If you’re the kind to make New Year’s resolutions, how do you decide what it will be? Is it something you wish you would have done over the last year, something you hope to continue, or maybe a brand-new endeavor you have planned?
For the past two years I’ve participated in a “Fresh Start” writing program – a full week of online workshops dedicated to gearing up for the next year. It mostly applies to writing, but the workshop leaders encourage improvement in more than just writing.
Looking back on my ambitions for 2025, I have achieved several goals, am still striving toward others, and although I may have ‘failed’ at achieving some of them, I have made bigger strides than ever before. My debut novel hit some bumps and road blocks through the year and will be pushed to a Q2 2026 release (I’ll keep you updated, of course). The book has gone to a professional editor – I worked on other projects including the next two upcoming books while waiting – but due to some life events my debut is still waiting for proofreading.
I had hoped that my second and third books would be drafted (book 2) and outlined (book 3) by the end of the year. Big life changes – including my son starting college and the whole family moving across the country – happened, along with a complete overhaul of book 2, which has put me behind. But I didn’t stop writing. I put work in on these tasks, as well as some other writing projects.
Another big change I made this year in just the last month or so was to ramp up my social media presence. If you follow my socials, you’ll notice an increase in the frequency/amount of posts. Memes, pictures, and ‘fun facts’ join my regular weekly blog post to keep you all updated and engaged.
This year was also a year of learning. I learned what it took to force myself to sit down and write, and how easy it was to make sure I wrote just a little each day. I learned to use new tools to make my writing live easier by scheduling and automating posts to avoid the need to write a blog post or remember to interact with you all on social media. Soon I’ll sit down with myself to decide the direction I’d like to take for 2026. I hope for bigger and better things to come!
And last but not least, thank you to you all who have followed this blog and my social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Substack). You help get me and my work ‘out there’ so it can be enjoyed.
Tell me about your 2025 – what did you achieve, big or small? What are you goals for 2026? Let’s talk on Facebook!