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Talking 'Bout A Resolution by Marsha Diane Arnold

1/8/2015

3 Comments

 
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Merging on a road in New Hampshire. (photo by Marsha Diane Arnold)
I’m often the last adopter, the one taking the road less traveled, but it is January and everyone is talking about resolutions, so I’ll merge onto the highway.

There’s a school of thought that believes you should keep your resolutions to yourself. Another school thinks sharing them helps you stay true. I suspect both ways work.

This January, the members of my Cliffhangers writing group decided to share our resolutions with one another. One member is organizing them and emailing the list to each of us, so we can remember in December what we promised ourselves in January. We are laying our dreams bare. The plan is to help keep one another on track. If you have a supportive writing group, I encourage you to try this method.
 

Some folks believe you should only make a resolution that’s practical, one you know there’s a real possibility of reaching. That would be a resolution like writing thirty minutes a day or sending out five queries to agents within the next two months. Others think that visions are acceptable on your resolution list. Visions might include things that are not in your hands (or that most people believe are not in your hands.) They'd say that you can’t set a goal to win the Caldecott because that's in the Caldecott committee's hands.

The Cliffhangers decided to make resolutions in both areas. But even visions may need tempering. If you have yet to be published, writing down a vision to win the Caldecott might be skipping ahead too far. Instead, try making your vision getting published by a good publisher, then set goals that will help that vision come to fruition.

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The Cliffhangers: Deborah Davis, Liz Scarpelli, Dashka Slater, moi, Alisha Niehaus Berger, Rachel Rodriguez. Writer friends "to die" for.
There are lots of things and lots of emotions that can take us off track as we pursue our resolutions. Becoming discouraged and being anxious are two of them. There’s a quote, often attributed to one popularly known as Lao Tzu, that may help in side-stepping these negative emotions. "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” We as writers often become despondent over rejections, but a rejection is in the past, even if you just read it. We are frequently anxious about whether we will ever find an agent or an editor who wants to publish our book, but anxiety doesn’t help our writing. It’s never beneficial. To move forward, the best place for us to be is the present, writing our story.

Resolutions. Goals. Visions. These are all ways of reminding us that our talent will rise and shine only if it moves hand in hand with action. 

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Have yourself a rainbow vision! (photo by Marsha Diane Arnold)
Marsha grew up on a Kansas farm many years ago, but she still loves cows in the pasture, going barefoot, and baking her Swiss-German grandmother's poppy seed Mohnkuchen.

An award-winning picture book author, Marsha has six upcoming picture books/board books slated for 2015/2016. The first, Lost. Found., from Neal Porter Books, will be out this fall.

Her Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books course has helped many published and aspiring writers to write stronger characters. Read more at www.marshadianearnold.com or hop over to Facebook to like her author page.
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3 Comments
Charlotte Dixon
1/9/2015 09:31:06 am

Great post to get some positive thoughts flowing. I like to set goals for myself and move forward to reach them. I do stumble with uncertainty and fight those negative emotions. It's a process, but I keep moving forward. You and your critique group are fortunate to have each other. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2015!

Reply
Maria Oka
1/15/2015 01:08:21 pm

Thank you Marsha! This is phenomenal. I am trying so very hard to be in the present, and you know what? I am seeing daily progress! Yay for that. Wonderful reminders, and I am rather jealous of your fabulous writing group. ;)

Reply
Marsha Diane Arnold link
2/13/2015 07:44:02 am

Thank YOU, Maria and Charlotte. Life is a process :) and living in the present a continuous challenge. I so appreciate your comments. A wonderful 2015 to you too.

Reply



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    Meet the Friday Blogonauts

    First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    Second Fridays will feature  awesome multi-award winning author Marsha Diane Arnold who will be writing about character-driven and/or nature-based books and/or anything she likes :)

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    Fourth Fridays will feature the great Christine Taylor-Butler who has published over 70 award-winning fiction and non-fiction and nonfiction books including the acclaimed new middle grade series - The Lost Tribes.

    Fifth Fridays will feature the fabulous Carl Angel award-winning multi-published Illustrator and graphic designer.


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  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship