A not-so-obligatory New Year’s resolution

First of all, happy New Years!  I hope you’re all looking forward to 2013 as much as I am.  Last year was full of awesome life-changing experiences, but I have a feeling that this one is going to be even better.

So after chatting about resolutions with some old friends, I’ve decided that a good new year’s resolution should be more than just another mundane daily goal.  Those are great, but you shouldn’t just set them at the beginning of the year and forget about them around February or March, you should adjust and rework them constantly no matter what time of the year it is.

Instead, a good resolution is some extraordinary task or challenge with a deadline of December 31st.  Basically, it’s something from your bucket list that you hope to accomplish that year.  Because it’s extraordinary, it’s not something that you forget in a month or two.  And the deadline gives you a sense of urgency, so you don’t put it off for “someday.”

With that in mind, here’s my 2013 resolution:

Hike four of the seven peaks of Utah County.

I was originally going to go for all seven, but I’m not (yet) an experienced climber, and some of the peaks look a little difficult.  Others, though, seem pretty doable.  I’ve hiked Y Mountain several times, and got a chance to do a little hiking in Georgia.  Four shouldn’t be too much, even with my relatively limited skill level right now.

Here are the seven peaks:

• Mount Timpanogos
• Mount Nebo
• Cascade Mountain
• Lone Peak
• Provo Peak
• Santaquin Peak
• Spanish Fork Peak (aka Maple Mountain)

Of course, I’ll wait until June to make the first hike (probably Provo Peak).  In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to get ready: eat healthy, climb a few smaller mountains, and otherwise get in shape for the big ones.

As far as writing goes, I’m going to go back on the early morning writing schedule and shoot for three hours of writing new words per day.  My monthly goal is to start / finish / publish at least one thing, and my yearly goal is still to finish at least two novel-length works (2012 was Star Wanderers I-IV and Stars of Blood and Glory).

But it’s hard to call any of those goals resolutions, since most of them are probably going to change over the coming weeks and months.  It’s hard to know exactly what life’s going to throw at me once I get back in Utah, so I’m going to stay flexible and just try to do the best I can.

I do want to publish Stars of Blood and Glory next month, and I think I can finish The Sword Keeper before then–if not, then definitely Star Wanderers: Benefactor.  After that, I’d like to do a print version of Star Wanderers I-IV with some decent cover art.  And Star Wanderers: Dreamweaver will probably be out sometime in the spring.

Beyond that, who knows?  It all depends on where the muse takes me.  One thing’s for sure, though–I’ll definitely keep writing.