New Year, New You, New Story? – by DrizzleKid

2017 has just begun and at the start of each year I would say most of us reflect on the year ahead. It's easy to make new years resolutions – but how to you actually stick to them?

I think a lot of us will have resolutions/wishes for the new year that are connected to writing or otherwise expressing ourselves creatively. The goal for the year might range from getting a novel published, starting to write a story or finishing off one that has been put on hold – depending on who you speak to.

Let's back up for a minute – you might be asking yourself why we're talking about new years resolutions in this Block Party post. The inspiration for this post really started with the last 4 months of 2016. During the end of last year I went through a creative slump, not writing regularly and building up the situation in my head. The longer I was inactive for – both in terms of writing and interacting/posting on Wattpad – the worse it got. I felt like when I came back I have to over-achieve to somehow make up for being gone from the platform (and ignoring my weekly upload schedule).

I've been trying to pull myself out of this slump and fingers crossed – I'm pretty much back on the creative track. I'd love to share some of the advice that I have found in the many articles about creative output, productivity and self-improvement that I have read. Hopefully you can take some of this advise with you in 2017 to help you achieve your creative resolutions.

Identify your goal

This one is pretty self-explanatory: sit down and identify your goal for the year. What is it that you're trying to achieve? For example, the two things that I really want to achieve this year is:

1.) Completing my story Magic's Mark here on Wattpad, edit it and make it the best it can be.

2.) Taking more photos and becoming better at using my fancy camera

Motivation

Motivation can be tricky to find – whether it's finding the inspiration to start or the drive to continue. It's also one of the main reasons for why I'm writing this post. I've been struggling with the lack of motivation and I've found a few helpful things in the many articles I've read.

Firstly – ask yourself:

"What is holding you back from creating?"

One you have identified what's standing in your way, it's a lot easier to figure out how to overcome it. What I have found helpful in the past which I'll be going back to in 2017 is allocating 'creative time' – trying to find a time slot that can be the same day & time each week. Once you have the time in your schedule to create, it's easier to stay consistent. For example, I have promised myself that I will post one new picture on Instagram for every day of this year (you can find me @sannaldn – if you want to hold me accountable...). By sticking to the 'upload everyday' mechanic it'll spur me on to take more pictures – otherwise I'll run out of good ones pretty fast!

So my advice would be:

1.) Ask yourself " What is holding you back from creating?"

2.) Find a schedule/mechanic that will help you succeed

3.) When your motivation is running low ask yourself – "What would the best version of yourself do?"

Who are you doing all of this for?

A big part of life on social media and of creating things is other people's opinions. I can admit to worrying about what people will think sometimes and I know a few people who would like to write and post stories but are worried about what people will think. I recently stumbled across this great piece of advise about body image and fashion which I think transfers to creative pursuits perfectly.

"Life is too short for you to be uncomfortable. Life is too short for you to worry about how other people will see you. Everyday that you are not doing things because of what people might say, you are letting those people win."

– Meghan Tonjes

So I might have shortened the quote slightly from Meghan but I hope you get the point. Whether it comes to starting a story, finishing one or whatever else you want to do creatively – don't worry about what other people will think. Write what you want, how you want and the only person you should compare yourself to is yourself.

Life is too short to not create what you want to create (and to not wear crop tops).

I would love to hear in the comments below what you want to create this year! You can find Magic's Mark over on my profile and follow my photography journey @Sannaldn on Instgram.

Giveaway: I'll be dedicating chapters from Magic's Mark to the winners – so please use Rafflecopter to enter J

A big thank you to Kelly Anne and to all of the other authors. It's so amazing to be part of the Block Party :) 

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P.S. Don't forget to enter the 130+ #WattpadBlockParty Giveaways! Clickable links are at the top of my Wattpad profile! :)

GIVEAWAY LINK ONE:

http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2017/01/giveaways-for-wattpad-block-party_31.html

GIVEAWAY LINK TWO (with Widgets):

http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2017/01/giveaways-with-widgets-for-wattpad.html