Status: Working on Proposal for Book 3 in the Shadow Guard Series
Due: Monday
As a few others have already confessed – I’m not really big on making New Year’s Resolutions. And it’s not because I think resolutions don’t have value. Rather, it’s because I try to exist in a constant state of self-evaluation and improvement. Gosh, that sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? As if perhaps I’m not happy with myself? Not at all – I really like me. But I like to think I keep my eyes wide open when it comes to my strengths as well as my weaknesses.
One of my main weaknesses – and I’m thinking other writers may share this problem – is that I want to be the World’s Best Writer, and because I am NOT the World’s Best Writer (and never will be), I constantly beat myself up and overanalyze and obsess over every detail of my books, etc., etc. In the end, all that gnashing of creative teeth brings me no closer to being the World’s Best Writer than I was before. In fact, all the overanalysis strangles my creativity/muse and reduces not only my writing output, but the joy I take in writing.
Being the World’s Best Writer (at least in my mind) has nothing to do with money, book sales or readers. It’s something deep inside ME . I’m seeking my own self-approval. I’ve always been confident of myself in an academic or workplace setting, but there’s something about writing that brings out insecurities I never realized I had. Compounded with edits and deadlines and worries about sales numbers, and oh, yes — life in general, and a writer can really start to undermine themselves and their creative process with a thousand dark little thoughts.
So this New Year I want to stand up to those sneaky little insecurities and renew my committment to myself as a writer to have FUN with the story and WRITE BIG and FEARLESS. Here’s my personal acronym for 2009:
R - I will RAVISH the page! And READ MORE BOOKS.
E - I will remember to ENTERTAIN myself. It is only by entertaining myself, that I can entertain others.
L - I will LOVE my characters, and LAUGH more as I see them through to their Happily Ever After.
A - I will be AUDACIOUS AND ADVENTUROUS with my pen (keyboard!)
X - I will Xcape (yes, I had to be creative with my spelling on this one!) into the world of my characters, and do my best to forget, at least when I’m writing, about the “business” side of things.
Happy New Year!!
Subscribe to Posts 
Wow, can I ever relate when it comes to self-doubts, over-analyzing and obsessing over every word! What is it about some of us writers — we’re so neurotic! I think I’m going to print out your acronym and tape it to my monitor!
by Allison Chase January 2nd, 2009 at 6:32 pmAllison,
I find that the R.E.L.A.X. acronym works well for me in conjunction with the K.I.S.S. acronym! (KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!)
Kim
by Kim Lenox January 3rd, 2009 at 4:28 pmThis is so lovely! An yet somehow I bet you won’t start living it until AFTER Monday
by Jessa Slade January 4th, 2009 at 3:20 amForgot to say the new cover is STUNNING! (And harmonizes quite nicely with the colors here
)
by Jessa Slade January 4th, 2009 at 3:24 amGORGEOUS cover, Kim! Congrats!
by Allison Chase January 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pmI am on pins and needles for this book. I absolutely loved Night Falls Darkly, my husband read it and enjoyed it too. I am definetly pouncing on So Still The Night as soon as I can.
by sara hurt January 5th, 2009 at 3:10 pmI am not big on resolutions myself either, because I never keep them
by Quilt Lady January 5th, 2009 at 7:02 pm