It’s been just over a year since I started writing this blog so I thought it might be appropriate to do a little reflection.

When I started my intentions were several.
1. To have a regular writing practice which would provide some much needed discipline and get me in a writing mood.
2. To create an online presence so that when I finished and sold my novel I would have a platform to start from.
3. To talk about writing. To discuss both the technicalities and the experience of writing and thus stimulate and record my learning.

So, how did it work out?

1. Well, I didn’t make a daily practice out this blog and there have been a few occasions this year when even a weekly post seemed like a stretch goal. It hasn’t really provided me with the discipline that I thought it would and has often been a displacement activity when I could have been writing stories. It has been a nagging reminder that I want to write, that I need to write, and that when life gets in the way there’s always time to spend ten minutes writing.

2. This went a little better. It was a toe dipped in the waters of social media and now I find myself hooked. It’s helped me be a little more open about who I am rather than hiding behind a professional persona and it’s helped me connect all the different parts of me. Now, I have an online presence. It’s smaller than perhaps I originally envisaged but I’m comfortable with it. And, of course, I haven’t actually finished my novel, much less sold it, so there’s still plenty of time.

3. I think this is where writing this blog has really helped. Over the year I’ve used it to record places and things of use to writers, to review the stories I’ve read and talk about the experiences I’ve had related to writing. My posts have been getting longer and more personal and I think that’s because after all this practice I’m finding it easier. It’s given me an opportunity to organise my thoughts about writing, to really explore them, and I feel that I’ve learnt a lot this year.

So, onwards to 2010. My writing goals for this year are to finish my novel, Sacrifice, and to keep posting about my experiences. What about you? What are you working on for 2010?