I've been doing a lot of thinking about New Year's Resolutions. Yes, it's that time again. I'm almost afraid to review last year's resolutions, but here we go:

1. Write at least 500 words a day.
How I did: I'm not sure I made the full 500 every single day, but I definitely put in more effort than the previous year.
Verdict: I'm calling this one a win.
2. Finish NaNo '09 project
Verdict: Win!
3. Revise NaNo '09 project.
Verdict: I've revised it three times so far. Once I complete my NaNo draft, I'm heading back to the drawing board with this one.
4. Finish the Tierney/Jack story.
Verdict: This is the one I chose for NaNo 2010. I'm pleased to say I've got nearly 60k toward a brand new draft and I plan to finish it before January 18th (when I go back to school -- yay!)
5. Revise said story.
Verdict: Fail...I have high hopes for this one next year...
6. Plan NaNo '10 project.
Verdict: Win! Sorta...if you count recycling an old idea.
7. Do at least one "mini-NaNo" before November.
Verdict: Fail. I got too engrossed in revisions of my NaNo 09 novel. But I'm not complaining.
8. Go to writing groups regularly.
Verdict: Eh. I made it to a few here and there, but definitely not as many as I would have liked.
9. Read more books.
Verdict: I'm calling this a win. I read more books this year than I did in previous years. Although it was my plan to review each book I read here...maybe next year!
10. Write in journal or blog daily.
Verdict: Fail. I definitely didn't journal daily and, as you guys know all too well, I didn't blog daily, either.

You know? I didn't make good on very many of those resolutions. But progress is progress and I definitely made a lot of it this year!

Now, onto my resolutions for 2011:

1. Complete NaNo '10 first draft.
2. Finish revising NaNo '09 novel.
3. Read at least one book a month -- it's less than I read this year, but with school, who knows how much time I'll have.
4. Blog semi-regularly. At least twice a week!
5. Write every day -- even if it's only a hundred words scribbled in my journal!

I think I'll stop there. This list should be entirely possible. I'm tempted to add "Revise NaNo '10 draft" but I don't want to intimidate my muse. God knows she scares easy! I'll make this an optional 6th resolution.

So, have any of you made resolutions for the new year? If so, what are they? N

I was browsing the web this morning as a way to procrastinate from my writerly duties when I came across this, which may or may not be a good idea for me. Not only would it force me to read, but it would force me to write. And although it would just be a review of the book I just read, writing is writing and, let's face it, I need all the help I can get. So, after going through the books on my long-abandoned shelf, I've compiled a list that I want to read this year. Although I'm already nearly two months behind, I'm still gonna give it a shot. So, without further ado (because I just know everyone's on the edge of their seat waiting), here's my reading list for 2010:

1. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
2. Paint It Black by Janet Fitch
3. Atonement by Ian McEwan
4. Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
6. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
7. The History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
8. Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
9. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
10. Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
11. Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
12. The Last Time We Met by Anita Shreve

These are all the books I've purchased over the last year or so that I haven't gotten around to reading. They taunt me from their places on my shelves. Along with about two dozen more. There are, of course, easier reads among them that I want to get to this year, but I figured if I included them, I wouldn't get to the others. I'm an avid romance/chick-lit fan and would love to simply fill my list with them, but I'm determined to expand my reading horizons. Should I make it through this list, I would also like to read these:

13. Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
14. Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie
15. Good Grief by Lolly Winston
16. Talk Nerdy to Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson
17. Skin Tight by Susan Andersen
18. Baby, I'm Yours by Susan Andersen
19. My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson
20. Doing Good by Pamela Morsi

There used to be a time when reading twenty books in a year would have been easy. Heck, forty books would have been easy. But somewhere down the line, I got lazy. I'm reading less, writing less and becoming less intelligent by the day. It's a travesty. This is the year, though. This is the year that I pull myself back together and immerse myself in words. Just like I used to.

...as soon as I finish the Carly Phillips novel I'm about half through.

Edit to add: I haven't been ignoring the comments on my posts intentionally -- I didn't know they were there. I think I've figured out how to be notified when I get a comment, so I won't ignore you guys anymore. I'm sorry!