5 Steps to Achieving Your Writing Dreams by Steph Beth Nickel

A little note before we dig in … I use the singular they. Since some writers and editors don’t care for it, I felt a heads-up was a good idea. No need to make readers unnecessarily twitchy.

Hitting the bestsellers list. Earning a fulltime living as a writer. Getting that blog post written.

What are your writing dreams?

Whatever your dreams, there are steps you can take on the journey to making those dreams come true.

Here are five suggestions to point you in the right direction:

Determine your personal definition of success.

Fluid. Changing. As unique as the individual writer.

One writer may not feel that sense of satisfaction until their work is picked up by a traditional publisher. Another may choose the indie route.

One blogger may post new content regularly. Another may post only when they have something pressing on their mind.

One author may be overjoyed to see their first (and only) book in print. Another may throw a celebration when they’re able to resign from their 9-5 job.

What is your definition of success?

Determine to celebrate the small (and not so small) wins.

Did you post in your Facebook group each day this week? Excellent!

Did you finally get that promised guest post fired off to your friend? Good for you!

Did you just sign a publishing contract or upload your first book? Party time!

How and when do you celebrate?

Determine to make a plan.

Kudos to each of you who make a detailed plan and, for the most part, stick with it! Scheduled posts? Check. Write x number of words per day? Double check. Set short- and long-term goals? Triple check.

Some writers can only stay on track if they have a dated game plan culminating in the finished product. Others prefer fewer constrictions but still need a rough idea of where they’re headed and how to get there.

What does your planning look like?

Determine to be flexible.

Make a plan. Be flexible. Make up your mind.

As we all know, Robert Burns was correct when he said, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” If COVID has taught us nothing else …

Still, there are many things beyond the writer’s control, but they press on and take responsibility for what they can control.

Do you “go with the flow” or does a change to your plan give you hives?

Determine to persevere.

During the last five months or so, some have buckled down and achieved long-unrealized dreams. For others, victory has entailed getting out of bed in the morning. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re among the latter group.

Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I have also heard it said that a better translation would be, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the ground beneath your feet.”

So, whether you’re making steady progress or simply standing up is progress, determine today to persevere. Take one more step on the journey to achieving your writing goals.

How will you persevere today?

Share in the comments what steps you’re taking to achieve your writing dreams.

 

Writing Buddies - What's it All About?

This could be YOUR writing buddy!

This is a brand new initiative that is still in its infant stages, but the ultimate vision is to create a database of writers who are looking for one on one encouragement, accountability, and candid feedback, and then ‘hook them up’ with another writer with common interests, goals, and experience. 

 This will be especially helpful for writers who live in isolated areas or who cannot become part of a writing group for any other reason. The idea for ‘Writing Buddies’ was sparked at the 2016 fall conference when Carolyne Aarsen, the VIP day guest speaker, mentioned that she and another writing friend committed to be one another’s ‘writing buddy’ after attending conference. This was before she went on to become a million plus selling author. 

The current goal is to find a few pairs willing to commit to a six month trial period, agreeing to contact each other at least once a month to talk about their writing goals, barriers, and other related topics. Writing Buddies’ is less about being a ‘critique’ partner or mentor, and more about the encouragement to persevere. 

If you are interested or just want more information, contact Tracy Krauss. A short questionnaire will be sent to you. 

How To Make Your Days Count As A Writer by Bob Jones

They say time flies because you’re having fun or aging. I must be having a fun time growing old because, Mr. Scott, it feels like the year is flying by at warp speed.

You can’t slow down time but you can make the best of your time. Setting goals is one of the best ways I’ve found to make my life count for something great. Reviewing my goals regularly is a way of making my goals count.

Goals!  

I’ve been setting professional and personal goals for over thirty-five years. Only in the past two years have I set writing goals. December is typically my goal-setting time. I dream my goals up, pray my goals in, write my goals down and start living in the direction of fulfilling them.

Every day is my goal watching time. Every single day.

Typically, I don’t share my writing goals with other people. So the rest of this post is a bit of a risky departure for me.

Will people think my goals are too small? Too audacious? Not audacious enough? Inspiring? Boring?

My new behavioral goal is vulnerability so here goes.

My Goals For 2016:

#1 Write two blog posts/week every week of the year.

#2 Reach an average of 1,000 views/day on my blogsite by December 31st.

#3 Publish six articles in my denomination’s national magazine.

#4 Publish one article in a national Christian magazine.

#5 Publish one article in a national newspaper.

#6 Publish sixteen articles in local papers.

#7 Enter my book, “Ornament” in the Word Guild’s Writers Contest.

#8 Sell the rest of the copies of my book.

#9 Read six books on writing in the year.

Reviewing my goals daily in January is done with a lot of optimism.  Reviewing them daily in April is a combo of thrill, chill and anxiety. 

Reviewing them in September is a reality check.

So, how am I doing?

