New Year's Resolution One: Operate a Blog

The other day, a friend of mine posted a list of her New Year's writing resolutions on Facebook. I was immediately enthralled. Much like last year, my New Year's Resolutions for 2014 involve finding a job in the field of creative writing; moving to a city I don't resent; falling (and staying)  in love; and my last one is to quit being jealous of attractive people and instead start lifting weights. But reading through my friend's aspirations, I realized I hadn't really thought about what I want to develop or achieve writing-wise this year. Sure, getting a job as a copywriter or editor will help satisfy my desire to be creative, but there's still plenty more I can be doing in the meantime.

Thus, I present Brandon Figliolino's New Year's Writing Resolutions:

1. Operate a blog
2. Immerse myself in nonfiction
3. Read 100 novels
4. Submit content for publishing
5. Start a career in writing

The list isn't very long, though, it is still longer than my general aspiration's list for 2014, but I feel like each line is significant and has the potential to lead to further development in my life.

For my first "official" blog post of 2014, I'll begin by briefly outlining resolution 1: operate a blog. I've attempted to write blogs in the past, most of which occurred during high school when I thought people cared about my writing more than they did and when I believed I was so creative writing stories that had cliches in them. One blog, which I used under the pseudonym Thomas Xavier (Thomas for my middle name, Xavier for the Patron Saint of Writing), was mostly just different poems I'd written. It was under a Windows Live Writer account, which I believe is now a defunct platform.

There were others, too. I never used them. Now somewhere on the internet, "Brandon Figliolino" is permanently locked on some URLs operated by Blogspot and Blogger, the pages they direct the viewer to completely blank aside from a header that probably reads, "Brandon Figliolino: Writing Prodigy" and "Brandon Figliolino: A Really Cool Guy." If I were to guess, I'd say there are probably three total blogs I've attempted in the past. I know I'm starting this resolution off late (only by eleven days, mind you), but I'm hoping this blog will live up to the headers of its predecessors, and actually contain writing content.

Let's get something straight: the world doesn't need another blog. There is an unfathomable amount of free content out on the internet, so I understand if this blog gets lost out in the universe, ignored and unread. That's okay. I'll still have gained experience from it and had a medium in which to write.

Maybe, however, someone will read it and gain enjoyment within the sentences I've structured, seek intrigue in the situations I present, find understanding in what stories I tell. Even if one person takes something positive away from a year's worth of me blogging, then this blog is a goldmine and I'm satisfied.

I haven't really set parameters for myself in regards to blog upkeep, so I'll set a minimum of one post a week. That seems fair, right? I'll have to do some research on blog etiquette, I suppose.

In the meantime, I need to put the laptop to sleep; A Feast for Crows has been taunting me from its spot on my desk during this entire time, and I'm not going to let it bully me any longer.

Happy Reading.

~Brandon