Happy New Year! Here we are on the resolution merry-go-round, version 2016. I’ve heard several people say they would like to live with more deliberation, to be more discerning in how they spend their time.

The older I get, the more I realize that time is a priceless gift. We only get so much of it. 2015 flew by faster than any other year in memory. If I spent half as much time writing as I spend thinking about writing, I’d have dozens of books completed by now! So this year my goal is less thinking and more doing.

Yesterday’s post by Jenilyn Collings talked about not letting fear stop you from writing. Sometimes I think we hold back because of past failures, real or perceived. We impose our fear of future disappointments. When was the last time you created something with wildness and passion, without overthinking, just for the sheer love of creative expression? I submit that this is how our best work is born. I like to quote Edna Mode from The Incredibles when she says, “I never look back, dahling. It distracts from the now.”

If you are an artist—a wordsmith, a painter, a sculptor, a songwriter—my challenge to you this year
is to spend more time creating. Without fear of criticism or failure, without an effort to predict the next trend, and without overthinking the process so much that we cripple ourselves.

A writer friend phrased it perfectly when she said it took her years to write her first published book, often waiting for inspiration to come calling or for the ideal conditions to appear. But when she had a second and third book under contract, she couldn’t afford to be “precious” about the process. She just had to sit down and get it done.

And so, my dahlings, I leave you with this thought: create. Create, create, create, create, create, create. Let it pour out of you unhindered. Seize the small moments of brilliance that beckon. Then step back and admire that you have put something out there into the world that no one else could. If you’re unhappy with the results, count it as experience and start again.

Your best work awaits.

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Growing up, Christine Hayes loved reading stories about creatures that curl your toes and legends that send a shiver down your spine. Now she loves writing about them, too. Her debut novel, MOTHMAN’S CURSE, was released in June 2015 through Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan. Christine seeks inspiration by haunting flea markets and estate sales, searching for cool vintage finds with a story to tell. While earning her degree in music she visited Asia for the first time, and later moved there with her family for several years. She has been addicted to travel ever since. Christine and her clan now live in northern Utah. Find her online at www.christinehayesbooks.com.