New Year’s resolutions for writers

January is the prime time to reflect, refresh, and restart work on personal and professional goals. For all types of writers, from budding bloggers to established authors, January offers the opportunity to introduce ambitious yet achievable writing targets for the coming year.

Whether you want to improve your physical pen-and-paper writing ability or finally move that novel from mind to page, get inspired with fresh ideas to take on the new year. 

Write by hand every day

The digital age means we use laptops, computers, and even smartphones for most writing tasks these days, from jotting down an idea to crafting a complete manuscript. Physically picking up a pen and scribbling on paper can introduce various benefits that may improve your written quality.

It’s not simply about perfecting cursive or developing neater handwriting. One study found that handwriting increases brain connectivity. This deepens content processing, which could help you analyse your writing more effectively and review it in greater detail as you go. 

Handwriting is slower, so if time is of the essence while in the midst of a task, you could set an achievable resolution to pick up the pen more. Try handwriting a diary entry every day, switching to a handwritten shopping list, or copying down poetry or song lyrics you’re passionate about.

Define your writing practice

Developing a writing routine provides structure and helps you dedicate enough time to the craft. This is essential for working towards your goals and staying on track throughout the year. It’s easy to begin with good intentions but quickly fall out of practice by February.

There’s no correct way to define a writing practice, as it’s different for everyone. Factors such as how much time you can dedicate to writing, your ultimate goal (whether writing a novel, blogging, or mastering calligraphy), your job and home life all influence your practice.

These are some considerations to help define your writing practice:

• Set a word count — this could be daily or weekly.
• Assign a set number of minutes or hours to write.
• Sit down and write at the same time every day.
• Commit to writing a paragraph or chapter each day.
• Visit the same coffee shop with a notebook to write in once a week.

Switch genres

Challenge yourself to develop your writing by tackling a different genre. Being too comfortable can lead to stagnation and a lack of inspiration, so push yourself into a new writing world. It could be a small shift, such as from romance to fantasy short stories, or something even bigger.

If working on marketing copy is your forte, why not give something more creative a go, like poetry or sketch comedy writing? Or if fiction is your go-to, then moving into non-fiction, such as writing a biography or memoir, could test and hone your skills.

Inspiration for working in different genres can come from anywhere. Think about the last funny thing that happened to you and try to write it as a sketch. You could even make up a memoir for your pet, imagining life through their eyes and transforming it into a mini autobiography.

Read and research

Reading work by many authors across various genres that use different writing styles can provide inspiration for your own work. It helps you discover what works and how the experts put together everything from individual sentences to complete stories.

Whether you’re working on fiction or non-fiction, reading is also essential for research. Writing what you know is a good starting point, but expanding your knowledge to introduce fresh ideas and add depth is even better.

Incorporate regular reading as a resolution by setting a target for the coming year. Create an achievable goal on as granular a level as you like, which could be something like reading a set number of:

• news articles a day
• books in a month
• pages of a novel/chapters per day.

Try calligraphy

Give calligraphy a try

A fun way to physically write more in the new year is to practice calligraphy. The art of decorative handwriting is a great method to get the creative juices flowing, focus on attention to detail, and boost your mindfulness.

All you need to get started is a pen, paper, and some inks for calligraphy. There are plenty of online guides and videos that teach the basics. Build up from individual letters to words and then complete sentences. You’ll soon develop your own style.

Initially, it can be best to copy an existing text, but as you progress, you might start writing out your own prose from scratch. To stay on track, you could set a goal to write a set number of letters, lines, or pages a day, week, or month.

Regularly clean your pens

Good pen maintenance helps extend your pen’s life and the quality of its output. This is especially important for calligraphy, as you don’t want dried ink interfering with your beautiful letters. If you found yourself with blocked and broken pens last year, then a resolution for regular cleaning could be the solution. 

Set a calendar reminder to clean every fountain pen nib you own once a month. You can clean ballpoint, gel pens, and others at the same time, but fountain pens should be the focus, as they’re more likely to have problems. Use appropriate pen cleaning utensils to avoid damaging the pen.

Meet monthly with other writers

Writing is mostly a solitary pursuit but help from others is incredibly valuable. Meeting with other writers regularly can provide motivation by discussing common challenges, working out solutions to any problems, and taking on any advice.

If you’ve been writing solo, then set a New Year’s resolution to have a monthly meet-up with other writers. This could be a one-on-one coffee catchup, joining a local creative writing group, or an online community. 

Being part of a writing community isn’t just about the writing side of things. Expanding your network can introduce you to people with knowledge and skills about editing, publishing, marketing, and more to help meet your goals.

Set a weekly word count challenge

New Year’s resolutions must be specific to help you stay on track. Having a defined goal or exact number to work towards is a great option to motivate yourself and measure your progress over the year. A weekly word count challenge offers an effective way to keep you on target. 

This could be writing the same number of words weekly or you might build it up gradually each week. Set a realistic challenge with a target number of words that fits with your schedule and aims, whether it’s to write a book or simply keep up with regular blog posts.

If you start to struggle at all, then explore our tips to keep writers writing in the new year and beyond.