“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity, and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

–Edith Lovejoy Pierce

I love this quote, as it uses the blank page of a book–the writer’s greatest nemesis–as a metaphor for our possibilities at the beginning of a new year.

Today, I’ll mention a serious resolution. First, however, is my tongue in cheek list of a writer’s ten New Year’s resolutions. These would be sure to make any literary agent or editor cringe!

• I’m dusting off and throwing away my dictionary. I’ve masterred my kraft and I know longer knead it.

• I’ll stop using idioms. They don’t work and their time has passed. In other words, that dog don’t hunt because its ship has sailed.

• I’ll faithfully carve out at least three hours to write every day, without fail. Yep, I’ll be starting that next week…or maybe the week after.

• Another thought on the dictionary: Today’s readers don’t want to consult a dictionary to understand the meaning of words in a book. It slows down their reading, and that’s never good. Thus, I’m giving up using big words. The obsequious obfuscation of the vernacular is an existential threat to my literary sustenance, and I’m just not going to do it!

• I don’t need cute writing tricks to keep my readers interested. I’ll no longer use the technique called antimetabole. My writing is strong enough without it, because when writing gets tough, the tough get writing. (Actually, Jesus used this technique several times in His teaching–so, no judgment here!)

• I’ll no longer use semi-colons in my writing; they’ve lost favor with fiction writers. I understand why; they’re annoying; just use a comma; or maybe a period.

• I’ll stop using hyphens in-appropriately. They’re out-of-date and over-done. I’ll have to re-check my manuscript though, just to make sure I didn’t over-look any. Of course, I re-serve the right to re-consider my decision.

• No more onomatopoeia for literary effect. It’s like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard and it drives people cuckoo.

• I’ve decided that I’m going to quit using the word “that” needlessly. Writing instructors teach that it’s used needlessly, and I’m sure that it’s something I can stop. At least, I think that I can.

• I’ve got two bee on the alert four homonyms. Buy depending on spellcheck (it went crazy on these resolutions!), I’ve missed sew many of them. (Refer back to the first bullet point.)

We can all be thankful President Abraham Lincoln was a man of his word…and his resolutions. Some three months before the first day of 1863, Lincoln resolved that on January 1, 1863, he would sign the Emancipation Proclamation–the first step in the process that led to the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. His goal was to remove from America a scourge of international existence, thereby insuring everyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Maybe he understood the risk he was taking, or maybe not. He certainly knew it would be hugely unpopular with everyone but the staunchest of abolitionists. Whether or not he understood it could lead to his death, as it did, we’ll never know. But, God bless President Lincoln, and God bless America!

Okay, be honest, it’s January 10th. How many of your resolutions have you already failed to keep? Anyone bold enough to reply with an honest comment? We all struggle with good intentions, but we’re in good company. The Apostle Paul said the following: “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. (Romans 7: 18b-19; NIV)”

So, take heart, and have a great year!