New Year, New Start by Wendy H. Jones

Firstly, a very Happy New Year to you from here in Bonnie Scotland. Us Scots love new year, although I must confess, exhaustion got the better of me last night and I was in bed before the bells and the fireworks. I slept right through them. This leads me to the subject of today's post. Rest, renewal and increased inspiration.

I am sure most writers, whether they are reading this blog or not, approached the new year with a similar level of exhaustion. Writing, promoting, speaking, publishing, bringing new books out - it can often be like a merry-go-round, spinning faster and faster. This is the time of year when we can take stock and work out what we can do differently in the new year. How we can care for ourselves as well as our writing lives. 

The first thing we can do is take at least a couple of days out, right now. But I've a deadline approaching at dizzying speed, I hear you say. I get that, trust me I've been there. Take a couple of days out. Recharge and refresh, your writing will be all the better for it. Read a book, take a walk, go for a bike ride, visit a museum, whatever helps you to relax. Do it. I took time off between Christmas and New Year. I had to force myself to do it as I'd forgotten how to relax. I always wanted to be writing. However, I read several books instead. I taught myself to relax again and my writing is all the better for it. I've returned with fresh ideas and fresh inspiration ready for the year ahead.

This year I am asking you to schedule regular times in the week which are just for you. Put them in the diary and remember you matter. You matter to yourself. you matter to your family, you matter to your readers and most importantly, you matter to God. You are precious, so treat yourself that way.

About the Author

Wendy H Jones is the Amazon Number 1 best-selling author of the award winning DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Her Young Adult Mystery, The Dagger’s Curse was a finalist in the Woman Alive Readers Choice Award. She is also The President of the Scottish Association of Writers, an international public speaker, and runs conferences and workshops on writing, motivation and marketing. Wendy is the founder of Crime at the Castle, Scotland’s newest Crime Festival. She is the editor of a Lent Book, published by the Association of Christian Writers and also the editor of the forthcoming Christmas Anthology form the same publisher. Her first children's book, Bertie the Buffalo, was released in December 2018.

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