New Year Resolutions of Authors and Poets

Two weeks into the New Year and it seems this year will come and go faster than last year. I don't make resolutions per se. I just try to do whatever worked the previous year and do it better and take what didn't work and try to improve upon it. Don't get me wrong, resolutions are great. Resolutions help people set goals and encourage people to attain them. Resolutions can also be measured, thus holding the person accountable to a certain degree. But it never works for me. I've tried. But it's interesting to hear resolutions from other people, namely authors. So I asked a few authors and poets what their resolutions are for 2012 and here's what they had to say.

"My resolution is to work less and live more. 2011 was a great year for me. My novel Silver Sparrow was published, I won two major fellowships, got great reviews. But there is a lovely bottle of champagne in my refrigerator that has been there for almost a year. Why? I had plenty to celebrate, but I could never take the time out to sit back and enjoy it. I was always racing toward the next goal. So in 2012, I resolve to drink all the champagne in the world." ~ Tayari Jones, author of Silver Sparrow

"My 2012 resolution is to set reasonable and measurable productivity goals just like I did in the beginning of my writing career. If you write 3 pages a day (or even 1 page a day!), you'll finish a book or be well on your way to finishing one by end of the year." ~ Teresa Medeiros, author of The Pleasure of Your Kiss

"My goal is to finish revising my 3rd novel, Every Good Wish, and send it to my agent. (Hopefully this March). And I have plans to write a nonfiction book this year, which I'm very excited about."
~ Carleen Brice, author of Orange Mint and Honey 
 She is also the author of Children of the Waters. (Orange Mint and Honey was made into a Lifetime movie called Sins of the Mother starring Jill Scott...y'all know how I feel about Jill Scott, I'm still officially Jill Scott handed :-)



"This year, for the first time, I resolve to do only one thing. I didn't fast or give up anything....I resolved that every single day before I went to bed I would reflect on the blessings that I'd had for that day alone. I started this back on Thanksgiving and decided this would be my resolution for 2012. And, I love it. This one exercise alone has kept me HAPPY! #teamgrateful #365daysofgratitude."
~ Victoria Christopher Murray, author of The Deal, The Devil and the Dance and co-author of Sinners and Saints with Reshonda Tate Billingsley.

"I resolve to go from process mode to product. This is the beginning of my blogging. The spoken word CD and book of poems are priorities." ~ Dr. Kim White-Glenn, professor and poet

"To write as many books as humanly possible -- for me, at least -- and continue to grow my reader base." ~ Robert Gregory Browne, author of Kiss Her Goodbye


"My new years resolution is to become a better business owner. I want to reach across America and collab with better business partners to create a dynamic team so we can build other companies and enhance the lives of other artists." ~ Troy Lewis, Poet and CEO/Founder of The National Poetry Awards


"I vowed to get more organized because I have the best ideas, I create forms, etc...then I can't ever find the forms because my office is so messy! And don't get me started on tax time! So, I'm definitely pledging to get more organized in 2012!" ~ Reshonda Tate Billingsley, author of Say Amen Again and co-author of Sinners and Saints with Victoria Christopher Murray. 

What are your resolutions or goals for 2012?