Every year, I lie to myself and my readers. I tell us I’m not going to make any New Year’s Resolutions–which is a resolution in itself, so I’ve already failed.

But I do make resolutions. Secretly, in the darkest recesses of my being, I whisper the hopes, dreams, and goals I have for the upcoming year. I face January 1st with an optimism that has to be renewed by January 7th–and again every Monday thereafter until I realize that I may as well give up on the year. That point usually hits around March. It would be sooner, but I always give myself a boost in February, telling myself that January 1 is everyone else’s new year’s, but mine hits on February 11. That little pep talk works for a while.

This year, I’m going to confess right up front: Yes, I have resolutions. Most are business related~~~

As a writer:

• I’d like to climb out of the muddle I’ve been in since Give the Lady a Ride debuted and develop a viable marketing plan.
• I want an agent for The Cat Lady’s Secret and have a publisher for it at least by the end of the year (a resolution that is totally out of my hands once I’ve sent it out on the publication trail).
• I want to finish The Simulacrum, a thriller I’m co-authoring with the master of great plot lines, Brad Seggie.
• I have an idea for a western romance series that I’d love to start, but I’d also like to write the drama, Corporate Ladder. That one has been on my heart for years, and I’d love to see it finished. Who knows? Maybe I can write it and start the series too. An author ought to be able to write more than one book a year, right? (To see what’s in the works, check the WIPs tab at the top of this page.)

As an editor:

The resolution is simple: Learn to say no! I’m sorry, no more free edits. I got so bogged down in 2011 with paid edits, PYP work, and my own work, that everything else in my life suffered. Granted, it didn’t help that I spent the bulk of the months from October 2010 through June 2011 away from home dealing with various family crises, but I still feel if I just learned to say no, I can pare down my work load considerably. Besides, I’ve discovered that when people pay for my services, they tend to be more serious. I have a lot of respect for those who are serious about their work. (Of course, I’ve already failed in this resolution, but since the failure happened on December 31, it doesn’t count.)

Note to my critique partners: The above paragraph does not mean you! My resolution pertaining to you guys is to go another entire year without ticking you off to the point we’re no longer friends. Work with me on that, okay?

As a reader:

• I want to continue pursuing my 2010 resolution to read every book Donald Maass used as an example in his The Fire in Fiction. I’m not out of the first chapter yet, but I’m still plugging.
• Also, I’m reading A Novel Idea, a comprehensive how-to writing manual co-authored by some of the biggest names in Christian fiction. In the back of the book is a list of all those contributing authors. I want to read one novel each. As awful as this is to admit, I’m so frequently disappointed with the works in this field that I’m beginning to wonder if I’m reading the wrong folks.
• This year, I’m going to keep quiet about some of the novels I’m reading so I won’t get into so much trouble when it comes to writing reviews.
• I wanna read for fun. How I miss some of my favorite authors . . .

Okay, now for the meaty stuff: my personal life. I have all sorts of resolutions for my personal life, most of which are, well, personal, so~~~sorry, I’m not sharing them here. But I will tell you this one: I must get into shape. Because of all the work I do on the computer, because of all the time I spend on my backside, I am now in the worst shape I’ve ever been in before. Let’s skip the evidence from the car, where road vibrations cause my thighs to jiggle like loosely-set Jello. Let’s skip the fact that walking down to the mail box and back can leave me panting and whipped. Let’s go straight to the terrifying idea that my heart’s been acting funky lately, and it scares me witless.

And I’m too chicken to go to the doctor about it right now.

This coming Friday, MSB will be having minor surgery on his eye. On the 19th, Mom will be going through another surgery. I can’t be sick. None of us can afford for me to be sick. Not right now.

So, since the doctor will probably tell me to exercise anyway, I got proactive and — get this — bought an exercise DVD.

If you’ve ever read my blog before, you know how I feel about exercise. You know deeply against the grain this goes for me. You know how much I love to play as long as that play can’t be classified as “exercise.”

And chances are huge you know the likelihood of me keeping this resolution. But I bought the DVD last month, and it came in December 30.

Later on today, I’ll actually open it. I think.

*****

Related posts:

• I Heart Mondays
• The Dark Side of Christian Reviews
• You Go, Girl!
• Don’t Call It Exercise