The Writer's E-Zine Home

Writers' Village University - F2K: Free Fiction Writing Course - ePress-online
Writers' Village University Membership Information

Craft of Writing

Donna Sundblad

Writing: Option or Objective - Setting Realistic Writing Goals

Dreams of seeing your by-line in print dance through your head. The New Year ushers in new hope with a fresh start. This is the year. You're going to achieve that illusive desire to be a writer. You push aside those unfinished projects and start with a clean slate. You've got a hot idea and can't wait to get started.

Is this new project doomed to gather dust with other unfinished undertakings filed away on your hard drive? What makes your hot idea fizzle and grow cold? Does everyday life get in your way? Do you allow a bout with writer's block to put your project on hold indefinitely? Did your dream die?

Let's go back to the start. You have all kinds of ideas, even keep them organized in an ideas file so that when the times comes you'll know exactly what to work on next. Yet, as the days slip by, your dream fades as the responsibilities of life crowd your schedule. The lack of progress and growth in your life as a writer leaves you disillusioned and unpublished. How do you break this cycle?

First, it's important to point out the difference between dreams and goals. According to the dictionary, a dream is a wild fancy or a hope, a condition or achievement that is longed for. On the other hand, a goal is the purpose toward which an endeavor is directed. It's an objective. The goal helps to achieve what is longed for.

Individual's aspirations differ and so do writer's goals. One person may wish to write a memoir while another may be interested it writing a column in the local newspaper. This article is not aimed at telling you what to dream, but how to set goals to make your dreams as an author a reality. The larger your dream, the longer it may take to achieve it. Don't let this discourage you. Instead, investigate what steps you need to take to accomplish your dream. Take what you learn into consideration as you set your goals.

The Big Picture
First, to set achievable goals, look at the big picture. If you want to write a novel but have never written a short story, you may have to consider the steps necessary to get someone to take a look at your novel manuscript when it is written. Most publishers want to see clips of your published work. They want to know what you have to offer. The big picture comes into focus. Goals for writing your novel may include writing and submitting short stories during the novel writing process. When the time comes to submit your novel, you'll have experience in the submission process and hopefully a couple of by-lines under your belt.

Another item to consider before taking on a new project is the market. Who is publishing what you are writing? Do they consider unagented submissions or do you need to find an agent?

You may be saying, "Hold on. I don't aspire to write a novel. I want to write for enjoyment." This desire still leads to questions. Are you writing? How often? Is there room for improvement? Basics like grammar and punctuation come into play. One of my first goals as a serious writer was to improve my craft. I signed up for on-line classes at Writers' Village University. Classes and study groups available on-line worked with my busy schedule. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone. For the first time in my life I allowed others to read and critique my work. My heart pounded as I hit the submit button for the first time, but I'd taken the step to meet my goal. Not only did I sign up for classes but I actively participated.

Setting Aside the Time
Most writers I know don't have the luxury of sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. Family, jobs and other commitments pull us in all directions. This accentuates the need for goals. If you think you're going to write but have no plan, you are doomed to be distracted by the things of life. You'll need to target specific areas.

In my case, I planned to write twenty minutes a day four days a week. This goal helped develop a routine of regular writing and I soon found that I wanted more. Today, I set a word count goal of 1,000 words a day as a minimum. When considering this aspect of setting goals, be realistic and consider what will work for you. Don't set inflexible goals so rigid that if you miss one day you can't catch up the next.

Don't put it off. Annual goals can be set any month of the year. I joined Writers' Village in July and set my goals accordingly. My writing calendar goes from July to July. If you read this article in March and feel inspired to get started, do it. There's no better time to get started than right now.

How to Do It
Now that you've identified your dream, it's time to outline the steps it takes to achieve it. The first step is to write down your yearly goal. For instance, if you have decided you want to see yourself published in the coming year, write something like, "See my work in print." If you've decided to write a novel, jot it down as a yearly goal using the working title.

In most cases, more than one yearly goal will come into play. Once you've decided what to write and how long or how much to write, you may want to consider where you'll submit your work. Make it a goal to do your homework. Network with other writers. Based on information I collected from other published authors, my goal to find a publisher or agent led me to a writer's conference. As a result, my novel, The Inheritance, is in the hands of two publishers for consideration.

Break it Down
Once you have your yearly goals in place, break down the steps necessary to reach them. This breakdown should reflect do-able monthly stepping stones. For instance, if you plan to write a novel and have researched your market, you'll have an idea how many words you plan to write in the year. Divided by twelve, this number becomes a monthly goal. It gives you a rule by which to measure progress.

If you plan to get something published this year, needless to say, you'll have to write something to submit. Not only this, but because statistically, as a freelance writer, one out of twelve submissions are accepted, you'll make a goal to submit more. What does this do? It pushes you into submitting at least once a month if not more to achieve your yearly goal.

After you've laid out your yearly and monthly goals, weekly goals follow a natural progression. Let's use writing the novel for our example. If your novel needs to be 100,000 words, that breaks down to roughly 8,333 words a month. That translates to a weekly goal of 2,000 words or so.

The trick is to set realistic goals. If you hope to have some clips to offer when you submit your novel in a year or two, take this into consideration and add it to your goals. From conception to the editing process, plan it and it will get done. Goals help usher you through the maze of mundane daily life and prod you to keep pushing the pen on the days when you don't feel like writing. If you actively pursue your goals, it's no longer an option to write. It's an objective.

Accountability
If you start out strong but end the year with a fizzle, you may want to consider an accountability partner or writing group. I facilitate a goals-oriented writer's group. We post our yearly goals at the beginning of the year, our monthly goals are due on the first of each month and our weekly goals each Monday.

Follow this same schedule. Write your goals down. Use them to track your progress. In our goals group, we encourage one another, and just knowing we have to report in once a week helps keep me on track. Whether you do it on your own or with others, write your goals down. Check back with your yearly goal. Reading your yearly goal each month helps keep your monthly goals on target. Be willing to make adjustments in your monthly goals to stay on track. This in turn helps to keep your weekly goals in line with your monthly goals and by the end of the year, the tangible results will have you looking forward to starting all over again.


About the Author
Donna writes short stories, articles on the craft of writing, and is in the process of editing her completed manuscript, Pumping Your Muse. This collection of writing exercises stretches creativity while building a fictional world and rough draft simultaneously. More information is available at her website www.theinkslinger.net.