#1 – On track.  Check

#2 – No where close. The one day I had 1760 views was a guest post.

#3 – 3 articles published so far.

#4 – Zero articles submitted.

#5 – Zero articles accepted.

#6 – Ten articles published so far with four months to go.

#7 – “Ornament” was awarded “Best Life Story in 2016” WOW!

#8 – Sold 2630 with 870 to go.

#9 – I’ve read two books to date. “Bird by Bird” A. Lamott and “The Writing Life” by A. Dillard

What are your goals for the rest of this year?

 

Robert (Bob) W. Jones is a recovering perfectionist, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks Iced Tea. His office walls are adorned with his sons’ framed football jerseys, and his library shelves, with soul food. He writes to inspire people to be real, grow an authentic faith in Jesus, enjoy healthy relationships and discover their life purpose.

5 Pre-Requisites for Meeting Writing Goals - Ramona Heikel

Setting goals is still a relatively new activity for me, but I’m convinced it is a valuable activity.  

Then why have I done so poorly this year in tracking and working on my goals?  Well, I’ve realized that placing value on doing something, and actually doing it, are two different things.

Goal-setting has never been a high priority, and has never come naturally to me.  I struggle with it all the time.  Now I realize that before I am able to set goals and work on them consistently, I need to be able to master the “pre-requisites” for goals -setting. 

Here are 5 pre-requisites I have identified that will help with goals, with “Notes to Self” as reminders to work on developing new habits. If you have as much trouble with this as I do, maybe this will give some helpful insight!

Pre-requisite #1: Measurable, Realistic Goals

Only one of my January goals was measurable, so now in September, I am having trouble determining if I’ve met the other goals.  I’ve worked on them, but have I achieved them?

One goal was to submit several of my finished pieces for publishing.  I have submitted one.  But the year is almost three-quarters of the way gone, why haven’t I submitted more? Well, for one thing, I wasn’t realistic about these projects. For example, when I went to submit a non-fiction piece, I found it wasn’t technically finished at all, because I still had to put together a bibliography of all the references I’d used.  It took almost as long as writing the article to put together the APA-style bibliography.  Then I found out I needed to include a summary and biography with my submission.  It took a lot of extra time to do the job right.

Note to self: Make measurable goals, and to avoid frustration, plan more time and steps than you think you’ll need to complete a project.

Pre-requisite #2: Commitment

I’ve set writing goals now and then, forgotten all about them, and then haphazardly bumped into them years later as I went through my writing binders and files.  This year I even put a copy of my January Inscribe post (which lists my goals) in a prominent place in my To Do file.  But even then I still only actually reviewed my goals once or twice in the past nine months.  Why?  I probably lacked commitment to achieving the goals.

Note to self: Make writing goals that are important to me. Take time to decide exactly what I want to achieve with my writing, and how to get there.  These goals are worth achieving!

Pre-requisite #3: Tame the ADHD-Factor

I don’t have routines, I’m not a creature of habit; for some reason I rebel against routines and habits.  (I’ve heard that’s a creative thing, so that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)  I don’t write in the same place every time (right now I’m sitting in my car). I am more likely to jump into writing exciting new Project B than to thoughtfully, purposely work on the planned edits for Project A. All this creates chaos, and I’m not sure if or how I can change.

Note to Self: Keep trying to be mindful, to stop and take a breath.  Review your goals and realize you really do want to work on them, even the edits. Remember how it feels to accomplish a goal.

Pre-requisite #4: Regular Pondering Sessions

Sometimes I am a ponderer, but most of the time I am a do-er.  I like to be active, and don’t often like to sit still (a problem for a writer!).  I am also challenged by what I’ve heard termed as “fuzzy brain”, which happens to a lot of women at my age and gets frustrating.  So usually I will choose an activity that I can do, instead of one I think about, which leaves reviewing, analyzing and evaluating behind in the dust of my wild typing.

Note to self: Commit to regular, short pondering sessions.  These are necessary, but don’t worry, they’re not going to take over your fun creativity times.

Pre-requisite #5: Discipline

One problem I have with goals is that I find reasons to change, add or subtract them as I go.  As I worked on one goal and researched markets for some pieces, I discovered Story a Day in May, which looked like a great exercise to help me practice writing entire short stories—beginning, middle and end. I participated in it because it looked like a good tool to help to break my habit of starting a story and fizzling out near the middle because I don’t know how it will end.

I’m sure I benefitted from S.a.D.i.M, but I probably should have taken a moment to mentally review my goals or at least pondered what was more important to me: increasing my skills, or marketing my work.

Note to self: You can’t do everything, so stick with the plan instead of avoiding hard work or going down internet rabbit trails.  You’ll be glad you did.

I want to thank all of you who have encouraged us in setting and achieving our goals. Without you, many of us would be much less focused and determined in our writing journey.  And for those like me who are goal-challenged, I’m saying a little prayer for us!

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com