Resolutions and Writing
Most articles and blog posts on resolutions hit the first week of January. "Being timely" and all that. It's silly, really. People start the year all motivated. By February or March, reality sets in. Those helpful articles on losing weight will be replaced by advertisements for chocolate.
No matter what writing goals you set, take heart! All is not lost (unless your hard drive died, in which case it IS lost, but don't let that kill all of your motivation to write).
1) Set a new start date.
January 1st is not the only day you can set as a start date for goals. Look at the excitement that builds for NaNoWriMo every November 1st. It's a set date when the magic happens. Make your own magic, even if it's February 22nd, March 2nd, or April 13th.
2) Make your writing goals specific.
This is one goal that resolution mumbo-jumbo writers like to harp about, but it carries truth. There's a world of difference between saying "I'm going to write this year" and "I'm going to write at least 30,000 words of shorts stories and keep at least two on submission at all times." Goals are designed to keep you accountable, so if your goal is wishy-washy, it gives you too many excuses to be wishy-washy.
This is one reason I like Write 1 Sub 1. It gives you a specific time span to achieve your goal: one story written and submitted each week, or one story and written and submitted each month.
3) Reward yourself for a job well done.
Look at this one on little scales and big scales. Meet your weekly goal? Get yourself a treat--Starbucks, an evening out, a new writing journal, something. If you meet your big goal--say, finish NaNoWriMo with over 50,000 words--go big. Get yourself a new monitor, or Scrivener. Something cool, something useful. If money's tight, make your reward an experience--a day trip or a visit to a friend or teacher you haven't seen in forever.
It's sometimes nice to have a deadline right before a vacation; that way you can work yourself into a frenzy, get it done, and then give your brain a break.
If you don't make that deadline? Go home. See #1.
4) Accept that writing time isn't just about writing.
A writer should spend the bulk of time writing, yes, but there are other essential parts of a writing career: filing, blog posts, research, revisions, critiques (giving and receiving), industry blogs, market research, etc. I have spent whole days on Duotrope, looking at poetry markets. I classify this as writing time. It's something that needs to be done. It's also something I might use as a semi-break after I do something like spend three days on a short story rough draft. Then the next day, I can proceed with revisions.
5) Keep a writing day planner.
One of the best ways to know what you need to do is by knowing what you're already done. Every year I get a day planner to use for my writing. I can use it to plan ahead for goals--market closures, scheduled blog posts, personal deadlines--but most importantly, I write down what I do each day. That includes places I submitted works, how many words I've written, what I have edited, etc.
For example, today is a lighter day of writing for me because I did errands and my son has a shorter day of school. This is what I have listed:
X - Bready or Not post: Chewy Raisin Cookies [scheduled]
- Write Chicken Soup holiday story [1100 word max]
- Blog prep
What I'm doing now is classified under blog prep, but I also went on LJ and scheduled three forthcoming posts on my blog. I have the opening of the Chicken Soup story done, but I'll have the rough draft by the end of the day and note that word count. The Bready or Not post was scheduled, and I verified that it posted, so I checked it off.
Writing can be discouraging at times, especially when it feels like you're not making any progress. It makes me feel better to look back and see I edited so-and-so, sent off submissions, wrote a poem, and started on a new story, all in a week. If you're just starting out, it's great to just start by doing one writing-related thing each day.
6) Accept that life happens.
Goals are great. Being kept accountable by a planner is great. But life is mean and nasty and crappy things happen. You get sick. The kids gets sick. Your hard drive dies. Your cat is deathly ill. There's a horrible deadline at work. You're on a road trip and it's just plain not feasible to write.
There are valid reasons to not write. But if you feel that itch to tell a story, you know there are even more valid reasons to write. Take care of yourself, your family, the job that pays the bill. Then take care of your soul and tell those stories.
No matter what the day of the year it is, go back to #1. Reset your goal. Find where you saved last. Resume the journey.
No matter what writing goals you set, take heart! All is not lost (unless your hard drive died, in which case it IS lost, but don't let that kill all of your motivation to write).
1) Set a new start date.
January 1st is not the only day you can set as a start date for goals. Look at the excitement that builds for NaNoWriMo every November 1st. It's a set date when the magic happens. Make your own magic, even if it's February 22nd, March 2nd, or April 13th.
2) Make your writing goals specific.
This is one goal that resolution mumbo-jumbo writers like to harp about, but it carries truth. There's a world of difference between saying "I'm going to write this year" and "I'm going to write at least 30,000 words of shorts stories and keep at least two on submission at all times." Goals are designed to keep you accountable, so if your goal is wishy-washy, it gives you too many excuses to be wishy-washy.
This is one reason I like Write 1 Sub 1. It gives you a specific time span to achieve your goal: one story written and submitted each week, or one story and written and submitted each month.
3) Reward yourself for a job well done.
Look at this one on little scales and big scales. Meet your weekly goal? Get yourself a treat--Starbucks, an evening out, a new writing journal, something. If you meet your big goal--say, finish NaNoWriMo with over 50,000 words--go big. Get yourself a new monitor, or Scrivener. Something cool, something useful. If money's tight, make your reward an experience--a day trip or a visit to a friend or teacher you haven't seen in forever.
It's sometimes nice to have a deadline right before a vacation; that way you can work yourself into a frenzy, get it done, and then give your brain a break.
If you don't make that deadline? Go home. See #1.
4) Accept that writing time isn't just about writing.
A writer should spend the bulk of time writing, yes, but there are other essential parts of a writing career: filing, blog posts, research, revisions, critiques (giving and receiving), industry blogs, market research, etc. I have spent whole days on Duotrope, looking at poetry markets. I classify this as writing time. It's something that needs to be done. It's also something I might use as a semi-break after I do something like spend three days on a short story rough draft. Then the next day, I can proceed with revisions.
5) Keep a writing day planner.
One of the best ways to know what you need to do is by knowing what you're already done. Every year I get a day planner to use for my writing. I can use it to plan ahead for goals--market closures, scheduled blog posts, personal deadlines--but most importantly, I write down what I do each day. That includes places I submitted works, how many words I've written, what I have edited, etc.
For example, today is a lighter day of writing for me because I did errands and my son has a shorter day of school. This is what I have listed:
X - Bready or Not post: Chewy Raisin Cookies [scheduled]
- Write Chicken Soup holiday story [1100 word max]
- Blog prep
What I'm doing now is classified under blog prep, but I also went on LJ and scheduled three forthcoming posts on my blog. I have the opening of the Chicken Soup story done, but I'll have the rough draft by the end of the day and note that word count. The Bready or Not post was scheduled, and I verified that it posted, so I checked it off.
Writing can be discouraging at times, especially when it feels like you're not making any progress. It makes me feel better to look back and see I edited so-and-so, sent off submissions, wrote a poem, and started on a new story, all in a week. If you're just starting out, it's great to just start by doing one writing-related thing each day.
6) Accept that life happens.
Goals are great. Being kept accountable by a planner is great. But life is mean and nasty and crappy things happen. You get sick. The kids gets sick. Your hard drive dies. Your cat is deathly ill. There's a horrible deadline at work. You're on a road trip and it's just plain not feasible to write.
There are valid reasons to not write. But if you feel that itch to tell a story, you know there are even more valid reasons to write. Take care of yourself, your family, the job that pays the bill. Then take care of your soul and tell those stories.
No matter what the day of the year it is, go back to #1. Reset your goal. Find where you saved last. Resume the journey.