My No-Resolutions Resolution

Happy 2010 to all and I hope your holidays were filled with magic -- and chocolate. Also, I need to give a shout-out to my fellow Sister, Lacey, for the new, cool pic that adorns our blog. I love it!

WHY I DON'T MAKE RESOLUTIONS
I've read a lot of blogs lately about resolutions and goals for the new year. I love the start of each year -- for me, it's symbolic of a fresh start and gives me an extra boost of motivation. What I don't love are resolutions. They don't work for me. Never have. One year, I made a resolution that involved exercising 3X per week. I thought I'd start small so I'd succeed. Right. I lasted maybe 3 weeks and it was pure torture for me -- worse than doing dishes -- so I gave up. Later, I discovered yoga which I love and guess how often I do it? Yep, at least 3 times a week but because I want to, not because I should do it. I've learned that I rebel against goals, even self-created ones, if I'm not really invested. No more resolutions for me!

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION
So instead of giving myself resolutions, I give myself suggestions. Yes, I realize it's mainly a matter of semantics but it works for me. The term suggestions gives me more breathing room. Years ago, I decided to get my Ph.D. in Psychology and it was never a struggle -- well, except for the dissertation which reached the doing dishes torture level at times. However, I didn't need to set actual goals along the way because it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't finish. No resolutions were needed.

In terms of writing, mid-way through 2009 I decided to write a novel. I had several picture books and a short middle-grade fantasy finished but I was really drawn to writing YA. I started the novel in Sept. and followed Stephen King's SUGGESTION to write 2,000 words/day. I finished the novel in Oct. I'm still revising it but even that process is rewarding -- most of the time. I haven't reached my doing dishes torture level yet, which is how I know I'm not finished. So for 2010, I've decided on several suggestions for my writing.

Here are my 2010 SUGGESTIONS for myself:
1. Finish revising YA novel #1.
2. Perfect query letter.
3. Send out query letter to agents.
4. Attend major conference. (I'm already attending a small SCBWI event in
Jan. and have my major conference picked out for the Spring. BONUS: I'm
helping to judge the writing contest for the Spring conference and it's been
a wonderful experience.)
5. Finish YA novel #2. (20,000 words so far)
6. Continue expanding this blog w/ my Sisters: Lacey, Valerie, and Lisa. In
December, we decided to get serious with the blog and although it's only a
few weeks later, we've been having a blast with it!

That's it. Those are my suggestions for myself for this year and I'm off to a great start even though it's only 4 days into 2010. What about you? What are your writing suggestions/goals/resolutions/whatever you want to call them for this year?