New Beginnings

I don’t necessarily believe in New Year’s resolutions but I do believe in the power of new beginnings, and what better time than January to embark on a fresh start, eh? If 2016 had been a book (12 chapters, 365 pages – you get the idea) in the series of my life, I’m not entirely sure I’d fancy giving it a re-read. So, in the horribly cliché way that most of us do at the beginning of a new year, I’ve vowed to make some changes.

Unlike in previous years, I’ve allowed myself some time to think about this. I finally cracked into a gorgeous new notebook that I purchased last year, so gorgeous apparently that I was too afraid to tarnish it, and made a list of attainable goals. My inability to stick to New Year’s resolutions in the past has largely been down to the fact that they were immeasurable. Last year for example, I made a goal to write more. But, write what? How often, exactly? It was too general to ever be attainable, especially for a notorious procrastinator.

So, these are the four, measurable goals that I hope to achieve this year:

1. Start a blog

It seems that I’m not doing too shabby so far. But I’m also aware that the real work comes from maintaining a blog, so much more than simply starting up. I have committed to posting here at least twice a week, and now that I’ve written this down there can be no excuses!

2. Read at least 20 books

It may not sound like a great deal, but since I am a slow reader who only managed to complete 13 books in 2016, I thought it best to play it safe. Running this blog will likely push me to surpass my target, and I have already read 2 books that I am eager to share with you.

3. See more of Canada

I moved to Canada from the UK back in 2015 on a 2 year visa, and my time here feels as though it will be coming to an end before I know it. I want to explore as much as I possibly can in in the next 8 months, and the national parks seem like a good place to start. Canada turns 150 this year, and as a result the government are offering free park passes to its citizens (I don’t qualify, but my boyfriend does!). I would also like to get out of Ontario, where I have lived for the past year. It’s important to me that I see at least one more province before I leave.

4. Research a book

I was forced to scrap my plan to write a book last year, because I was hugely unprepared for the amount of research I would need to undertake in order to get there. This year therefore, will be all about the research. Historical Fiction is a difficult genre to tackle, so I figured that taking it one step at a time would be the right way to go. If I am able to start writing before the year is out, I will consider it a bonus.

Happy Belated New Year and good luck to everyone who has set their own goals for 2017!