Introduction
It's that time of year again when you’re probably hearing about New Year's resolutions, including writers. Each year, thousands of people have new writing goals, such as starting a new writing habit, or getting back into writing, or finally writing that first book.
But in terms of setting goals, especially as a New Year’s resolution, have you ever asked what's the point? And how do I even go about creating writing goals that I'll follow through with?
By exploring these questions, you’re building the foundation of your internal motivation."
New Year’s resolutions tend to fall through because of six specific reasons. When we apply those lessons to writing, you'll know how and why taking the following six steps will help you succeed. So keep reading to learn not only how to set realistic goals but also how to stay motivated, overcome self-doubt, and redefine what it means to be a writer.
And knowing which traps and pitfalls to avoid will better prepare you to achieve your writing goals, regardless of when you choose to finally pursue that next project.
1. Define your big why
One reason a New Year's resolution can fall through is because we haven't taken the time to define why that goal is important to us. As writers, our why is usually much bigger than “because I want write a book.” Ask yourself the following questions, and write down your answers and think through them:
- What do you love about writing?
- Why is this something that you feel called to do?
- What does writing make possible for you?
- What does writing make possible for your family?
- Why do you keep coming back to this story or this theme or this idea?
For example, writing makes me happier because I feel more like myself. And when mama's happier, the rest of my family is a lot happier. Writing allows me to share my ideas and have my voice heard. When I'm writing for my blog, I hope to reach other parents and help them to feel less alone. I also like to use fiction to talk about real-world issues.
By exploring these questions, you’re building the foundation of your internal motivation. You can return to your big why any time you need that boost of motivation, because your own words will help you keep going—especially when you face writer’s block, don’t know how to move your story forward, or lose momentum.
Action step: Answer the above questions so you won't lose your way.
2. Identify clear, measurable goals
Another reason why New Year's resolutions tend to fall through is because we're setting unrealistic goals. You want your goals to be specific, realistic, with defined boundaries, and measurable.
For example, instead of declaring that you want to write a book by the end of the year, clarify what type of book, how many words that genre typically has, and when you want to the project to be ready for publication. If you want to write blog articles, identify which topics you want to focus on and how often you plant to pitch yourself.
Attaching a new habit to one you’ve already established makes integrating the new habit much easier."
In terms of realistic and measurable, simplify your goal into more manageable chunks: For busy parents, you could aim to write for 10 minutes every day for 30 days. Or try writing 200 words every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 30 days. These achievable goals are less overwhelming than telling yourself to write a book in one year. And these goals will help you build your writing habit.
If you want to write blog posts or short stories, your initial goal could be to write one a month: week one could focus on drafting the story, week two could be for editing, week three could be for finding places to submit, and week four could be for sending and tracking submissions.
Action step: Plan what will you write, how often, how many words or pages, and for how long for the first 30 days.
3. Track your progress
Staying motivated is harder if you’re doing all this work but can’t see the progress you’re making (especially if you’re only tangible result is the finished project). Thus, you need to choose a method for tracking your progress throughout the duration of your work in progress.
One method is tracking your word count every day you write. When you open up a Word document, write down the word count before you start writing. Time however long you write. And when you finish, check your word count again, and subtract the difference between when you started and ended.
Then track those numbers on a 30-day printed out calendar, in a notebook, in an app on your phone, etc. When you track how many words you write every day, you'll be able to visually see your word count piling up. And you'll see your daily word count goal going up because you'll be reinforcing that writing habit.
You also want to just use an Excel sheet to track your submissions. Once you have a finished project, you could aim to submit that piece to one place, every day, for 30 days. Again, that Excel sheet will show your accumulating progress. (Ps. Remember, you may need to submit your work 60 to 80 times before it finds the right home at the right time, so just keep submitting.)
Action step: Choose your first tracking method for your current or next work in progress.
4. List potential obstacles and solutions
Obstacles tend to derail us. But planning ahead helps us to recover more quickly. Thus, take a moment to identify potential obstacles that might get in the way for your goals.
For example, if you plan to write Monday, Wednesday, Friday nights, what’s your backup plan if your kid signs up for a new karate class on Wednesday nights? Consider solutions or resources you have available. Can your spouse handle karate classes? How can you motivate yourself to be satisfied with only Mondays and Fridays? Or can you dedicate a different night or time of day writing?
Another potential obstacle could be not having access to your computer when you have ideas. For example, ideas pop into my head whenever I'm shopping or cooking. Solutions could include keeping a journal in your purse or car, using an app on your phone, or downloading Google Docs so you can save your ideas in a single document that you can later access on your desktop.
If you struggle with remembering to follow through, try habit stacking: i.e., attaching a new habit to one you’ve already established makes integrating the new habit into your routine much easier. For example, if you always make coffee at 8 am, put your journal on top of the coffee maker. As soon as you get that coffee, you’ll have a visual reminder to pause and write for 10 minutes.
