Everyone around me has been a little cranky about the end of 2015 this week. “Why do we have to wait until New Year’s to change things? I hate New Year’s resolutions!”
Well, first of all, you don’t have to wait. If you don’t like New Year’s resolutions, don’t make them. That’s why I make goals toward the end of the year and start working on them right away.
Second of all, don’t worry about what other people are doing. Some people (me – you?) just need the vibe of a brand-new year to get going again. It’s like a reset button. An automatic full recharge. You may not need that, but some people do.
2015 was a weird year for me. A very odd mix of good and awful things. I started two new jobs and had to say goodbye to one of them (my primary source of income at the time, so as you can imagine, the last half of the year has been a little hard). I started and got halfway through graduate school – I’m feeling a little burned out but hopefully in a few weeks I’ll feel ready to tackle the last half.
I finished writing one book. Started a new one. Decided I’m going to finish two in 2016 (more on that “next year”) among a few other secret writing projects (though not a secret for much longer!). I started writing for a few new websites, which has taught me a lot about modern web content and what I do and do not love about different styles of content creation, reproduction and editorial processes.
I started this blog (sort of). That’s been pretty cool. I won’t talk about that much here – I already have, on here and in my newsletter (which you should totally sign up for if you want some more awesome stuff from me). I’ve learned so much since I started posting regularly in June. For one thing, it zaps a lot of energy, writing a blog post every day, but it is so, so worth it. And I get a few extra cups of coffee out of the deal, so everybody wins.
What am I looking forward to in 2016? Well it’s much easier to say what I’m looking forward to leaving behind from 2015. All my insecurities about the things I’ve decided to do with this blog is a big one. Yeah, even I still get nervous about some posts and that podcast that only has two episodes and the super awesome writing project I’m developing as I write this.
Sometimes I know I’m writing a post not many people will like or respond to. Like this one. Hey, that’s okay. That’s not why I’m doing this. Everyone who comes here, comes here for a different reason. I have to keep that in mind while I’m developing content. Not everything is going to resonate with every reader. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned. Some of you come here for my monthly Dear John letters. Some of you come for my rants. And I’m assuming some of you actually come for the tips and advice, which I do appreciate, believe me.
I worry too much about this blog. I wrestle with things like: do I want to bother with advertising? Not really, because Novelty just wouldn’t be the same with ads and sponsored content. Am I doing too much of something my readers don’t want? Not enough of something they do? Am I not promoting enough or doing enough activities on our Facebook page? Should I do a survey? Do I even have enough readers to get good results from a survey?
Do I want to invite additional writers to contribute to our daily content? Well, I sort of do that already. But if you didn’t know that, there’s a link up a ways to fix that.
I foresee big things for this blog this year. I wish I could tell you all of them. I do hope you continue to stick around. I do hope that, at least once a week or once a month, I post something that helps or inspires you. That is the most important thing to me: that when I hit publish, someone out there is going to feel inspired to sit down and write something.
It’s hard. I know. All of it. Work, school, words, trying to be better, setting goals, setting smaller goals. Life in general. Looking back on a year isn’t always completely reassuring. I am always here for you. That might not mean much. But you are my priority. You can make the changes you want to make, and write that story you’ve been putting off. This is a great time of year to start. A new year. A new writing schedule. New writing goals. Maybe even a new you.
I’ll see you in 2016, Noveltiers. I should probably stop calling you that.
Nah.
Love&hugs, Meg<3
Image courtesy of Novelty Revisions.
Meg is the managing editor at College Lifestyles magazine, a guest contributor with Lifehack and a guest blogger for Food & Nutrition Magazine. She is an eight-time NaNoWriMo winner and has also written for Teen Ink and USA TODAY College. Follow Meg on Twitter.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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