Pinch, punch, first of the month and no return!

Posted on by Josephine Corcoran

First six months gone forever.  Fresh start for the second half.  How is everyone getting on with their ‘To Do’ lists and their plans for 2012?

I didn’t make any New Year Resolutions, not really, but I did promise myself to write daily and I’ve mostly been true to my word.  I’ve also made good (although I still have more to do) on my vow to enter writing competitions.  So far this year I’ve sent work into eight poetry and four flash fiction competitions.  I’ve had one big win (First Prize at Stafford) in poetry, one Highly Commended in flash (Abergavenny), five fails and I’m waiting to hear about the rest.

In terms of submissions to magazines, webzines and websites (another vague goal I had back in January), I’ve sent eight poems out, three of which have been accepted for publication, and all six flashes I’ve sent out have been published.

What else was I hoping for when the year was new?  I wanted to develop my experience of working as a writing tutor and writer in community settings and, so far in 2012, I’ve run four writing workshops in a town museum (Trowbridge Museum), and two at a secondary school (Clarendon College, Trowbridge); I’ve written a successful proposal to run a new creative class at a local Adult Education college and I’ve applied, and been shortlisted, for a Writer in Residence scheme run by a regional Literature Development Agency.

I wanted to create a place to share my published work and to record all my writing projects, so I developed this weblog.

I invariably start the year wanting to attend some kind of course or workshop but that’s an ongoing feeling I have and is part of my yearning to be an eternal student.  However, I have attended two excellent writing workshops as a participant this year, a flash fiction one with Calum Kerr and a prose poetry workshop with Carrie Etter, both of which have fed my writing with fresh ideas and introduced new, exciting work to read.

It wasn’t on my list in January, but the win at Stafford meant that I read my work in public for the first time in 15 years.  That’s something I’d like to develop further.

So half of the year gone and I’m determined to try to make the most of the next six months.  So, without further ado:

My resolutions for the Second Half of 2012

  • Read widely, read critically, read for pleasure but understand where the pleasure is coming from!
  • Continue to write daily and submit regularly to competitions and for publication.
  • Continue to gain experience as a tutor and workshop facilitator in different settings.
  • Attend more writing workshops as a participant.
  • Do more readings.
  • Write my blog regularly.  Find ways of making it more interesting without being trivial (all suggestions welcome).

What are your resolutions for the rest of 2012?

19 thoughts on “Pinch, punch, first of the month and no return!”

  1. This is impressive Josie. Well done for focus. I’ll let you know if I have made use of your inspiration.

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  2. Impressive- well done! My goal last year was to be placed in a comp. This year, I didn’t really have any goal other than to send work out more. I managed to do this until May, then started slacking submission wise. I could probably do with taking stock & creating some goals for the next 6 months

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  3. I had no resolutions until a certain flash workshop in Trowbridge … and now I’m writing every day I have discovered: I write better in the morning; which styles flow easier from my pen; and to put a work aside for a while, if only for an hour or so in the case of flash fiction, before posting. I’m ‘chuffed’ to have had some pieces picked up by Paragraph Planet and 1000Words, and I guess it won’t be long before I try competitions. I think my next step is to start looking back critically at what I’ve blogged so far since May and learn from the good and bad therein, and also to see if can do a longer work, say 10-20,000 words.

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    1. I’m thrilled that my workshop motivated you to write daily but you were already writing beautifully beforehand. I haven’t been brave enough to post my writing daily in a blog but I would like to work towards longer fiction. Thanks for commenting David.

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  4. Great idea to review the past 6 months- I must do the same! You’ve achieved an impressive list of your goals and that’ll surely keep you motivated for the rest of 2012. As for your blog, I’ve always found it interesting so carry on in the same vein and I wouldn’t worry about the content being trivial. In fact, I’m all for a bit of trivia and enjoy reading blogs which feature light-hearted writing related news and views as a welcome break from serious stuff.

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  5. My aim for a long time has been to get my novel published – I finally found a publisher who wanted my book late last year and now have a publication date of October 8th so, assuming all goes to plan, that would be a very significant resolution achieved, and not just for this year either – some things take longer to make happen than just 12 months. Dogged perseverence is a virtue for a writer I think!

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  6. Sounds like the start of 2012 has been very productive! Congratulations on meeting your goals and on your publication/competition successes! Here’s to the second half of the year! xxx

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  7. Gosh Josey that’s really impressive. I hope at some stage to get the dedication and determination you have shown not to mention the discipline and creativity. I am so pleased for you that you gave won competitions and had your wonderful work noticed. I was really inspired by your workshop and now again by your post here. Well Done and keep going, you give me hope. Suki x

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  9. Hello! Until I read your piece I hadn’t actually clocked that we are half the way through the year! Well done and I enjoyed the poems that your year 9 students created about the Olympic torch. I have a borrowing impulse coming on….
    Miriam

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  10. Well done on your accomplishments for the first half of the year and wishing you all the best for the second half. I have a vague resolution that I was going to commit more to writing and enter some competitions and submit more work this year, I have managed to do a bit more writing and entered seven competitions, six poetry, and one short story. No luck so far, still waiting for three results. Unfortunately, life in the form of children being ill, having accidents and or school events to be attended means I haven’t done much writing over the last few weeks and unlikely to do much more over the coming weeks as will soon have all the children off school. I think I may wait until September and make a list for the final quarter of the year.

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