Years ago a friend of mine suggested to spend the first day of the New Year doing what you hoped to do or focus on for the coming year. Ever since I began writing I made sure I wrote at least one sentence for my current WIP on the first day of the New Year. Here is a sample of what I wrote today. It’s from SWEET TIDINGS IN AUDUBON SPRINGS, the Holiday novella I’m writing to wrap up the Brothers of Audubon Springs series.

Kissing Daniel senseless always sounded like a good idea at the time. 

Beyond that sentence (okay, more than one sentence was written today, but just ONE sentence sounds more poetic, don’t you think?), I set up my new laptop. Yay! I love this laptop and I think with the new software applications I plan to purchase, it can be a productive tool for my writing in the coming year.

I also set up my new Fit Bit which I see as going hand-in-hand with the laptop. I plan to buy (or have the hubs build) a platform for my laptop to use on my desk. This platform will allow me to stand while typing, and ultimately continue to move about my office while brainstorming. I plan to purchase Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. This again will afford me the opportunity to walk around my office dictating my current work in progress ideas or help prepare and send business emails in a faster fashion, saving more of my writing time for actually writing. I’m an auditory plotter. What does this mean? I like to think out loud while plotting my stories. Fortunately my husband doesn’t mind being a sounding board (nor do my writing friends!), however I do think having this software, and speaking my ideas aloud, will help me develop my projects and ultimately produce the finished product faster. Time will only tell if the software will be effective for writing a draft of a novel. Somehow I think I’m going to want to feel the keyboard under my finger tips when the actual draft is being created.

What else did I do today? I dusted off the elliptical machine (40 minutes, yay!) and put that Fit Bit to the test. I managed to get some reading time in…something there never seems to be enough time for lately. I worked on some marketing aspects of the writing career. Not my favorite way to spend my writing time, but a necessity of the published author.  Oh…and I wrote this blog post! 🙂

The best part of the day was the time spent with my husband and daughter doing typical family things…sleeping in (more sleep in 2014 would be Ah-mazing!) relaxed family time, errands and dinner out. A nice peaceful day.

My goals for 2014 are as simple as this first day spent in the New Year

• Get more organized and productive in regards to my writing career
• WRITE! (A new WIP has been rattling around inside my head. It is TIME!)
• Get fit (2013…not my best year, nuff said, moving on)
• Spend quality time with my family

I’d love to hear how you spent this first day of the New Year. I hope it was an enjoyable day spent doing something you love.