2015 went unbelievably fast. We say that every year but it truly did. For me, 2015 was a crap year. On a personal front there were issues, but moreso on a work front it was a nightmare – a goddamned nightmare that I am glad to be done with.
Will 2016 be any better? It’s hard to say but one thing is for sure I have some personal and professional goals that I aim to achieve this year and so that’s a start. I don’t believe in new years resolutions – I don’t need a change of year to start something new, but this year I am looking at it as a fresh beginning as 2015 was a write-off, and it can quite frankly, stay out!
From a writing point of view it’s time to stop pissing around, time to remove the finger from bottom and most of all, time to stop not writing. I’m going to force myself to outline this novel and then actually write it. I’ve tried multiple times to get it moving and after a few chapters it just hasn’t gone anywhere. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself when it comes to writing (when writing fiction, anyway) it’s that I need to know where I am going.
And I’m almost there. I’ve given this story considerable thought and it grows by the day. Funnily enough my thoughts on plot have moved from an endless cycle of contemplating the first portion of the story to considering some approximate resolutions. There’s a big old gap in the centre where the front and end need to be bridged, but hey it’s a start.
I’ve also got a series of named and known characters now along with some very plausible motivations and conflicts. The only thing left is to really get an outline down and start to put down some horrible words that can be hammered into some semblance of goodness down the track.
From a non-writing point of view, this year will be one of considerable change for me – and not just my wanting change, big change is coming and I am waiting for it with open arms.
I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2016, whatever it is you are up to!
If like me you had a craptastic 2015, I’d love to hear about it 🙂
Marcus Dunn 