A to Z Challenge 2013

Monday, January 3, 2011

A New Year...With A More Refined Goal

Welcome to 2011, everyone.  Hopefully everyone's holidays were wonderful, with lots of good food, good times, and fun family moments.  I know some of you have had to deal with personal tragedies and difficulties recently, but I hope this new year will bring you great things - great enough to help you overcome those difficulties.

As you can see, I have made some changes here.  The foremost (to me at least) is the description of this blog (directly under the title).  It used to read "This blog is one author's attempts to work through those dry deserts known as writers block, using free writings, ramblings, and plain old storytelling."  I think the new description more adequately describes what I'm here for.  It's also a bit more of a positive outlook on who I am and what you can expect when you come here.  Rather than focusing on the moments when I am unable to write or have difficulty writing (which I hope will be less often this year), I've chosen to focus on what I really want to strive for.  In essence, I want to be a good writer.  There will still be some stories, some free writings, or ramblings.  I am just choosing to focus on the writing itself rather than the dry deserts between bouts of writing.  Heck, with a few rain dances, I might just eliminate those deserts completely.  Sorry, no Youtube videos scheduled for these performances.

I've also changed the background and colors, partially because I wanted something new.  I like the torn and yellowing page in the background.  In one way, it reminds me of my writing.  The edges are a little rough, but the page has lots of room for improvement.  As for the blue banner and tone, I guess I just like that color.

I'm really energized for the new year.  I got up this morning and did some exercise (pushups) before heading off to work.  I've made a few tweaks on the blog (and there may be more coming, who knows).  And I'm actually looking forward to getting home this evening and squeezing in some writing time.

My vacation was wonderful (the whole reason I was absent for the past 10 days).  I slept in a little bit, spent lots of time with the family, and didn't do homework OR writing.  Now some of you may be cringing out there as you imagine how much writing I could have gotten done during such a break, and I completely understand. But I needed to take a moment and examine where I was and where I want to be.  Take stock of things.  So while my goal of being an exceptional writer hasn't changed, I'm more energized to work on it because of the break.

There will be more fun coming as the week unfolds.  And I hope everyone else is ready for a great year.  I am overly optimistic, and I'm really looking forward to what new works I can create.  How about you?  Do you have some goals for this year?

10 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I like the new motto. And I'm okay without a YouTube video as well.
I did squeeze in some writing time over the break. So this year, my goal is to polish the sequel to my book to the point my publisher will accept it.
May we both experience success!

Windy Aphayrath said...

I like the new motto, focusing on the good is always a positive thing, I think. And I also have to say, I'm liking the torn yellowed pages also. If only I had any idea what I was doing when it comes to bloggerly stuff. Then maybe I wouldn't have to always use whatever templates Blogger decided to give me.

Everyone needs a break sometimes. Glad you had a great time off.

Personally, of course I have some new goals for the new year, but they're not much different from my goals for last year. 1-Get Agent. 2-Sell Book. 3-Write Another. Repeat steps 2 & 3. :)

Eric said...

Alex - Heh heh, you don't want to see me in some kind of spastic dance, resplendent with tights? Yeah, good choice. Trust me. Good luck on the sequel.

Windy - It's funny. I know a little bit about creating web pages (okay, more than a little bit) and yet I haven't taken the time to create something truly unique. Not that I have tons of time, but anyway. Good luck with your goals for this year though.

True Life and Fiction said...

Hey Eric, glad you're back.

I took some time off work as well. I kept writing just a little though since I cannot seem to "not" write-it's a sickness.

Had my first paranormal fantasy erotic novel published at the beginning of December. It has been selling very well overall, and is now available in paperback as well. I've now been sucked into publishing. Again, I'm discovering it is like a sickness and I am quickly becoming addicted to the whole process, although daunting and extremely tiring. I think I'm social networked to death.

I might be calling (read, begging) for your help on web page development. I published under a pen name and am having trouble keeping my second life straight. My pen name is Ellison James and the book is called "Lovestruck Succubus."

Anyway, glad to have you back in the world. Love the new look of your blog. Wishing you all the best for this year.

Eric said...

JL - Thanks for the welcome back. Congrats on the publication. I wonder if I can pick that one up without the wife making comments? Heh heh. Anyway, that's too cool. I can't promise I'm awesome with web work, but I'm more than happy to give you a hand if need be. Drop me a line at e stallsworth at comcast d0t net if you like. And here's hoping your year continues to be just as successful as December was for you.

DEZMOND said...

Happy New Year, Eric, to you and your family! It's nice to hear that you had a nice and relaxing vacation!

Elizabeth McKenzie said...

Wow, Eric, you are energized for sure. Keep up the spirit and don't let anyone bring you down. Be you own best friend.

triles said...

Like the new look and motto Eric. Of course, your writing is the real draw-always know I'm going to read something worthwhile here.

I have a few writing goals for the year:
*keep submitting my completed short story-love to get it published
*finish my book-56k in-edit-start querying
*solid writing on my blog

Michelle McLean said...

I love the new look! And the new motto :) My main goal is just to get writing again. I haven't written any new words in far too long. My fiction is going to have to take a back seat until Feb though....but, I should have some shiny new non-fiction words soon, which I love too :D

Eric said...

Dez - Thank you. I wish you and yours the same.

Elizabeth - Yep, I'm really feeling ready for the new year. Here's hoping we both have a great year.

Tim Riley - Thanks. And thank you very much for the compliment. I'm glad you stop by. I like your goals. Good luck with them.

Michelle - Thanks. I'm sure you'll be writing new stuff soon enough. Good luck on both your fiction and non-fiction projects.