Having previously written in a scatty manner for most of the year, I've suddenly hit a routine that suits me, so my resolutions are mostly to do with that. Here they are:

- Get to bed early. If you start work early enough in the morning, the horrors of time pressure recede tremendously, but it doesn't work if you're half asleep. No late nights; I shall do my socialising at weekends.

- Floss my teeth every day.

- Give up alcohol, at least for a while. I don't drink much anyway, and it would save explaining to be able to say 'I don't drink'.

- Never again internet-search my name. It puts too much attention on what happens to the fiction after I've written it, and my attention should be on what I'm writing now.

- Decorate the blank wall in my study.

The thing about these resolutions, of course, is that they're all things I want to do anyway. Last year I didn't resolve anything: I couldn't think of any particularly useful resolutions to make, and if I made some up just for the sake of it, I knew I wouldn't stick to them. Resolving to do something you're not motivated to do is pointless. To my mind, the best way of making a resolution is to think of something that's an act of self-care rather than self-flagellation, and just determine on it to give yourself a little push in the right direction.

What are your views on resolutions? Making any? For 'em? Agin 'em?

Happy new year, anyway.