2020 is over. It’s dead. Time killed it. Thank the maker. Bye bye, 2020. Go die in a fire.
Now that 2021 is here, it’s time for that magic tradition that many folks following: declaring New Year’s resolutions! I’ve declared these in the past, but there have also been years where I felt disinclined to do much of anything about the new year. But 2020 was an absolutely horrific year for a lot of people, and it exposed a lot of the activities and behaviors that don’t, for me, make life particularly excited. While I can’t control a lot of the miserable activities happening around me, I can make changes (or continue existing changes) that will make life less stressful, more purposeful, and more joyful.
That’s why I’ve decided that 2021 is going to be the Year of Deliberately Manifesting Joy, continuing the mission I began in November 2020 with The Joy Factory and extending those actions across the spectrum of my life as much as possible. So what does that mean in New Year’s Resolutions terms?
- I’m going to continue the mission of The Joy Factory, even if the form of that project changes throughout the year. Presently, The Joy Factory is a Patreon project designed mostly to kick myself in the butt to forward a more positive (but critical) engagement with SF/F/H and adjacent subjects. There’s this tendency in our community discourse to privilege the controversy and hate even when we disagree with it, and the only way I see to change that for myself is to, well, deliberately shift my focus away from that stuff. The Joy Factory does that, and folks can follow me on that journey by joining. Plus, y’know, you get cool stuff like book recommendations, discussions about genre, movie and book reviews, and even podcasts.
- With that in mind, I’ll also continue changing how I engage online, including stepping back a lot more often to read or do other things. I find social media anxiety-inducing far too often, and I just don’t have time for all the raging assholes wandering its halls of misery. Instead, I’m going to do a better job of supporting positive fandom, increasing critical engagement with media, and generally doing more to improve my experience.
- I’m going to read more! I don’t know how much. Setting goals seems silly. What I know: I’m going to read more books, and those books will not be restricted to anything in particular. If I want to read a thriller, I’m going to read a thriller. If I want to read a non-fiction book on ferrets, then that’s what I’ll read. The one exception will be this: I’m still going to give a lot more attention to writers of color.
- I’m going to write more in general, but especially SF/F/H criticism, including some work on academic SF for the general public (something almost nobody does…).
- I’m going to keep podcasting on The Skiffy and Fanty Show because I think it has a net positive benefit to the SF/F/H community.
- I’m also going to try to finish other projects I started, including the Finding Hope one.
- I’m going to finish writing a novel. I don’t care if it’s any good. The quality doesn’t matter. I’m just going to write it. Hell, it doesn’t even need to make sense. I’m. Just. Going. To. Write. It.
- I’m going to increase my exercise output. I need more stability in my life, and having a regular exercise regimen is both healthy and necessary to keep the brain juices flowing.
That’s it! Most of this will be pretty easy to do because I’m already doing it. Some of it will be a challenge I need to put myself through for my own benefit. And some of it are just things I really want to do.
Now the big question: What changes are you making in 2021? Tell me about your path to getting a fresh start!
