Welcome to 2019.

Happy New Year.

I've had a great break - a really relaxing time with family and friends. We didn't travel anywhere really, but managed to catch up with some people. Mostly we relaxed and ate great food. And I didn't over-eat or feel bloated.

The car decided to get a puncture on Christmas Eve, and of course they don't supply spare tyres anymore.  But this was a puncture where the spray can of foam stuff and nursing the car to the garage wasn't going to cut it. It meant, however, we either stayed at home or walked for a few days, which at this time of the year isn't necessarily a bad thing.

New Year's Eve was pretty quiet. We did stay up but went to bed shortly afterwards. I had too much to do on my secret project the next day to be up too late. And yes, I did get lots and lots done.

As I said in a recent post, I don't really do the whole resolution thing. I make my plans as I go, prioritising and re-prioritising as need be. I do have some plans for this year, one of which is to try and keep track of the books I read. I made a list a few years ago, just on a word document for myself, and if I can find it, I might even post it. This year, however, will be the only other time I have kept track of my reading. I've decided to add a page to this website and make the list public. Have look sometime.

I also plan to write more. You might even see some longer fiction emerging. You just never know.

But I have work to do now, and need to be gone from this page. All the best for the coming year.

New Years And New Plans.

At the beginning of every year people make plans and resolutions.

Not me.

If I want to make a change, then I try to do it. No need to align with a date of imaginary importance. I think the last resolution I made (and didn't keep) was back in the 20th Century. I just don't really see the point. I suppose a large part of that is my failure to keep my resolutions.

I do, however, use New Year as a time of reflection and planning for the future. Nothing formal, simply a few thoughts about what I have done and what I hope to achieve. Writing usually pops into my brain, as does playing my guitar more often with the intent to improve. And there's sometimes something about exercise and planning earlier for work.

You might be asking right now what the difference is between these and resolutions. Simple. This is merely planning, and I don't make it a promise.

As the Australian academic year rolls around, this was the time when we had our summer break. This was when I had some free time to get on with things and I needed to start preparing for the commencement of the school year.

Of course that doesn't apply here in the UK. The extended break is in July and August. So this year I took the opportunity to eat well and go for long walks with Lindsey and the dogs.

Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year.

Start All Over Again.

I was hoping to have more good writing news to finish off the year, but sadly it seems as though that's not going to be the case. On the other hand, I do hope to shortly have some to see in the New Year. And that would get 2015 off to a flying start.

It's been a good year for me, although one that has been slightly odd. Changing schools in March, then finishing up there as the work dried up. Prepping to return to my old school. A great trip to the UK and Turkey, catching up with family and then going to Worldcon in London. A fabulous week in Istanbul and spending time with an old friend from Tokyo days. Setting goals and focusing on writing self-discipline, and actually seeing results from it. (Who'd have thought?) And having a few epiphanies about myself along the way.

Resolutions? I don't believe in them, and I don't make them. I believe if you want to change something, then just get straight into it. You don't need to wait until New Year to get started.

I do, however, see New Year as a time to wipe the slate clean and start again. Time passes, and years are what we use to measure that passage. As a teacher, who works to a calender academic year, I see this time as very much the ending and beginning. A time of recovery, re-energising and rebirth, so to speak.

And I feel writing wise, 2014, although successful in many ways, was not all I hoped it would be. It was the year I put several plans into action. It was the year I developed long-term writing plans. I know where I'm going and what I'm doing next year. And I have high hopes it will happen.

Happy New Year.

Smart Goals.

And so 2013 begins. I hope you all had a relaxing Christmas and New Year.

I was planning to write about an article by Germaine Greer that I read last week, but my friend Gitte Christensen beat me to it. So I'll simply link to her comments, and write about my plans instead.

I have made a number of plans for this year - I hesitate to call them resolutions. Resolutions have always felt a little flaky to me. My goals are definite and clearly defined.

Goals need to be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Anything less is simply a vague notion or a good intention.

• I aim to write a minimum of 35 stories this year. 
• I aim to submit them all.
• I aim to sell a minimum of 15 stories. 
• I aim to sell at least three to professional markets.
• I aim to SFWA qualify.

I also have  goals connected with writing, such as attending conventions and so on, and these too will be undertaken. And very specific goals that I won't elaborate upon in this blog. Be sure that I will achieve them all. And, hopefully, achieve well above and beyond them.

Have you defined your goals for this year?

Resolutions.

I'm not really one for making resolutions, although I can understand why some people find the beginning of a new year the right time to effect change. New beginnings and all that. I've just always figured if you want or need to change something, then do it.

And I could make promises about writing more regularly, but the truth is that life gets in the way and I write when I can.

Goals for 2012? Well, that's another matter. And yes, I have some goals. They're similar to last years goals, only further along the master plan, the big picture.

I was able to achieve last year's goals - even better them, and hopefully I can do that again this year.

Happy New Year.