The beginning of a new year always seems to inspire resolutions. I don’t really like resolutions, I prefer goals. Taking a look at what has been working, what hasn’t. Where I’d like to be in a year’s time. What I need to take care of, what bad habits I’ve fallen into. So for me it’s much more about resetting priorities. I like to read the monthly shamanic forecast from Power Path, it’s quite inspiring and usually spot on with what is happening in my life. January’s theme is indeed “Resetting Priorities“. Inspired by this I set a new assignment on Diving Deeper which focuses on priorities regarding our writing, our creativity. In the assignment I ask questions like: What are the ways I avoid creative writing? What are the ways I avoid going deeper with my writing/creativity? What is the ‘next step’ for me and my writing?

I feel fairly on track with my writing, apart from the fact I haven’t been working on my novel since September. I put the first draft to bed, to rest awhile, to give me some separation from it so when I start editing, it will be easier. Well, that’s the hope. And the year is starting off fairly intensely with my trip to Sri Lanka to give a talk at the Galle Literary Festival (January 26 – 30), and also for the British Council in Colombo on the 2nd of February.

I am actually being ‘forced’ to read what I’ve written before I leave for Sri Lanka as I have to choose 25 pages to workshop for Sirenland in March.

If I have a particular priority to reset, I would say it is to do some daily writing, even if it’s not on the novel, and to do this before I do anything else… in particular before I communicate and connect with others via my computer. I very much enjoy my social life via Diving Deeper, Facebook and Twitter, but if I’m not careful most of my workable day can whizz past on these and other sites, and by the time I get to doing some writing, I have no energy.