Happy New Year – well we’ve made it through the fist quarter contrary of the New Millennium!

So what have you got planed? Anything interesting? If not don’t worry you can just roll with the universe and see where it takes you!

But if you are in between the ultra organised and the go with the flow then you might want to grab some paper or electronic device of choice and start thinking about what you want achieve this year… do you want to write more? Submit poems to magazines and journals? Read more? Make a list of these and make it a BIG BOLD list and put it up on a wall or door or cork board – somewhere you will see it regularly every day! If they are obvious finishable task then tick them off as they are completed and if you need rewards to be motivated then sort out some rewards for finishing off the hard stuff (we all find different things difficult and if say submitting poems is hard for you then reward yourself when you have completed the task!). If it is an on going thing then maybe make a mark to count how many times you have work towards or done a repetition of these kinds of tasks.

Obviously we are interested in your New Year Poetry pledges!

Here are some ideas of pledges or resolution to make:

1) Write for 5 minutes before bed every nights

2) Spend 1 hour a week editing and sending poems off for publication

3) Get a new note book and see how fast you can fill it

4) Make little notes every time you come across something inspiring, if you made one of these books last year then start writing from the notes.

5) Take a phone or other recording device on walks and strolls and adlib poems whilst looking at and recording interesting spaces such as fish swimming in your local pond. (different countries have different rules on photo taking and video recording and some parks may have their own rules so make sure you know what your local areas is.)

6) Read a poetry book each month.

7) Go to the local poetry reading night.

8) Take part in your first poetry slam or performance night.

9) Take up journaling and see what snippets and poems natural arise from the pages.

10) Enroll on that course you’ve been thinking about.

These are just ideas – try coming up with your own.

Happy New Year and good luck with any resolution you choose to attempt!