A new year is a good opportunity to set yourself various goals and resolutions which you can then happily ignore until next January. At that point, you can look back and chuckle ruefully at the foolishness of your former self.

It’s good to try and give your life some direction. And, in my book, knowing for certain that your efforts are futile renders your air of happy optimism even more admirable.

To that end, I have been hoping to develop as a writer this year and have set about setting some sensible SMART goals using this excellent series about setting writing goals from Go Into The Story.

It advises that you “go public” with your resolutions, which rather sounds like I am going to leave the front door to find a throng of reporters on my doorstep who are desperate to tell their readers what I have in mind, when in fact, what I usually find as on my doorstep is a half empty glass of lager, a discarded Subway wrapper and a sleeping drunk. But that’s living in Brighton for you.

Anyway, braving the inevitable media blitz, here are my writing goals for 2016:

• Spend at least four hours a week on the writing process
• Join a writing group
• Read during half of my weekly commutes to work – books not twitter!
• Send out one finished short story a month to writing competitions or other opportunities.
• Blog a bit
• Learn by reading about writing a bit
• Listen to the song “Scott Pilgrim” by Plumtree first thing every morning for the rest of my life.

As you have probably noticed, they get a bit vague toward the final couple of resolutions. But I think a bit of vagueness keeps things interesting.  Or interesting-ish. Whatever.

Also, my love for the Plumtree song may be a temporary infatuation. I can’t help it. It just makes me instantly happy.  And, like these resolutions, whilst it may fade eventually, it’ll be fun in the meantime.