I can’t believe it. 2026 is upon us already. Only yesterday it was my birthday (November) and then Christmas (December) and I’m writing my resolutions for the new year now!
My top plans for this year are:
Post on Substack twice a month
I have created a great haven of words and thoughts and will be posting more of them. I hope to continue for a few more years.
Read more self help books
I found reading self help books interesting. I found after reading I developed more skills I didn’t have and my general knowledge increased too.
Read up about religion
I have always been a Christian but never understood it. I want to get into researching more about faith – starting with a self help style Christianity book.
Become a happier person
I think of myself as a nice person but I tend to think negatively instead of the bright side. I want to practice being more “positivity” often.
Start up yoga or pilates
I’ve always wanted to try this before as I’ve heard it’s good for pain, anxiety and back trouble.. all of which I have.
Meet friends & family more often
Something I have been neglecting over the past two years, that I wish to sort out. I want to start meeting up with friends more and go to more events and days out places.
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Why I buy, kindle and borrow books
What do I mean in the title you ask?
Many people are probably wondering where I get my books from. Simple: I either buy them from Amazon online, Kindle store or borrow them from the local library – if they are in stock.
ANTI KINDLE?
The only inconvenience in this scenario is either waiting for stock or delivery, but if I time it right this isn’t really a problem. Just order, say a week, in advance and you’re sorted. I have to agree, sometimes like today, there are times when you think a kindle would have been helpful – as I could have just clicked and read my book in seconds. But like I already thought, I’m still reading the last book anyway – Actually, I just started it, so the next will be here in time for me to finish the last. Sorted.
The great thing about this idea I’ve come across is not only am I saving money, I get to really feel the book. To judge it’s size in comparison to the last. Give it a smell and see if it’s bindings are old or new. See it if its fresh out the package and a new copy. I also have a big thing about always having the bookmark right before the new page, and as it’s nearly always a new chapter it just looks cool.Random fact for you: I have a weird thing, which I don’t know if anyone else does – always stopping and starting books on a new chapter when I take a breather. You just can’t get the same feeling from a kindle!
PRO KINDLE?
There are many pros to buying on Kindle instead of buying paper or hardbacks. I personally have gone from not liking my Kindle to relying on it, mainly for big epic books to read it easier, such as I have got 20% through both ‘A Game of Thrones’ and Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’, both books weigh in with over a 1,000 pages each.
I love to get stuck into a books plot and that means reading a big (epic, long read) makes more sense to me. I have also got into reading classics such as Dickens and Wilde on my Kindle too because they are under a £1 each on Kindle, instead of full paper/hardback price if I were to purchase it.
For information regarding the library and borrowing books read more HERE.
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New Years Resolutions 2021
One of the things I always forget to do, is make a New Years Resolutions and even when I do make them, I nearly always forget to fulfil it. So as a fresh start in 2021, I am going to write it down on this blog so I can’t wimp out. Here are all my goals for this year…
- KEEP UP WITH CLEANING & TIDYING UP (weekly)
I am the worst for not tidying up until I need to, I have discovered I love tidying and home comforts (which I wil be adding to this blog too) I always need to have a plan in mind first. I can never tidy aimlessly, I need a goal & use MRS HINCH LISTS!
- MEET FRIENDS & FAMILY MORE, OR KEEP IN TOUCH.
I’m hoping that when lockdowns or restrictions in my area have eased off I will be able to meet up with friends again and enjoy their company once more. If restrictions aren’t loosened or if either me or my friends are in lockdown, I still want to video chat more with them and keep up with their lives too… even if one of my besties lives in England, I’m from Wales, UK, by the way!
- KEEP MY DIARY/CALENDAR UPDATED (daily).
I have a terrible habit of not keeping diaries updated after the first few months. This year I want to look in 2022 & see where I went right or wrong in the year and make resolutions based on the previous year. I think it is useful for organising your life and making plans, even if it is just ZOOM!
- BLOG TWICE (or more) A MONTH
I have been known for not blogging for over 6 months (especially with Covid around, I felt like I had nothing to blog about, which is lieees!). This year I vow to write more regularly on my blog!
- KEEP UPTO DATE WITH COVID NEWS (weekly)
I’m known for ignoring COVID updates and I think this is a bad idea, as it has changed everyone’s lives. This year I’m going to start watching updates whenever I can to be more knowledgeablee!
- WRITE OVER 1,000 WORDS ON “The Dark Man Novel”.
