New Year’s Resolutions…again

Holy mac and cheese…2024 went by in a blink of an eye, didn’t it?

It only feels like two moments ago that I was writing down New Year’s resolutions for 2024 and thinking “this will be the year I get my third draft done.”

Oh bless little, naive, a-year-younger me.

I bought a novel writing course, I tried to create a routine, and I scoured Pinterest for inspiration for HOURS.

But time went on, days turned into weeks. And like all weeks if you have enough of them, they turned into months.

Of nothing.

The novel writing course sits untouched - thank God it doesn’t have an expiry date. The routine went to sh*t, and those Pinterest boards are collecting virtual dust.

It’s safe to say 2024 wasn’t my year for personal creativity.

But it was the year I got my first Big Girl creative job, working as a digital marketing assistant.

When my 9-5 suddenly transformed from stacking shelves to writing articles, I was over the moon.

My poor characters, bless their souls, were not.

I’m pretty sure they live their own lives now - I’ve been gone so long I think they’ve all aged ten years, and my protagonists have moved on from fighting dystopian dictators and said “screw it we’re moving to Alaska.”.

They’re the own sentient beings, doing things I cannot control because I’ve been gone too long and hey, why would they listen to a God that disappears for over a year only to poke them with a stick again and say: “dance, monkey, dance!”.

They’ve had it with me.

But I’m not going to let that stop me.

I want 2025 to be the year I reconnect with my characters, and my fingers finally reconnect with my keyboard outside of working hours.

So how? How the heck am I going to get back into such a mammoth of a task?

By giving myself more time.

And I know what you’re thinking - but Leigh you already haven’t touched your book in a year. Giving yourself more time is the stupidest idea ever!

Well, I get it. But I also disagree.

Last year I went into my third draft half-cocked and fully overwhelmed trying to rush everything. I had no plan other than “JUST DO IT!”, thinking that Nike’s slogan surely must be good for something.

But no, that didn’t work. And I’m not surprised.

Unfortunately for me I have pantsered my way through my first two drafts. I wrote my first on a whim after the idea for the entire plot just fell into my lap one day.

Eighteen year old me had no idea how the entire novel appeared in my head, and to this day I thank the universe for just giving me the script without having to painstakingly figure out what happened when.

I just knew how I wanted everything to be. So I wrote it.

And then came the second draft - my baby. She isn’t perfect, and if you squint hard enough you can see the sloppy patching of plot holes here and there but I promise it works.

And she took a lot more effort. But it was also a lot more rewarding. While the first draft came to me in a dream, the second I had to work for. I spent hours rewriting scenes, doing research into the layout of Washington D.C., and trying to figure out how to write about things I didn’t know.

But ultimately, I had no grand plan. I was winging it with my edits and hoping for the best.

And now I need to get my plan game on.

Because I want this novel to work. I want it to be on shelves one day and I want people to read my writing…even if the latter is unbelievably terrifying to me.

I’ve spent so much time creating a world, creating lives, that I want people to see it. I want people to read the words that have come out of my mind.

I see people reading the articles I write for my 9-5 and it makes me feel so happy, and over 2024 I realised that’s the biggest motivator of all for me.

Sure, I could write this third draft and hide it away as my own pride and joy. But where’s the pride in letting it collect dust? Where’s the joy if no one will read what I’ve written?

So here is my 2025 plan:

- Reread the second draft and insert any comments I have, without making edits, and documenting the plot

- Take a step back and turn the plot into a Sparknotes version of my novel, chapter descriptions and all

- Get into the meat of it. Tackle any comments and inconsistencies that occur. If things need to be deleted: be strong. If things need to be added or rearranged: get to work

- Reread again and then finally, the worst bit of all…get someone else to read my work

I’m determined. I’m ready. And I’m scared.

Somehow I lost sight that writing, and creating, is actually fun. It shouldn’t feel like a job, because I already have one of those!

I spent a long time treating writing as another 9-5 instead of treating it as the hobby I love and enjoy.

And so it feels daunting to dip my toe back into the ocean that is novel writing, because I spent so long dreading it, but as the cool kids would say…that is not the vibe for 2025.

Or maybe none of the cool kids say “vibe” anymore. But you get the idea.

2025 is the year I control my characters again - sorry protagonists, you can’t move to Alaska just yet! It’s the year I find joy in writing again, and it’s the year I open up myself and my writing to the world.

And I’m really hoping I can document it with you all.

Vocal, keep your eyes peeled for draft three updates in March, June, September, and December.

See you then!

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If you enjoyed this article then make sure to leave a little heart to show your love! Tips are always appreciated, but no pressure!

Thanks, Leigh.