In a few hours, people will start letting off the fireworks that signal the transition into a new year, so as I get ready to go out with my friends for wild drunken parties sit on my couch in my pyjamas with a cup of tea, I thought I'd evaluate the year just gone.
Finishing my PhD was something that cropped up on my "New Year's Resolutions" lists pretty much every year for about the last 5-6 years, and that trend continued this year. However this year I finally did actually finish it, so the knowledge I can forever delete that resolution from my list feels like a weight has been lifted, especially given there were several years I doubted that getting my doctorate was even possible.
Once I'd submitted and finalised my thesis revisions, I had more time and energy for my creative pursuits. I was able to do several paintings in the space of a month (as opposed to being lucky to do one a year), as well as some demonstration posts and articles on my art blog. But best of all, I started writing creatively again.
Sure, it took me several months from the time of submitting my thesis to the time I started adding to my novel word count, and progress in the first couple of months was extremely slow (there were a lot of days of just opening my novel documents, staring at them for several hours and then closing them again), but once I hit my stride, it was like the floodgates had opened.
The progress I made wasn't just in terms of raw word count. As I was writing the original outline more than a decade ago, I envisioned it as a novella that would be around 40,000-50,000 when it was finished, but even before I got too busy with my PhD to keep writing, I felt like I'd hit a wall and progress on the WIP stalled. Once I picked up the story again earlier this year, I quickly realised that if I did tell the story in that many words, it would be rushed and incomplete. I began to rework the outline, adding details and expanding some sections, and realised the final word count is more likely to be between 70,000 and 80,000 words. Part of me hated the fact the story was expanding because it made me realise it would take longer to write, but at the same time, it felt like I was unlocking something that would make it possible to write the story at all.
I'd hoped to hit the 50% point of my novel before 2025 rolled in, but I didn't quite get there. I'm not too worried, though, because I still managed to add 13,000 words in the last five months of the year (incidentally, I wrote the final 13,000 words of my PhD thesis in the last five months before my submission deadline, so at least I'm consistent, I guess?).
I'm not going to make formal 'resolutions' (eg. "I will do XYZ!") this year, because I inevitably feel like crap when I don't manage to achieve them. What I am going to do is make a list of things I hope to achieve but won't beat myself up over them if circumstances beyond my control (eg. health issues) prevent me from achieving them. Some of these will be creativity-related, but some will be more general.
- Finish a first draft of my novel: Like 'finish my PhD', this has been a long term resident on my lists of resolutions, but for the first time in ages, it feels like it's within reach. I've added a third of the current word count in under half a year, so even if I don't completely finish it by the end of 2025, I reckon I'll be pretty close. Once I start teaching again I won't be able to maintain the writing momentum I've managed for the last month or so with no work commitments, but I should be able to set aside one full day a month (aside from assignment marking weeks) just for writing.
- Get a paper accepted into a conference or journal: I've started the process of writing a paper based on my thesis with help from my supervisor, and we're aiming to get it into a conference that runs in May next year. That being said, the acceptance rate for that conference is relatively low, so failing that, we'll try a few other places. Even if it doesn't get accepted next year, I'd like to have the paper in a state where I can try other avenues of submission.
- Improve my diet and fitness habits: This is something I've been trying to do on and off, with varying levels of success. The diet part was relatively easy (I actually enjoy eating healthy food, and as I've cut out junk food, I've found myself wanting it less and less, so I tend not to eat it even when I have the opportunity), but maintaining a consistent exercise regime is a struggle. Previously I've tried going to the gym 3-4 times a week and ended up losing motivation after a week of illness meant I only went once a week, so for now I'm going to aim for twice a week, plus another two days a week of gentle exercise at home (walking the dog or using the elliptical trainer). If I can maintain that for a few months, then I'll increase my gym workouts to 3-4 a week. One thing I really need to change is my mindset of "I didn't reach my goals this week, might as well give up". I know it's not a productive mindset, but it's how my mind naturally works. Instead I want to get into the mindset of "One workout a week is still better than none".
- Do more plein air painting: This sort of follows on from my previous item, but aside from one painting I did a couple of weeks ago, pretty much all of my art has been done at my desk in my lounge room. At least once a month, I want to go somewhere with nice landscape scenery and do a painting from location. This will require some level of physical fitness, but it will benefit both my mind and body, so while I expect my first few plein air outings will be wrought with problems and may not even result in a presentable piece of art, it will be worth it in the long run. To start with, it'll mostly be local places (like the creek on the other side of town where we walk the dog, or maybe the beach near where my Nan used to live), but eventually I'd like to start going on some of the plein air painting holidays organised by professional artists in more far-flung and interesting locations.
- Figure out how to sell my art originals: I have done quite a few paintings and drawings over the years, and while some have ended up in the recycling bin, I still have a reasonable stack of art in my cupboard, which I expect will grow as I find more time for making art this year. I have managed to sell a few paintings to friends through my personal social media pages, but I want to set up some sort of storefront where I can sell my art to a wider audience. I do have sites on RedBubble and Society6 where people can buy products with my art printed on it, but I make very few sales there (and the few I do make mostly end up in the pocket of those sites), but finding a reliable way to sell the physical original copy will be a challenge (not just avoiding horrendous fees like on eBay and Etsy, but I will also need to figure out how to weed out scammers).
DASW Word Count: 35,468
Progress graphic generated by Visual Percentage Calculator and edited in Pixlr.
