Setting Writing Goals...And Meeting Them

With the new year comes resolutions…are you tired of them yet? 

Personally, I don’t set resolutions. I never keep them, so I just stopped setting myself up for that perceived failure. 

Instead, I set goals for myself that are realistic and fluid. I also set big goals, but I put them at the end of the list. We’re working on progress, not perfection, right? 

So, if you never write, you’ll never publish a book. Rather than saying you want to publish a book this year, make your goal to find a consistent time to write each week. Go small to go big.  That’s the best way to meet your goals. Make them realistic, measurable, and attainable. 

If you want to work on your writing practice this year, try these things:

1. MAKE time for yourself to write. It doesn’t have to be every day, but do try to make it at least once a week for an hour. You may find yourself craving writing after you get into a consistent habit. 

2. Read more. And read widely. Ask your friends what their favorite books are, and read them even if they’re not your genre. Pick a book by its cover for once and see where it takes you.

3. Read as a writer. You may hate the plot of a book, but ask yourself, why? Why do those characters irk you? Why don’t you believe the twists? How else would you say that line or carve that arch? Reading like a writer is very different than reading as a reader. Both are important for your writing practice!

4. Come to a writing sprint of mine! They’re an hour and a half long on Thursday nights and you’ll get a little camaraderie and a lot of accountability. Plus, I come up with the warm-up prompts myself and they’re always…interesting.

5. Let yourself get weird with your writing. You may find yourself sitting down at your scheduled time and not feeling what you’re writing at all. That’s ok! Pick a random object on your desk or floor and write about it for 10 minutes. See where it takes you. Go big. Try something different. It’s ok!

6. Remember that there are no rules to YOUR writing practice or YOUR creativity. But your voice and your stories are important, and we need them in the world. So keep typing.

Need help with your writing practice? Email me. We can set up a call to talk through your pain points and get you back on track to finishing your projects and meeting your writing goals.