Welcome, 2015!

Well, so it's been a while. Hello from a while ago!

What does 2015 have in store? Writing, lots of it! Well, that's what I intend for it to have in store at least.  You can see the bottom section of this post for something I wrote a couple of days prior to the New Year regarding my thoughts on resolutions and my decision to write (more).

My midnight hobbies have definitely come more and more to the reading and writing portions than anything else, so that's probably what will be found here, for the most part, from here on out.

In addition to trying to produce the characters running around in my head, I've decided that I will begin writing reviews for the books I read (I've been terrible at this the past few years). Lately I have become much  more involved in the writing world (or at least much more observant), and I want to do this as a way to support others in the writing community. So, hopefully, I'll choose a day to do a review of a book and post it in the relevant places and here on my blog.

Why wait for New Year’s to make a resolution? Isn’t every day the beginning of a new year? I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions; I have never been able to come up with one that I felt strongly about, so certainly never one that I’ve held to. I feel like waiting for New Year’s is a form of procrastination. It’s November, and you’ve decided you need to lose weight, but “it’s the holidays” or some junk like that. Really? You can put off making yourself feel/look better? Why not try it out now? I think making a resolution and getting started on it right away is the best way. For one, the idea is fresh in your mind and the excitement of the end-result is new. Also it isn’t over-thought or over-planned. Jump in head-first while the adrenaline is fresh, so that by the time it’s worn out your resolution has [hopefully] become habit. I fancy myself a writer. If I’ve read no other more resounding piece of advice, it is to write. To write every day, no matter what. I’m terrible at this. Of course, I haven’t really set myself a goal for it. So-it is December 28, 2014 (at least for another hour), and instead of saying “I’ll wait ‘til New Year’s to start that,” I’m starting it now. With this piece. Whether or not anybody ever reads it, here I am, getting my writer’s juices flowing and my fingers flowing over the keyboard. I won’t write about the same thing every day. Maybe I’ll get a scene down in one of the stories from my head. Maybe there is an issue in the media that really presses buttons for me. Maybe there is a book that is so good (or so bad) that it needs a review. Maybe there are emotions swirling around and eating my brainpower that absolutely must be let out so that I can continue on with my day. Maybe there is an e-mail that needs to be sent to a friend. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Certainly there is something every day that I can write about. Even if it’s something I’ve already said/written. And if all that advice I’ve read is true, then it will come more easily after a bit of practice. I hope to make it a habit, something I can’t go a single day without doing. So I am starting now, not later, because I will over-think it and make up some reason why it just isn’t possible for me to commit to it. Some reason it’s just not worth it. Because if there is something that leads you closer to your dreams, or discovering something about yourself, it is worth it. I say I like to write, but what do I have to show for it? Scraps of stories with no context. Characters with their stories untold. Anxiety and depression riddled journal-esque scrawlings written on nights my mind won’t shut off. I want more than that. I want entire stories, and character’s whose story has unfolded and left them imprinted in a reader’s mind. I want to have found a topic to have a passion about, to have a voice, an opinion, and be able to express it. And if I want a career that includes writing, I don’t want to struggle at getting the words out. So here I am, making my resolution and starting it out: I will write every day. I am not going to set a word count goal for myself, it will discourage me. If all I get it is one sentence in a bad day, then at least I’ve got that (although I think I’m verbose enough to get more than that). And even that one sentence would be a success, because it is something. Thank you, and goodnight.

Until next time,
Julia
The Midnight Hobbyist