How come we have to worry about setting goals? Most aspiring writers usually put this aside as they feel that they have the right skills and resources to become successful in the profession.
Some writers do not even believe in goals and say that it is all about the journey. This may be partly true, which is why it is encouraged to create a lifestyle of writing, rather than just sit back for a month and create a novel. Nevertheless, goals are definitely essential for various reasons.
Clarification: have you worked out exactly what you would like to accomplish by writing? Is it just to keep an up-to-date and much followed blog? Or is it part of the goal to get a novel traditionally released? Will it be to get a book published twice a year? Or gain awards and competitions? Would you like to be named as a 'Best Selling Author'? Since every one of these will need you to function in slightly different methods, and consequently if you haven't particularly stated what you desire, you might get to the end of the process and find you have been traveling on the wrong track.
Achievement: There is always more writing to be done. Always more words that could be said, always more time you may be etching out of your life. Short-term goals let you say 'enough is enough' for one day. It is a wonderful thing, having hit your goal number of words (or whatever) and being capable to go off guilt free and see a movie. You cannot underestimate the difference to your quality of life this may cause. Then mid-term goals will help you stay focused, knowing that you are reaching your long-term goal in the long run. Likewise, you'll get reasons to crack open the sparkling wine at certain periods along the way. A complete first draft is not a published book, but it is still pretty damn exciting.
Justification: Knowing exactly where you are going with your writing saves a lot of time at dinner parties, and a lot of mumbling and generally looking for escape routes. After people have asked what you have published upon knowing that you're a writer, (If you can answer this one satisfactorily you are sweet, though the next question will probably come anyway), they generally follow this up with a question about what you are working on now. A small pitch is never out of place here. But eventually, after a few more glasses of wine have been drunk and the prejudice of the employed rises to the top, someone will ask where it is all going. They would probably say that you can't support yourself, or a family, on just one book and eventually ask if you have ever thought of that. At this point, you can look them calmly in their red-shot eyes and reply that you have thought of that, and you are working at a steady and achievable pace to have two books published per year, long with having a passive income from the online articles you produce and the teaching material you have created, thank you very much for asking. This is much preferable to curling up in a whimpering ball with groans addressed to your mother that you didn't want to be a lawyer, until someone kindly hands you a paper bag to breathe into deeply.
Some writers do not even believe in goals and say that it is all about the journey. This may be partly true, which is why it is encouraged to create a lifestyle of writing, rather than just sit back for a month and create a novel. Nevertheless, goals are definitely essential for various reasons.
Clarification: have you worked out exactly what you would like to accomplish by writing? Is it just to keep an up-to-date and much followed blog? Or is it part of the goal to get a novel traditionally released? Will it be to get a book published twice a year? Or gain awards and competitions? Would you like to be named as a 'Best Selling Author'? Since every one of these will need you to function in slightly different methods, and consequently if you haven't particularly stated what you desire, you might get to the end of the process and find you have been traveling on the wrong track.
Achievement: There is always more writing to be done. Always more words that could be said, always more time you may be etching out of your life. Short-term goals let you say 'enough is enough' for one day. It is a wonderful thing, having hit your goal number of words (or whatever) and being capable to go off guilt free and see a movie. You cannot underestimate the difference to your quality of life this may cause. Then mid-term goals will help you stay focused, knowing that you are reaching your long-term goal in the long run. Likewise, you'll get reasons to crack open the sparkling wine at certain periods along the way. A complete first draft is not a published book, but it is still pretty damn exciting.
Justification: Knowing exactly where you are going with your writing saves a lot of time at dinner parties, and a lot of mumbling and generally looking for escape routes. After people have asked what you have published upon knowing that you're a writer, (If you can answer this one satisfactorily you are sweet, though the next question will probably come anyway), they generally follow this up with a question about what you are working on now. A small pitch is never out of place here. But eventually, after a few more glasses of wine have been drunk and the prejudice of the employed rises to the top, someone will ask where it is all going. They would probably say that you can't support yourself, or a family, on just one book and eventually ask if you have ever thought of that. At this point, you can look them calmly in their red-shot eyes and reply that you have thought of that, and you are working at a steady and achievable pace to have two books published per year, long with having a passive income from the online articles you produce and the teaching material you have created, thank you very much for asking. This is much preferable to curling up in a whimpering ball with groans addressed to your mother that you didn't want to be a lawyer, until someone kindly hands you a paper bag to breathe into deeply.
About the Author:
Do you need tips on how to become a prolific writer, see Buffy Greentree's new book The Five Day Writer's Retreat
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