As Christmas rapidly approaches, so does the new year. For many of us that means new beginnings, a reminder to reevaluate our lives and the changes we want to make. And we most often go about making those changes through our New Year’s resolutions.

But most of those resolutions fail. In fact, it’s become almost a joke in our society, the futility of starting each January with lofty goals, only to abandon them by February.

I’ve always been reluctant to set big goals because (shockingly!) I’m not real big on wasting energy on futile efforts. But I do have things I want to accomplish. Like you, I have dreams and aspiration, things I want to accomplish in my life.

Most of us go about building new habits in the wrong way, like the people who quit smoking cold turkey, determined to make the change through pure willpower. Sure, some are successful, but most start out with gusto But soon the excitement wears off, the willpower wears thin, and they’re right back where they started in no time.

The same goes for making changes in other areas of our lives. Then, we do the same thing the next year. And the next. And the next.

But if we keep doing the same things we’ve been doing, we’ll keep getting the same results we’ve been getting. If we truly want to make changes in our lives and in ourselves, we have to approach the problem with a different plan.

​And this is why I found (and still find, since I’ve read it twice now, bought a copy for myself, and plan to read it again after Mom finishes with my copy) Atomic Habits by James Clear so valuable.
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I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction lately, so my book recommendations for the next few months will likely reflect that. But never fear: I’ll have some more fiction to pass along soon.

As we start getting into the thick of the holiday season, I thought Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus—known as the Minimalists throughout their books, podcasts, social media, and more—would be a great book pick for this month.

The holidays seem to get more commercialized every year, especially Christmas. Each December, we burden ourselves, our loved ones, and even the people we barely know with stuff and more stuff. And often, it’s not even stuff any of us want. We just feel obligated to give everyone something.

​While I’m by no means a hardcore minimalist, I’ve found some great insights and wisdom in this book and hope you can find value in it, too.
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As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the best ways to become a better writer is to become a better reader. So, I’ve dug through the mountains of books I’ve read and loved over the years to come up with one I feel worthy of passing on to you all.
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In honor October, the month of Halloween, I’m recommending Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews.
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It’s been a while since I’ve posted here (almost two months), and life has been busy!

​But I’ve been using some of that time to reevaluate, reprioritize, and rethink what this blog should look like and contain in the future. And while I still don’t have a crystal-clear plan, I do have some ideas that I’m excited about and hope you will be too.

Several weeks ago, I talked about how to get useful feedback on your writing from others. Some of those others are likely authors from your writing group, and if you’re asking for their reviews on your work, it’s only fair that you return the favor.
Here are a few suggestions on making sure your peer reviews are actually useful.

Besides, reading and thinking critically about the work of others will serve to make you a better writer as well.
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There are so many services out there offering to help you become a better writer, from master classes with acclaimed authors to professional writing coaches. But one of the most valuable resources for aspiring writers is at the same time one of the most readily available and one of the most overlooked.

All you need is a library card and a bit of free time for research.

I’ve read the writings of and listened to interviews with numerous experts, whether published authors or publishing professionals, and one of the most common pieces of advice they give is to read.

​But what does that entail?
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