New Year’s writing resolutions
Forget Christmas, the most promising time of the year is January 31
In 1869, George Eliot made a To Do list in her diary. “I have set myself many tasks for the year,” she wrote. “I wonder how many will be accomplished? - a novel called ‘Middlemarch,’ a long poem on Timoleon, and several minor poems.”
Just like everybody else, writers make their own January promises to themselves to do better in the following 12 months. And unlike many of us, Eliot kept at least part of that resolution. Although the long poem of Timoleon bit the dust (probably a good thing for all concerned), on August 2 that year she noted in her journal: “Began Middlemarch”.
Samuel Pepys started his famous diary on January 1, 1660, which looks suspiciously like a New Year’s resolution in itself – he used to write out what he called his ‘vows’ in a smaller book and take them with him as an encouragement. Though he did well with the diary, he was not so successful with other vows including this one from December 31, 1661. "I have newly taken a solemn oath about abstaining from plays and wine."
In 1753, Samuel Johnson also promised himself in his annual New Year’s prayer “to keep a journal” in addition to his normal self-flagatory remarks about how poorly he felt he had behaved in the previous 12 months.
Some writers were very specific. Virginia Woolf in January 1931 promised herself, “To make a good job of The Waves” (and, more generally, “Sometimes to read, sometimes not to read” which is one all of us can make a decent fist of). In 1986, Stephen King, smarting from criticisms about his latest novel ‘It’ which ran to more than 1,100 pages, said he made his first New Year’s resolution in a decade. “Never,” he said, “write anything bigger than your own head.”
Christopher Isherwood (Goodbye to Berlin, Prater Violet, Mr Norris Changes Trains) noted down many resolutions in his diaries, mostly encouraging himself to work faster and be less idle. Meanwhile, on January 1, 1852, poet Robert Browning resolved to write a poem a day. He only lasted until January 4. I think we all know how he felt.
Writing is of course not always uppermost in writers’ minds as the new year changes. In 1905, PG Wodehouse’s resolution was to learn to play the banjo.
Next week: my annual ‘What I read this year’ post.