My Hopes for the New Year! by Kathryne Kennedy

My hopes for a HappyNew Year!

Health. Since I haven’t had it in a while, and it has caused me to fall behind on all of my goals.

A chance to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones.

Peace within and without.

Patience. With everything.

You. My reader. Trying my best to continue to write magical stories that can help you escape the real world for a little while.

Never Criticize, Condemn, or Complain. I read this years ago and it has been my mantra since, although it’s really hard to follow all the time.

Endeavoring to continue to show more love to family, friends, and my darling dogs.

Write, write, write!

Yucky stuff in, yucky stuff out. Keeping the good stuff coming into my brain, keeps good stuff coming out of my mouth.

Exciting new opportunities!

Always continuing to focus on the positive.

Reading as many new books as possible.

What hopes would you write for each letter? Sometimes when you put them in concrete form it’s easier to focus on them. And I do hope yours, and mine,  come true this year!

My Magical Best,

Kathryne

http://www.KathryneKennedy.com

New Year's Resolutions

Every New Year's Eve the topic of resolutions comes up. I resist making them, but usually give in. This year I've decided to think of them as continued growth in areas that concern me.

1, Organizing my home. I've started cleaning out the old already. I finally gave up my VHS tapes. Well, most of them. They went to Good Will today along with old cups and glasses I rarely use. I still need to place old pictures into albums and scan paperwork I want to toss.

2.  Increase my writing time. I've decided to keep the laptop on my lap while watching TV if I haven't written that day. This will allow me to open the file and work at a leisurely pace. I think I procrastinate sometimes because writing is work even if it is my passion. I don't know anyone who writes a perfect draft every time.

3. Increase promotion. My new laptop is helping tremendously. The touchscreen has allowed me to place my social media on my start screen. The links are at my fingertips. This too can be accomplished during TV time. Right now, we are watching The Sopranos.

4. Diet. I already reduced my sugar intake which helped me drop ten pounds. Next, I am going to reduce snacking. Changing one area of my life at a time is the key for me.

I hope your new year is everything you want it to be whether you make a resolution or not.

Until next time,
happy reading and writing.
Tina Swayzee McCright

A Lesson From Reese

Today was one of those days when The Universe conspires to send a message. On Facebook, I read a post from a writer who bashed the ability of well-known authors. She felt they should be cast aside to make room for newbies. Her frustration came through loud and clear even if I don't agree with such posts.

Later, I watched 60 Minutes. Reese Witherspoon spoke about the difficult time she went through after her divorce. Despite receiving an Oscar, she was having trouble finding projects that she was passionate about. Her career floundered. She was probably as frustrated as the writer on Facebook today. Reese finally decided to start her own production company and optioned two books before they were published. (I assume she received advanced reader copies.) She wanted to make movies that mattered to her. The first movie she produced was Gone Girl. Her new company made millions.

Reese reminded me that I need to write books that mean something to me, not just books that might get published by the big guys. Traditional publishers are going to stick predominately with the authors who sell millions. They are in business to make money. I don't need to be another Carol Higgins Clark or Nora Roberts to be happy, although it would be nice. I just need to know I am tapping into my creativity, using my voice, and putting out a quality product. Today, authors are fortunate. There are many avenues we can take to publish our books. We don't have to sink money into a production company to share our craft with the world the way Reese did. I don't know about the woman on Facebook, but I plan to focus on writing what makes me happy and not worry about who publishes it or how much money I make.

Until next time,
happy reading and writing.
Tina Swayzee McCright