This post is also posted on the Fictorians web site. Go there to see it along with other excellent posts on writing.
This is the second of three blogs related to setting goals. Clancy kicked off the series with her excellent post Road Maps Help You Get There.
I will be building on what she started, talking specifically about how to set more effective goals. We’re starting a new year, and as usual, this is a time for renewal, a time for fresh starts. It is very common to set goals in personal and professional lives. Why is it that so many of these new year’s resolutions remain unfulfilled at the end of the year?
First, they aren’t written down.
“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”
This quote, from an unknown source, drives to the heart of this post. Life is busy and unless we focus our energy, we will fail to best utilize the limited time we have for writing.
A goal not written down is a daydream, whereas a written goal is a dream with a deadline. If you like the idea of being a writer but aren’t interested in actually finishing anything, then don’t bother reading on. Otherwise, roll up your sleeves and get your pencil ready.
Second, they aren’t meaningful.
Writing a goal isn’t enough. If it’s ambiguous or you don’t really understand your goal, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
For example, a writer may decide to set the goal, “I’m going to write a book this year.”
Wonderful, but not very effective.
I’ve set this very goal in the past, and I’ve proven to myself that I need to be far more specific.
What kind of book? How long? Is it a 10 page children’s picture book or a 150,000 word epic fantasy novel?
If you say you’re going to write a 100,000 word novel (pick your genre), then you have a starting point for setting a meaningful goal. There are a few other things you need to understand first.
How are you going to approach writing this book?
Are you a free-writer who will sit down at the computer and just start typing in hopes of triggering the Muse to start whispering in your ear? That’s fine. Just recognize that the early effort, and maybe the entire early draft, is just an exploration, a search for your novel. Once you find it, you’ll probably need to throw away most of what you’ve done to that point because only then are you ready to actually start writing the real story. Actually completing a viable first draft of a 100,000 word novel this way may require 250,000 words or more.
If you are more of a story planner, have you discovered your story yet? If not, you will need to allow for perhaps months of work before beginning the actual draft of the story. You need to explore concept, theme, characters, setting, and plot. You need to develop conflicts and figure out your ending and weave in sub plots through the outline. You may write 50,000 words or more in your outlining process before you’re ready to begin a viable draft.
Whichever way you approach the work, writing a 100,000 word novel in a year is far more than just banging out 100,000 words into a text file.
Once you understand what you wish to accomplish, you are ready to set a goal.
Third. They aren’t measurable.
Isn’t the goal of writing a 100,000 word novel measurable?
The answer: partially
If you reach the end of the year with a 100,000 word completed draft of your novel in hand then you can say you reached that goal. However, how do you know in June that you’re on track to make it? Have you set any measurements to help you plan the effort each month?
Break the goal down into smaller blocks that will serve as sub-goals you can work each month, week, or even day. If you can do this, you’ll know at any given time if you are on track or how far behind you’ve fallen.