Last year like I said I had a down year, with my mental health playing up slightly due to the COVID restrictions and not being able to do things I would like. This effected my writing terribly as I felt slightly depressed and got “imposter syndrome” – this meant I felt like I couldn’t write anymore & what I had wasn’t my own as I wasn’t good enough to write. I want to change this in 2021
I hope that list of resolutions work well for me this year and I get to achieve them all, but this now brings the list to a close, as I have run out of things to add. I hope you enjoy this new rebrand as much as I do, as it was a big decision to start a new name, with my old blog.
Love,
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Writing Wednesdays #2 // 2021 update
I haven’t done an update post like this, in over a year.
I decided in 2020 I would have a break from writing and put my novels on hiatus for a year, but now I have started to miss writing blog posts, as well missing writing my fiction work.
I have got 4 potential novels that I am writing with very different themes from mental health fiction, to fiction crime. I am hoping to be under the young adult category and have published at least 1 novel, if not more, within 2 years. I don’t mind if I self-publish or traditional.
In the world, 2020 has been a nightmare for everyone, especially areas and countries hit bad with Covid-19/Coronavirus. Where I live was hit at its worst right now, in December 2020. We thought we were out of the woods months ago but Covid hit back badly.Since Covid, I like many others, felt a slump in my writing and personal life too. When I should have made the most of free time, due to quitting the library shifts (due to a Covid scare and it having to close with temporary restrictions, earlier in the year!) & the various restrictions in and out of Lockdown for Wales, I actually became less attentive to my blog (You will notice not many posts were done this year) & stopped writing my fiction work completely.
I felt drained and it is only now with the promise of a fresh start in the new year and a new 2021 diary, did I feel up to carrying on with my blog and writing. I am hoping for a fresh start for 2021. I am aiming to complete at least one of my novels by the end of the year 2021 and I also want to regularly post on my blog again.As I have fell out of love with books and want to explore other areas such as home care, food/drink, TV/film reviews, etc, I will be doing lots of new content next year. So look out for it.
I know I change it up a lot on my blog, especially since 2019, but please stick with me as I like writing for my favourite hobby, but also because I love to read other people’s opinions about what I post! -
Short Poem called “2020”
Winds blow swiftly in the breeze
As the changes occur
We are all changing, this yearThe world is slowly evolving
And we are all blissfully awareOne cries “WHAT HAPPENED?”
As the rest continue to stare2020
It’s over, too soon
A new normal has arrived.
By Danielle Mcdowall
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Flash Fiction – “The Window”
405 words. (trigger warning – mental health & incl. potential illness)
By Danielle Mcdowall
FEBRUARY: The night was dark, it was cold, and there was a fog outside. She sat calmly looking out the window again. It was the last night of the month and a man was walking down the road with a dog, a puppy perhaps, it was hard to tell from the distance that she was stood.
LAST DECEMBER: It was 6 pm and dark. She looked once more and there was a figure on the floor, the person’s face wasn’t visible but whoever it was looked out of place. Who was it & why was he or she there? She fell asleep easily and looked once more when waking up, she looked at her watch it was quarter past 3 in the morning and there was another man, older & stockier stood there facing her window, hiding his face.
The woman was living alone and started to question her sanity.
“Am I imagining these figures?”
“I am alone in this house and I have no one to call”
“Should I confront them? Or deny they turned up?”
“…and if they even exist, why are they here?”
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
“WHO ARE YOUUUUU……?”LAST MARCH: she looked out the window once more and there was nothing but cars and concrete. Was it all in her mind? had she created these images? or was it too much vodka? she didn’t drink.
LAST JULY: she looked out the window at a blank canvas. What that was once there, stood still. There no movement. Silence except for a black cat running silently across the road, looking for a mouse. The birds sat on the roof, ready for the morning. All that was there, had vanished.
“Will they ever return?” she asked.
“Did they ever exist?” she asked again.
LAST SEPTEMBER: she was alone, the TV had broken and there was no-one to call.
“Is there anybody out there?” she cried.
There was no reply. There was a silence, in the deep dark room, she started to look outside,
“Maybe I can find a friend from the outside of this house.”
“No one knows me”
LAST OCTOBER: She needed her meds. She had stopped taking them. She was not alone. She was where she belonged. Safe. The voices in her head didn’t exist, or the figures outside. The silence was deafening but she was finally at peace.
“They don’t exist, I DO”