Remember, when obstacles jump in front of you, having your big why preserved is going to help you overcome those challenges. So maybe re-reading your big why is one of your solutions.
Action step: Think about obstacles that derailed you in the past. Then identify how you can overcome them now, so you’ll be better prepared this time round.
5. Find mutual accountability
There's something to be said about peer pressure, my friend.
Find people who are going to support and encourage you, and that doesn’t immediately mean a spouse or a best friend. Of course, they can still encourage you. In fact, my husband keeps asking me when I’m going to finish revising my novel.
Regardless, I recommend finding other writers who encourage you to keep writing, understand the challenges we face, offer solutions, and nudge you along when needed.
That's why you share your stories as a writer; it's about that connection with that one person."
For example, find Facebook groups that offer write-in-tandem sessions. In my group, Parents Who Write, we gather virtually, state our goals, and then write together for 30-minute intervals. We have a laugh here and there, but that dedicated writing time helps hold us all accountable. Plus, those sessions reminder us that writing doesn't have to be a solo experience.
The other benefit of mutual accountability is that sometimes showing up for other people is easier than showing up for ourselves. If someone else needs your help to keep writing, you don’t want to let them down. And that creates a beneficial cycle because cheering on your teammate encourages you too.
Action step: Find a friend who writes, and schedule regular writing sessions and check-in dates. Or join the Parents Who Write Facebook group, and try a write-in-tandem session.
6. Overcome self-doubt
For many people, self-doubt is actually their number one obstacle. Too many times I meet people who say, “I’m not a writer. I want to write, but my writing isn’t good enough. Why would anybody want to read my story?”
Our mindset plays a pivotal role helping us to follow through with our goals, to not lose our motivation. And self-doubt as a whole can be a minefield. But I’m going to break this down into three ideas for you to consider:
The judge
Especially for first drafts, let go of your inner judge. If you spend your entire writing time thinking, “I hate what I'm writing,” you are blocking your creativity. You are shutting down your creative flow.
But also recognize that your inner judge isn’t the enemy. She’s looking out for you and cares about the final result. But your drafts and revisions aren’t the final result. You don’t mix flour and butter and sugar and poof—you get a loaf of bread. You have to check your ingredients, kneed that dough, wait for it to rise, and bake the thing first. And then you may need to practice a few more times.
So tell your judge, “Hey, I know you're looking out for me, and you'll have your turn at the end when I’m ready to edit. Right now, this writing is about creative freedom; it’s a chance for me to be myself, have fun, and experiment—without judgment.” When you learn to do this, you will unlock your creativity. And the more you write, the clearer your ideas and the better your writing will get.
Action step: When your inner judge shows up, say out loud, “It’s not your turn yet. I can experiment and have fun and let my creativity lead the way.”
The audience
In terms of why anyone would want to hear your story, why would anybody care to hear what you have to say, some of the best of advice I’ve ever gotten is this:
The whole world is not your audience. You are not writing for every person out there. But at least one person out there is waiting for your story, your voice, your ideas, your experience, and you're going connect with them.
A writer is literally one who writes. So if you write, you are a writer."
Can you recall a moment when you were talking with a close friend, when they’re confiding in you, when they’re being honest and vulnerable, when they’re trusting you to listen and not judge them? Maybe they were sharing a bad choice they made, or a recent fight with their kids that they didn’t know how to handle, whatever the case may be.
But you reach that moment of epiphany when you realize, “Yes! I get that. I’ve done that. I didn't realize anybody else felt the same way. I thought I was the only one.” And you walk away knowing you connected with that friend on a deeper level, that neither of you are alone.
That's why you share your stories as a writer; it's about that connection with that one person. That's why your story and your voice matter.
Action step: Picture that one person you’re writing for. What do they look like? Where do they live? How many kids do they have? What are their struggles and dreams? What keeps them awake at night? What are they searching for?
The definition
Last, let’s redefine what being a writer means. Jennifer Bozarth said the suffix –er literally means a person or thing who does an action. Thus, a writer is literally one who writes.
So if you write, you are a writer. If you write only letters, if you write only blog posts that connect with a few readers, if you journal everyday just for yourself, if you write stories that sit in your desk drawer—it doesn’t matter.
You are a writer.
In short, what you are writing or who’s viewing it doesn’t matter: You are a writer. There's no other benchmark that you need to hit to call yourself a writer.
Action step: Repeat out loud, “I am a writer.”
Conclusion
Please, take the time to answer these questions and take action. Do it for yourself, because taking these steps will make a huge difference. Each one of these will help you progress further in your writing than before.
You can do this. You can and should embrace your identity as a writer. Tell your story. Connect with others. Give yourself permission to experiment and have fun and be yourself.
