Apparently this year’s trend is a “word of the year” or a “nudge word,” which is intended to take the place of a new year’s resolution. I gave Merriam-Webster’s little word generator a shot and this is what it came up with:
Screenshot from Merriam-Webster
Whimsy? In this economy? I think the fuck not, my good sir.
The truth is, my goal for 2025 is the same goal I had for 2024 and 2023 and 2022, and … you get the idea. Every year, I resolve to write more, because writing is the foundation of my life. It’s the thing that helps me make sense of the world around me and the world inside me. Writing is also the activity that gives me the most joy. Sometimes when I’m stressed out or depressed, I stop writing, even though my brain continues to produce stories. When I realize what I’ve done, going back to writing always makes me feel better. I don’t know why I forget that sometimes.
No matter how chaotic my life has been, I’ve always known that I would be a writer. Writing is my fixed purpose. For years, I worked office jobs, so that I could have a spare moment here and there to work on various novels. I was not sure I would ever be a published writer, but even before I was, the writing was my focus. Sure, it took me 45 years to earn a living as a writer, but that mostly just feels like a bonus.
Even during my “down time,” while I’m working on revisions or waiting for an editorial letter on a book I’ve sold, I’m always writing. Sometimes I work on the next book I hope to sell, but also plenty of times, I work on random projects. Like a series of massive fantasy books I’ve been working on for nearly 30 years. I doubt those will ever see the light of day, but the work of it has kept me going.
I do sometimes wish I was better at this sort of writing—essays, blogging, keeping up with promoting my books—but the truth is that if I have to choose between working on a novel or a blog post, I’ll almost always choose the novel.
So regardless of what 2025 brings, my “nudge word” is WRITE. It’s always WRITE.