A Fresh New Year

It's a fresh new year for all of us writers! Take a little time to make some plans and set some goals for your writing in 2009.

One thing you can do is write every day. Write in a journal, work on a story or essay, try different types of poetry.

Another thing is to read every day. Read widely, not just in the genre you want to write in. The more you learn, the more ideas will be floating around in your brain to draw upon. You might stumble across a historical incident that you could base a short story on, or read an essay that sparks an idea for a novel.

A third thing is to practice observing life around you. Whatever your circumstances, you can improve your observations about people, places, and things. Practice writing descriptions of what you observe.

You also might want to set a goal of submitting a short story, poem, or essay to a magazine (mainstream or literary). Read up on submission guidelines for the places you want to submit. Read sample issues (often you can read some samples of what the publication uses online or read sample issues at the library, thus doing your research for free).

You'll be able to think of other things you can do to further your writing. Make it a productive year!