A CREATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ‘RESOLUTIONS’

In 2016, I refuse to have any resolutions. I don’t need to have any because resolutions are a set-up for self-failure. First, they are broad, like: lose weight or, write a novel. This is silly and without plan. When they get more specific, they are completely unrealistic: lose 60 kilos (and disappear?), write 6,000 pages of my upcoming retrospective on alien movies vs. zombie movies in the history of cinema (that’s kind of a good idea!).

This year, I ban generic resolutions and suggest an alternative. I will continue to do what I do and chip away at my major life goals, which means ‘morning pages‘ and managing a creative routine outside my day-to-day, but, that’s a given.

Here’s my alternative. Make a list of things you can tangibly DO – like watch certain movies, read certain books, try certain restaurants or take one class in something you’ve always been interested in. Keep the list down to a manageable amount, otherwise, it’s just another long list that you can hardly cover.

Here goes: I “resolve” to watch this stuff and read these books.
Who’s coming with me?

WATCH

  • The Hateful Eight
    Because Tarantino changed the way I looked at movies.
  • Lawrence of Arabia
    I saw this classic in film school… and I forgot it! Don’t judge.
  • A Serious Man
    It came out in 2009 and it’s one of the few Coen Brother’s movies I haven’t seen. I usually just study character when I watch their films.

READ

Margaret Atwood:

  • Oryx & Crake (again) – post-apocalyptic world and how we got there and the follow up novels in the series:
  • The Year of the Flood
  • MaddAddam

Rabih Alameddine:

    • Hakawati
    • Koolaids: The Art of War

Books on writing that are good for screenwriters and novelists alike:

    • On Writing: A memoir on the craft by Stephen King (again)
    • On Writing by Charles Bukowski (sort of, it’s a collection of letters he wrote)
    • The Art & Craft of Playwriting by Jeffery Hatcher (newly re-discovered and back in print!)

 

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