While New Year’s Eve is traditionally reserved for partying, New Year’s Day is often a time of reflection—on the good and the bad of the past year and hopes, dreams, and plans for the year ahead.  Most of those hopes and dreams take the form of resolutions.  I’ll admit, my track record is no better than most where they’re concerned.  But plans and a solid path to follow can make some of those dreams come true.

Take, for instance, my plan not so long ago to leave behind my eight to five job to pursue more creative endeavors (my dream).  The plan came into play when I concentrated on specifics:  writing about gardening and completing revisions to a mystery novel I’d been tinkering on for years.  Specifically, I planned to complete revisions on that novel and enter it into the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition in December. 

For those not familiar with the competition, it’s a wonderful opportunity for unpublished mystery authors to get their full manuscript in the hands of a publisher and the chance to be offered a publishing contract.  It’s a golden opportunity if ever there was one—with no drawbacks:  there’s no cost to enter, and the rules and process are simple. 

I’d known about the competition for a while, and for several years my list of New Year’s Resolutions included finishing that novel and submitting it.  Yet, without a plan, there was always next year . . ..

When I finally planned it out and finished my edits, I was able to move onto the next step and submit my manuscript.  The rest, as they say, is history (my good fortune still amazes me).  The Gardener’s Plot won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award in 2023 and was published this November.  It’s been an amazing journey, one made possible because I had a plan rather than a list of resolutions.

I’ve come to realize writing and gardening each require far more than wishful thinking.  To accomplish anything, I need a plan.  It can be as simple as I’m going to post on my blog every Wednesday, or work on marketing on Mondays, or write for three hours each day on a specific project:  I have goals to set and a list to make of solid steps to get there.

Likewise, while January isn’t the best time for gardening here in the Berkshires, I can set my goals and make plans, even though implementation is weeks or months away.  But I can wait.  The buds on the witch hazel tree outside my window are showing more yellow as the days pass, and spring is only 78 days away.