Welcome 2016!

I hope Santa was good to you this year! 

He was super good to me. I was blessed to be surrounded by good drinks, great food, and amazing company!

Traditionally, this is the time we look back at the prior year and vow to make the new year better. My look back was easy and obvious...finish book 2 of the TALON Series: Allies. I've let conflicts of time be an excuse and just barely scratched my way into chapter 5.

We have all heard of writers block and I've been fortunate, to date, not to have that issue. When I sit down to write the characters come alive and are begging to be revealed. When I'm not writing I'm disciplined and jot down my ideas for Window Worlds or future plot twists. No, my issue is just doing it!

When I wrote book one, I was out of work and spent 4+ hours each day - writing and researching. Nothing else. I did not allow other obligations to interrupt my writing time. As a result, I was able to write book one in just a few months. 

Fast forward to book 2. Now I'm working (thank goodness - even struggling writers need to pay the bills) so my time is more limited. Finite. But that is the same for all of us. Time is finite. We only have 24 hours so this struggle applies to anyone that wants to add a new process into an already busy day: working out, eating better (yes, that takes more time), reading more, etc. BUT if it's important it needs to make the top of your list. It needs to be a BIG rock. 

I love that visual example (big rocks, pebbles, sand) and have shared it with others - link to follow in a moment. Funny. Even though I know about it and have shared it with others, I could not see the mistake I was making. I let lower priority items crowd out what was important to me - writing.

In 2015 I found time to get lost on the internet when I could have been writing. I watched all 8 seasons of Dexter (fantastic by the way) when I could have been writing. I even researched new book ideas when I should have worked on The White Falcon.

So my New Years Resolution is to stay focused on my most important items. These are my 2016 big rocks:

1. Family and friends: my time with people will allows be at the top of the list. You can take everything else away. Just leave me my family and friends and I will be just fine. 
2. Health: I have battled cancer, had my appendix and my gall-bladder removed, discovered I'm gluten intolerant and pre-diabetic. You would think I was an unhealthy person  or on my death bed - I am not (check out my author section for pics). BUT I do want to be aware of the food I eat and will be eating CLEANer. I am not ready to pull the plug on fully eating clean (that's a whole no meat, no dairy, no sugar thing) but I can cut back on those items and start eating more veggies. I will also add in yoga. I love yoga and it will help me stay fit and get stronger.
   
3. Writing: my hobby, my creative outlet, my passion. If I can get someone else to pick up a book and get lost in a love story, an adventure, a bit of mind blowing information, then I have fulfilled my purpose. 

What is your New Years Resolution? Share in the comments below. 

Oh ya! The link to the demonstration about time (skip to :50 to bypass the into). Do you know what your big rocks are? 

And I love this YouTube video on Will Smith. He built a wall one brick at a time. I will be writing The White Falcon: TALON series one page at a time. What will you do in 2016? 

Happy New Year! We wish you love, health, and prosperity! 

L.K. Craig and Team TWF