[Top Ten Tuesday] 2018 Reading, Writing, & Blogging Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish but is currently being run by That Artsy Reader Girl. A prompt is given each week, and I hope to do it every week so I always have something going up on Tuesdays. This week we are talking about resolutions! It's officially 2018 which means it's time for some resolutions! Each year I try to make reasonable resolutions for myself, and I feel like I have done a good job keeping up with them. In this post I will first discuss my goals from last year and see if I was successful in sticking with my reading goals from 2017. Then I will list resolutions for my reading, my writing, and my blogging. These are the three things I feel like most of my focus will be going to in the next year, and I am hoping by the end of the year I feel like I have read a lot of great books, have finished my first novel, and I have improved and expanded my blog.

First, my goals from last year. I am going to list them and write a sentence or two about it and then move on, because I don't want it being too long!

Past Goals/Resolutions

Read as many books on my kindle as I can. So, this was definitely a fail. I used my kindle a fair amount but not as much as I really wanted to. I am hoping I can keep chipping away at the too many books on my kindle shelves.

Participate in more TBR take downs and read-a-thons. I actually realized this year that I don't think read-a-thons or even take downs are a good mesh for me. I will always participate in the BookTube-A-Thon and maybe one or two other events but overall I think they push me into a reading slump.

Don't put off books I'm excited to read. Kind of. I need to be better this year because I didn't do it as well as I wanted to. I put off a lot of books I wanted to read but they were "too big".

Read at least 80 books. Yep! I read 109 book in 2017. 

Write longer more detailed reviews. Yep! I think not only have my reviews have improved, but they have also gotten to a good length, and they have been detailed.

Keep up on Books Amino. Kind of. I realized that Books Amino isn't my favorite community anymore, and I may be a bit too old for the app or something. However, I do post in the app often and I try to like/comment on some of the posts that catch my eye and interest me. I am not too upset about only half accomplishing this one.

Start a book blog & keep up with it. Yep! There was a moment in the middle of the year I took a bit of a break, and November was focused on NaNoWrMo more than the blog, but I kept with it and I am proud of myself.

Read more diversely. Most definitely. So many of the books I read in 2017 were diverse!

Read books that teach me something new. Yes, I have learned a lot in 2017. I am excited to learn more in 2018.

Re-read without feeling any guilt. Eh, I wish. I need to be less guilty and hard on myself. I kept thinking about my wrap ups being all re-reads and the list of unread books on my list. I plan on being better in 2018.

Keep a reading journal & stick with it. Nope, but now that I am not on Goodreads I think I'll be better at it.

Read five books outside my comfort zone. Kind of, I think I need to stop being intimidated of sci-fi and just try it out. It's the one genre I seem to steer clear of.

2018 Reading & Blogging Resolutions

1.  Not to stress over my reading goal.  Although I know how many books I'd like to read. I am not going to let myself obsess over getting there by the end of the year. I honestly just want to get to 2019 and think "Wow. I picked up so many books I wanted to read and always put off!" I know it's hard with all the amazing 2018 releases I am excited for, but I need to try.

2. Do not apologize or feel guilty for less reviews each month. In my wrap-ups, I am always saying stuff like "I know I only read four books" or something like that. Instead I need to focus on how many books  I did read. Whether it be one or seven. I also don't want to focus on the books I decide to DNF. I will either put it back on my TBR for a future date if I think I'd like to try it again or forget about it entirely.

3. Find & read diverse fantasy books. The reason why I didn't read a lot of fantasy in 2017 is because fantasy isn't known for being extremely diverse, unfortunately. However, I think that is changing especially with books like The Belles and Children of Blood and Bone coming out. I just want to read more fantasy.

4. Read more books I own, whether that be on my kindle or on my shelves. This is a goal I had in 2017 and I don't think I did as well as I wish I would have. It's just so tempting when you have a library with so many amazing books. But this year I am hoping to get to all the books that pop in my head when  I think about my unread books. I bought them or was gifted them for a reason.

5. Be more active in the blogger community. I want to focus on commenting and interacting with the blogs I have been reading the last year. I read so many but I always find myself second guessing commenting. I know it's probably my anxiety that is stopping me from clicking "publish" but I write out a comment, and then immediately second guess myself and delete it. This year I want less of that.

Writing Resolutions

1. Edit my novel over and over again.  I really need to focus on my novel this year. I want to at least have it completely finished/edited before the year is over. And I need to stop wanting to do other writing projects because the thought of editing and finishing this one intimidates me.

2. Journal more. This is one  I need to really kick my butt into gear about. I am hoping at least two times a week just so I have some writing from my thoughts and life to look back on. My mental health has been a bit of a roller coaster and I thought maybe writing would not only help but I would hopefully see myself improve mentally.

3. Be more open with others reading my novel. I would love to get other people's opinions on my novel after I've edited it a couple [million] times. It kind of terrifies me to have other people read this thing I have put so much of myself into, but I need to be brave because it'll only get better if more people can give me feedback on it.

Hopefully I can focus on really working on these resolutions. I have four less than last year (and two less than the ten I'm supposed to have on this post - sorry!) and they're more specific and focused on things I feel like would make me a better reader, writer, and blogger. I am going to write them in my planner so I can see them often. If you participate in yearly resolutions, tell me what reading, writing, and/or blogging resolutions you are striving for this year!

Thanks for reading!