all of them. Also interesting about “improved mental health” being so prominent in the Forbes list. Seems odd–we live in a time and place where most of our needs are taken care of, and yet so many seem to be needy in other ways.

      Have a great 2024!

  4. So nice to have TKZ posts back in my morning coffee routine. Happy New Year, everyone!
    I want to work on photography. I want to travel. I want to keep writing. All of these seem to fit into my routine without having to measure them, although I do keep track of my word count when I’m writing.

    • Good morning, Terry. I agree with you–it’s nice to be back in the TKZ routine.

      Sounds like you have 2024 well planned. Travel and photography certainly go together, and I’ve enjoyed the images you’ve shared from your previous trips. Looking forward to pics from your latest adventure.

      Have a wonderful new year.

  5. Perfect subject to start the year off right, Kay! I set a list of actionable goals this year, and I’m super excited about them. Some have deadlines, others I need to pick away at.

    Happy New Year, TKZers!

  6. Happy New Year!
    I started a new work journal (a regular old marble composition book but it gives me a lot of space).
    I thought I’d try following Heinlein’s 5 Business Rules this year. Toward that end, while I’m on vacation I took my screenplay that some suggested should be a novel and started working on that. Will see what happens. Will work my way through my unfinished pile and finish.
    I can’t lose any more weight – it’s too expensive to keep buying new clothes.
    Happy writing!

    • Good morning, Cynthia, and Happy New Year to you!

      Following Heinlein’s Five Business Rules sounds like a good plan for 2024. Good luck with that novel. Let us know when it’s finished.

      Have a productive and enjoyable 2024!

  7. Happy New Year, Kay! And Happy New Year to the entire TKZ community!

    Great post, and subjects we need to ponder as we begin anew.

    My goals are to continue writing, start a new series this year, and continue making pens. All of the above are simple, satisfying, and help maintain my sanity. My wife may differ with the maintenance of sanity.

    Good luck to everyone with achieving their goals!

    • Good morning, Steve, and Happy New Year!

      I admire the balance you have in your life: writing and pen-making. I think we could all improve our mental health by creating something with our own hands. (I’ve been pleased to give one of your beautiful pens to a lucky commenter on my own blog each month in 2023, and I’m looking forward to continuing the tradition in 2024. Thank you!!)

      Best wishes for a wonderful 2024.

  8. Perfect post to start off 2024 at TKZ, Kay! Happy New Year to you and everyone in our wonderful community here!

    My number one goal deals with my writing mindset. Embrace the internal struggle at the heart of any creative endeavor, which includes the uncertainty and various fears that might crop up. Even more so, reconnect with the joy in the creative process. Find the fun even as you work through the struggle. Let go of external expectations and focus on what you can control, namely the writing.

    Thanks so much for starting off 2024 here in superb fashion! Happy writing!

  9. I have one writing-related New Year goal: draft a literary Christian novel. The other things like rewriting until it hurts I put in the category of “best practices.” Happy New Year, Kay!

    • Good morning, Priscilla, and Happy New Year!

      What a fabulous goal to produce a literary Christian novel. I’m looking forward to reading it!

      Have a lovely and productive new year.

    • Happy New Year Marilynn!

      Apparently most people fail to keep their New Year resolutions. However, there are others who see them through. I found this information about reasons for failure on https://discoverhappyhabits.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

      In one 2014 study, 35% of participants who failed their New Year’s Resolutions said they had unrealistic goals.
      33% of participants who failed didn’t keep track of their progress.
      23% forgot about their resolutions.
      About one in 10 people who failed said they made too many resolutions.

      With or without resolutions, have a wonderful year.

  11. Ahh . . . this is like being in a desert for twoish weeks, then finding a sparkling oasis . . . Oasis Killzone!

    Great post, Kay!

    I commit to keep writing every day-my editor has a MS I hope to pub this year; keep walking every day; and, from Jeff Goins above (but with a twist…) do something that scares me. Maybe more than once.

    And this is it:

    2024 will see me speaking to groups. Scary! But I hope I do well enough the first time that I just might get invited again. We shall see!

    Onward and upward! 🙂

    • Happy New Year, Deb! Yes, isn’t it wonderful to be back at TKZ?

      I understand public speaking is one of the scariest things most of us face. I’m sure you will be a hit. Enjoy yourself, and let us know how it goes.

      Have a great year.

  13. Welcome back, Kay, and what a good start to the 2024 TKZ. I have an agreement for two more mysteries, so that takes care of my work. I spent too much time last year locked up in my office. This year, I’m going to try for more gym times, lunches with friends, and movies.
    Not a bad goal.
    Elaine

    • Happy New Year, Elaine! Sounds like you have some great goals set for 2024.

      Best wishes with the two new mysteries, and all that you do this year.

  14. After writing two 95K-word books last year, I’m slowing down to one a year. Although I might sneak a small 55k-word book in. 🙂

    After eating low-carb for a year, I’m healthier, weigh less, and feel better, so I will continue that into 2024. 🙂 But giving up bread is a killer!

    • Happy New Year, Patricia! You had quite a year in 2023. Congratulations on your writing and health successes!

      I’m also thrilled that TKZ is back. My morning coffee just wasn’t the same for the last couple of weeks.

      Have a great year!

  15. Missed you all so much. A big welcome back. Here’s to a wonderful year of writing accomplishments.

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