Two Januaries (sp?) ago I posted my writerly resolutions. After a year in baby land, I finally have a toddler. Hooray! I finally have a writing routine again. Hooray! I’ve been gaining steam on a project I love, and I just met DIY MFA (love!). With that site’s advice in mind, I bring you my resolution for 2017.

DIY MFA recommends 50% writing, 25% reading, and 25% community, so I’m going to strike out for a similarly balanced diet, though I will likely err toward 30-40% reading and 10-20% community.

If a typical low-residency MFA takes (at least) 25 hours a week, then I will:

• Write 1.5 to 2 hours each day.
  • With my winter schedule, I will need to wake up at 5:30 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, 5:00 am on Thursdays and Fridays, and write during one of my daughter’s naps on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Read for an hour each day.
  • I read during breakfast, on the drive to work (audio, of course), with my students, and while doing the bedtime bottle. These scraps maybe total 30 minutes, so I’ll need another half hour before bed each night. This means no TV after 8:30 through the week! On the weekend, I can get the time during my daughter’s other nap (or when she goes to bed).
  • DIY MFA has great tips for building your reading list. My reading has been voracious but scattershot, so this has been helpful for getting me organized. Check out my shelf! This isn’t all I will read in 2017, but it’ll get me started.
• Spend 5 hours a week in writing community. Every other Tuesday, I have writing group for two hours. The other Tuesdays, I’m joining a write-in. The other three hours a week will come from attending readings, critiquing for my group, as well as engaging on Twitter, Goodreads, and blogs. I would also like to do some major writing events: Mission Creek Festival (April), Iowa Summer Writing Festival, Iowa City Book Festival (October), and a writing retreat (December).

What are your writerly resolutions for 2017?