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Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 6 other novels

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December 28, 2010 By Meg Waite Clayton

New Year's Blogolutions

The torn wrapping paper is thrown away, the cookies are eaten (and eaten and eaten and eaten!), and it’s about time for the fresh page, starting over, the clean slate. For me, since New Years Day is also my birthday, it’s a new year in every way.
Wednesday Sisters Champagne CorkAfter years of failed resolutions (I’ll lose those pounds, get something written or published, win the literary lottery, Lord help me I will), this year I’m shrugging off all attempts at great earthquakes of change, and settling for three small steps that will tilt me toward the things I know I want to do in life but sometimes lack the willpower to achieve.
I’ve decided to call them my blogolutions, because the thing I love about blogging is that it’s in my control. It gets done or doesn’t; it’s up to me. So here they are, my New Years blogolutions, 1-2-3:

    1 Daily Reminder: Publishing a Novel is an Amazing Moment!
    2,000 Words or 2:00 (aka Happiness is a Warm Manuscript)
    3 minutes or more of poetry daily!


Starting with the easiest first: More poetry. I’ve just leaped into this one, by signing up for the Poem-A-Day Email from the Academy of American Poets, and invited a couple poets to guest blog on my occasional Poetry Tuesdays here.
Next easiest: the Daily Reminder. I’ve just programmed my swanky new Droid to give me a daily reminder, three short words: Publication is fun!!! Birthing a novel is a bit like birthing a child – wonderful, yes, but with more dirty diapers and considerably less sleep than you imagined when you were imagining. In the midst of all the will-my-book-sell-will-readers-like-it brain chaos, I’m reminding myself to take a moment to savor the wonder of having my words out in the reading world.
And now the hardest – 2,000 Words or 2:00. This is a first-draft discipline I’ve followed for years, but … in the last few months of having my sons off at college and all the distractions provided by the internet and the publication process (that brain chaos thing), I’ve been lax. To paraphrase Linus, Happiness is a warm blanket manuscript. I’m climbing back into mine. Starting at 8 a.m., five days a week.
What are your New Year’s blogolutions? I’d love to hear about them! – Meg

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Filed Under: Meg's Posts, Writing Tips Tagged With: blogolutions, blogs, droid, New Years, publishing, resolutions, smart phone, writing

Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eight novels, including the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com

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