Hello, all!
Happy New Year!
We’ve officially made the jump into 2020, and with the new year brings a new decade.
I wanted to take a moment to wish you the best for your new year and to offer up some of my hopes for you all moving forward:
I hope that this year is successful for you, in your day-to-day life or art or work or whatever else you choose to fill it up with. I hope you can find something to brighten your day and things to look forward to. Be sure to make time for the people in your life that you really care about, and remember that means you, too. Don’t be afraid to treat yourself every once and a while. Finally, I hope you have a little fun doing what you do.
As far as resolutions, I have a few myself that I’m going to keep in mind moving forward:
- Be kinder to myself. Self-deprecation has only gotten me so far, and I think it’s time I start trying to practice personal kindness.
- Read more books. Ah man, I’m ashamed of the lack of reading I’ve been doing lately. I have shelves of books I want to finish, so reading is definitely going to get priority over the time I would spend, say, scrolling aimlessly on Facebook.
- Get back to school. Despite wanting to get back to school, I put it on the back burner while I got some other stuff in my life stabilized. I feel like I’m in a position where I can start doing the work I have to do to get back to school now.
- Be more intentional with my time. Specifically, creating a more consistent time for writing and then respecting that time and using it for the work it is supposed to be used for.
- Make more regular blog content. I try to do my best to keep you up-to-date with the big writing projects in my life, but in 2020 I would like to find a way to write more consistent content, perhaps not about my personal life but books and things like that in general. (I’m open to listening to ideas of what you might like to see on here, so shoot me a message or drop a comment!)
- And finally, have Novel #2 ready for agents by December 2020. I wanted to be able to tell you all that I finished the first draft today. I really did. But, in the spirit of trying to better myself, I’m trying not to beat myself up about it. But I’m closer to “The End” than I was back in November, so that’s something to be proud of. Going into 2020, though, I plan on hitting it hard with editing and the like to get it ready to start being shopped around by December.
2019 was a big year in my life. Between getting married, moving twice, and the ups and downs of building a new life for myself out here in Virginia, I have learned quite a bit about myself and plan on applying those lessons to my future endeavors. I’m excited for the adventures waiting for me in 2020 and can’t wait to take on the triumphs and challenges head-on.
Have a great day, everyone.
-Ashlynne
Ashlynne Doyle 