New Focus!

So it's a new year and new resolutions are, it seems, the thing to do. Right? Right.

I'd like to resolve to get professionally published but that's not something I'm in charge of (oh, don't I wish!). Instead, I'll be a little more reasonable.

I have two part-time jobs and will be a full-time student most of this year, which spells that ultimate of four-letter words for aspiring writers: BUSY. Meaning it'll be even more important that I find time for my writing.

I can't control whether or not my stories get accepted but there are resolutions I can make to increase the odds. And they are:

Line-edit to obsessive perfection
--Because getting every word and phrase and sentence perfect can't be a bad thing; the word that doesn't fit, or phrase so overused it's cliche, always bothers me when reading, so why should I inflict this on others?

Work on openings
--Since this is the part people read first, it figures that openings should be awesome. The purpose is to hook readers in while laying out all the pertinent details. According to responses I've got, I have to work on this a little.

Keep on task with submissions and deadlines
--No matter how much editing and hard work goes into it, a story never gets anywhere unless it's submitted. And so I have a long list of submission deadlines and open magazines so I have no excuse to let stuff just lay around. 

And that's it! Sounds so easy, right? Well, maybe when I subtract the fact that I have a bunch of OTHER obligations. Squished into the middle of life, I think it'll be just enough.