Do We Work on Our Writing Goals or Forget Them?

 

I ran across this photo that has a simple message, simple but also strong. It served as a good reminder to me about the goals I set for my writing journey in early January. Maybe it's a good thing to review the goals you made at the beginning of 2022. 

I recommended that you keep them few in number. Set too many goals, and you can become overwhelmed and ditch every one of them. It's easier to fulfill two or three rather than eight or ten. 

Setting writing goals for the year can so easily go the way of the resolutions you make about your personal life. Gong to lose weight. Exercise more. Invite someone over for dinner once a month. Clean all your kitchen cabinets. We work at those resolutions but slowly let them slide into nowhereland. 

Did you keep a list of your writing goals for 2022? If not, can you remember what you set out to accomplish this year? Can you rate yourself on the progress you've made? 

If you've met one or two of the goals you set, pat yourself on the back. You've probably done better than the majority. If you haven't worked on any of them, heave a big sigh and resolve to work on them now. We aren't even at the halfway mark of the year. You have time to meet them before the end of the year.

What will it take? A desire to reach your goals, some determination, and a bit of patience. You can't do it in one fell swoop. Like a sculptor chips away at a piece of stone until he creates a piece of art, we must work bit by bit to achieve those goals we set. 

Can't even remember what goals you set last January? No problem. Pick two new ones now. You've got 7+ months to work on them. 

Writing Goals For This Month

I'm not at all sure where July went. It slid by so fast that I cannot believe that 31 days ago we were looking forward to celebrating July 4th with barbecues, fireworks, and being with family and friends. But there it is--July come and gone.

Today, we say hello to August, the final summer month for those in our northern hemisphere. It's back to school time for many, a final vacation time for others. It's also a new beginning for writers.

I love new beginnings. If I didn't accomplish all my writing goals during July, I can start the list for this next 31 days with the unfinished ones. I will also add a few more. Each time the calendar tells me it is the first day of a new month, I feel exhilarated. It's like opening the first page of a book you will read. You know there is something good ahead and you're eager to get started.

What are my writing goals for August 2016?

• to check deadline dates for Chicken Soup for the Soul books
• to work on an ebook I hope to publish someday
• to do 2 subs and 4 crits at my online group
• to continue working on a personal essay about trains
• to get my computer/printer incompatibility problems solved
• to write the first draft of a poem that has been swirling in my head

That's six tasks for me to accomplish, a bit more than one per week. That's enough. Too many writers make up such a long list of goals for the month that they feel overwhelmed before they begin. Make your goals realistic. Make them possible. Make most of them attractive--you want them to call out to you. No doubt there will be one or two that you dread tackling. Most likely, when you accomplish those unattractive ones, you'll feel the most satisfied. Nobody ever said that every part of being a writer is super wonderful, did they? 

Take some time today to list your goals for August 2016. Then pick one and start working on it.