It’s here . . . a brand new year with brand new writing opportunities.

Here are twelve suggestions to make this your best year yet:

1. Read skills development books.

2. Practice the skills you read about.

3. Analyze everything you read. What did the author or writer do well? What areas could stand improvement?

4. Attend a writers’ conference.

5. Take a course.

6. Join a critique group.

7. Start a book club for writers only. (You will approach the books you read from a different perspective.)

8. Try your hand at a new genre or writing style.

9. Enter contests.

10. Consider signing up for challenges like Camp NaNo, OctPoWriMo (October Poetry Writing Month), PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

11. Don’t wait until your work is “perfect” before you publish it, but do make it that best you can. (And don’t forget to enlist beta readers, editors, and proofreaders.)

12. Write. Write. Write. And then, write some more.

What suggestions haven’t we mentioned?