Thinking Unwriterly Thoughts

Diary of an Author: 1-5 January 2025

1 January 2025:

I have been thinking about new year’s resolutions, and whether to set any for myself. I have never much cared for the concept. As a Serious Literary Author, I already have a goal; one that I strive for on a daily basis. Every morning I wake up resolved to be more Serious and Literary than the day before, and to write the finest poetry and/or prose possible over the next twenty-four hours. Unlike a new year’s resolution, the Pursuit of Literary Excellence (POLE) is not some temporary virtue designed to be discarded within mere weeks. It is the writerly raison d'être that guides my every waking/sleeping hour. While others can say, ‘Ah well, I’ll try again next year,’ as they sip a glass of wine or scoff a bar of chocolate in the second week of January, no such luxury is available to the Serious Literary Author. The moment I take my eye off the ballpoint is the moment I become just another Unserious Unliterary Unauthor (the kind that plagues the ‘Bestsellers’ shelf in my l…