New Year's Writing Resolutions

I'm someone who works best from a list. If I'm writing a long story I write out a list of scenes I want to write in any given day and then work through them, and I find I'm much more productive that way that if I just sit down and try to pick up where I left off.

Having said that, it's logical that my writing goals for this year have to be in a list form, so here are my 2013 writing resolutions:

• Write 150,000 words of fiction in 2013, whether that's character sketches, flash or novels.
• Finish the first draft of Witness.
• Try writing a different style to my usual YA/fantasy - perhaps something steampunk or romance?
• Take part in NaNoWriMo (note: take part, not neccesarily win).

A word game for Christmas

I'm sure several people have done this before, but this is a word game I'm doing with my family at Christmas (they don't read my blog so are unlikely to find the answers here!).

Essentially, what you do is to take a couple of lines from a Christmas carol and run it through Google translate several times and then back into English. I find using Chinese or a non-European language makes it more interesting because they come from different reference points.

As an example; 'Once in Royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed' becomes 'In Imperial David's city, bad bullpen'.

Read the translated lines to your family/friends/people in the works party and see if they can guess what the carol is. Usually there will be some clue in the translation as to what it is (like Imperial David's city), but some come out so crazy that it can be fun trying to work out what it's supposed to be.

Here are 10 that I did for my family party. The answers are underneath the clues, so highlight the blocks of black to see the answers :)

Sitting on the floor at night, shepherds watching their teacher

While shepherd watched their flocks at night all seated on the ground

Hall of fields, all local flying angel
Angels from the realms of glory wing your flight o'er all the earth

Listening to the Herald Angels Sing newborn King Glory
Hark the herald angels sing glory to the new born king

Christmas, Christmas, three ships sailing
I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas day, on Christmas day

God bless you all happiness, gentlemen, let nothing you afraid
God rest ye merry gentlemen let nothing you dismay

Obviously, at midnight, age, and glorious songs
It came upon the midnight clear that glorious song of old

Was moaning in the dark cold winter wind
In the bleak midwinter frosty wind made moan

In a manger, no crib bed away from the
Away in a manger no crib for a bed

The difference between the field and lay the first Noel the angels, shepherds
The first nowell the angels did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay

Oh, come on, you are faithful to win 
O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant