Vickie Fee

Never too late to start writing

Like many people I start each January with a list of resolutions of all the things I’m going to accomplish during this calendar year. You know the list – ambitious, optimistic, unrealistic goals. Most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by March and have forgotten all about them by April. 

Not me.

Image Pixabay: I’ve got bits and pieces of a really good novel idea.

I stop actively pursuing those goals by March, but I tell (lie to) myself that I’ll get back to them. November is generally the month that I drag out the list and convince (lie to) myself that it’s not too late – that I just have to make an aggressive game plan, and maybe scale back a bit. 

Why November? Because I don’t want to get bummed out (drunk) New Year’s Eve, ruminating how I didn’t check any items off my resolutions list. And because I’m realistic enough to know I’ll be much too busy in December with Christmas stuff.

So, here’s my 2024 revised (fantasy) list of resolutions for November:

  • Lose weight. I know I’m not going to lose forty or fifty pounds like I’d planned in January. But I can still lose thirty. A pound a day, right? Plan: eat only green things that have almost no calories, except for a thin slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving alongside my thin slice of lean turkey breast, no gravy.
  • Get my home organized. Color code everything. Pare down my belongings. Embrace minimalism. Make room for joy. Plan: Invite Marie Kondo to move in with me.
  • Organize my writing. Update (start) my character bible. Corral all my research. Stop scribbling notes on the backs of envelopes. Start outlining; stop pantsing. Plan: Use Scrivener. I actually have installed Scrivener on my computer. (My husband installed Scrivener on my computer. But, I have watched the intro tutorial).
Image Pixabay: If I actually do get a novel written this year, I’ll be camping out between the pages.

In addition to getting serious about my New Year’s resolutions, I shall tepidly attempt NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which participants write a 50,000-word novel during November. I figure it should be a cinch once I get organized. And as soon as I figure out how to use Scrivener the novel will practically write itself, right?

What I’ll actually accomplish: I’ll write one very excellent paragraph, so I’m not facing a blank page in January. 

You probably won’t see me (anymore than usual) on Facebook this month. Wish me luck! Weigh in on your resolutions list (for this year —or next.)

18 thoughts on “Never too late to start writing”

  1. Impressive list, Vicki. I use Scrivener for everything (books, blogs, templates, PDFs, Word doc exchanges, ebook format, print book format, etc.). It’s like a Swiss army knife, and I’ve yet to exhaust its potential. Best of all, it just works! For creating a bible of character profiles, settings, etc., I know of no other system that works as like Scrivener. If you’re into creating each scene as if it’s a short story, packed with all the details readers crave, you’ll find ‘Custom Metadata’ does the job. Yes, there’s a learning curve, but once learned, you’ll never start writing without it. If you get stuck, just let me hear from you through the contact form on my site. Glad to share the tips picked up over the last decade. Oh, if you want to know how Custom Metadata can help write scenes, enter that term into TYB’s search box. My best to you with your New Year’s resolutions!

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      1. You brought up a key point. Scrivener’s ‘Custom Metadata’ is so flexible, serving writers as a real-time checklist on the chief details readers crave. A spreadsheet can capture the same data; however, that requires switching back and forth, often losing details and productivity. Once a writer sets up the Scrivener template, it can be used again and again, making it easy to edit scenes before, during, and after writing.

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  2. Best of luck in your revised/updated resolutions, Vickie! I abandoned resolutions a number of years ago, as the slacker in me didn’t want to deal with that pressure anymore. Though, I’m starting a new job in a few weeks that’s on-site, so I guess I resolve to get up and get going in the morning. Cheers!

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  3. I hear ya, girl. I’m trying to draft a new mystery right now, and tell myself that as long as I write at least one paragraph each session, that’s something. And the good thing is that it seems as if simply getting my butt in the chair is the hardest part–once I do that, I can usually get a least a page or two written!

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  6. hestia here.

    Vickie, you sound a lot like me. Except I abandon resolutions by Valentine’s Day, if not earlier.

    I do Nanowrimo faithfully each November. My goal is to write a full draft, no matter how choppy, as long as I reach the magic words The End. If I don’t, I tend to not move forward with it.

    My goals for the rest of this year is to

    Finish my first draft of the museum docent mystery this month. I’m guessing about 75k, and I hit 41k last night. My goal in December is to do my second revision of my butler story (while I’m out of town for work the first two weeks) so it’s ready for beta readers come January.

    Do a fast filling out of setting, reactions, and senses in the museum docent story during the holiday break so I can send it out in 1st revision mode to a couple of friends (one who said if I don’t write the story he will steal the idea and do it himself).

    Post a writing though every other day on my new writer Facebook page and get my website noticed by some friends.

    Next year my priority is to find a publisher for my first book and work revisions on my two above stories.

    if you need any help with Scrivener, like Grant, I’ve been using it for over a decade. Definitely a game changer for organizing and then writing. And yes to the metadata!

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  7. I love the updated list, Vickie! After Marie’s tour chez toi, please send her my way, as my junk drawer has become a junk closet and threatens to become a junk room!

    I am not typically a resolution-er. I like to start each year with a theme to guide me. Last year was Peacefulness. Still contemplating this year!

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  8. In November, I’ve long forgotten about any resolutions (not that I do them anymore, but I often have a one-word aim for the year–which, alas, I’ve since forgotten).

    I gotta try for that one paragraph a day goal! When holidays roll around, I seem to write slower and slower.

    But for those striving foward: I know SinC is having a November Marathon of write-ins for members, which has been really motivating for people.

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