DR: Seven Writing Resolutions for 2007

1. I will quit procrastinating. Right now. I spent most of 2006 putting off what I needed to be doing and feeling guilty for what I chose to do instead—even though what I chose to do was wholesome, productive and even writing-related. But I found too many excuses not to work on the project with the deadline, and now I’m paying for that—and so is my family—as I race toward a much-too-tight first-draft deadline.

2. I will spend as much time on research as I do on writing, becoming an expert on the minute details of my plot and falling in love with my characters so much that I’m compelled to make my readers know and love them equally.

3. I will answer my reader mail in a timely manner, and with a personal note, not merely a “form letter.” My readers are the reason I write, and until the day I receive so much fan mail that answering it all would mean never writing another novel, it is my goal and my privilege to individually thank each reader who writes to me for selecting my book from among thousands of other choices.

4. I will express sincere thanks to others in the industry—my publishers, editors, critique partners, sales and marketing staff, bookstore owners, reviewers (even the ones who didn’t like my book), fellow authors, etc.––who have made it possible for me to become and remain published.

5. I will keep my office tidy and organized so I can find the things I need to do my job well, and so I don’t waste time searching for what should have been filed properly weeks ago.

6. I will take better care of myself—not eating meals in front of the computer quite so often, not overindulging in the writers’ staples of coffee and chocolate (notice I said overindulging, not indulging period!) and remembering to get away from my desk frequently for a little physical exercise and a brain siesta now and then.

7. I will not wait for a point of desperation to pray about my writing. Instead, each day, before I write one word, I will pray that God will place His hands over mine on the keyboard so that every word I write may be a reflection of His amazing Truth.

Wishing all my Charis Connection friends God’s richest blessings in 2007.

Deb

Deborah Raney is the author of A Vow to Cherish (Steeple Hill). Coming next month: Remember to Forget for Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. http://www.deborahraney.com