Resolutions

Christmas has passed, the trees are evenly lined up on the side of the road, and 2010 slowly breathes its last gasps. Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions.  I am compiling a list and checking it twice and have even planned on sharing it this week with my writers group, but in the meantime, I wanted to share the one item I plan to stick to no matter what this year.

RESOLUTION #1: I WILL WRITE FOR AT LEAST ONE HALF HOUR EVERY DAY.

That’s it.

Writing is a job, and lately, I have been showing up to work late, or not at all. Some days I’m too tired, other days I prefer to come home and watch Netflix on Demand (which is like TV, except better, because it shows lots more Fawlty Towers). A half hour of writing is not unreasonable, and gives me time to do other things, like watch Netflix. It’s enough time to get excited and not enough to intimidate me.

I notice that in the past during these mandated half-hour stretches, I tend to goof off on the internet for twenty minutes and then write for ten minutes. Instead, I plan to take the Jonathan Franzen approach and disconnect the internet. My only worry is with my spotty technical knowledge, I won’t be able to reconnect the internet. Of course, that’s a 2011 worry.

If I can write a page in a half hour, and write every day, that’s 365 pages, or the equivalent of about four screenplays. That easily bests my grand total of zero screenplays from 2010. I just have to stick with the plan. I’m pretty compulsive about other things (read: Netflix) so I shouldn’t have too much of a problem with this—I hope.

What are your resolutions? Please respond in the comments.

And Happy New Years!