Categories
Productivity

5 Ways to Make Sure Your 2024 Writing Goals Happen

Happy 2024, writers!

What are your writing goals for this year?

Mine are to revise The Tithes of Spring, complete my latest (and hopefully last) edit of The Dedworth Shame, find a publisher for a project, and write the first draft of my next novel (title TBD!).

Sound like a lot? It does, I know. But I have some tricks up my sleeve. I have clear boundaries with my family and, most importantly, myself. I have, once again, invested in a writing coach to help me along the way and hold me accountable. I have broken down my tasks into achievable, daily, and weekly goals. Do you want to do the same?

Here are my tips:

1: Create boundaries. With your family, make it clear how important this is to you, create space to write in, and include them in your successes so they can be a part of the action! Create boundaries with yourself by understanding the difference between when to hold yourself accountable and when to be flexible with yourself.

2: Be accountable. Accountability can come from many places. You can find it on social media by agreeing to post your progress every week, for example. You can also join something fantastic like The Fiction Fellowship, a writing group run by Isobelle and me of @inspiredcreativeco_! Or, you can hire a writing coach for personal 1:1 time with a trained professional.

3: Take clear daily steps. While it’s fantastic to set ‘write a novel’ as a goal for the year, looking at that goal day-to-day won’t help you get there. You need to break it down and determine what you will do to reach that point. Ready to jump in? Grab your copy of The Ultimate Writer’s Planning Workbook. It will help you reverse-engineer your entire writing year and beyond!

4: Invest in your progress. Investing in your writing life could be anything from buying a workbook to hiring someone to help you go from A to B. I promise you; it’s a game-changer. It’s a signal to yourself that you take this seriously, and it can help you move forward much quicker.

5: Set achievable goals. Want to write an epic fantasy this year? You can do it – but check out point 3 again. You need to break down the task first so that you can write without feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and intimidated by the task ahead.

What would you add to the above?

If you want to talk about your writing goals and how to achieve them in 2024, my Discovery Calls will open up again next week! I can help you smash through your 2024 writing dreams so that this time next year, you’ll be well on your way to holding your book in your hands.

Want to read something similar?

Check out this post here: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Writing Routine

Categories
Productivity

How To Set Effective Writing Goals

Do you ever feel that you set goals but struggle to move them beyond the act of writing them down? If so, this is the blog post for you.

Setting effective writing goals is the key to moving forward in our writing lives and achieving those literary dreams. So, let’s break it down together.

Specifically define success. 

What is the goal? If you want to write a novel, ask yourself what the endpoint is. If it’s to publish the work and promote it, the goal doesn’t just end at writing the novel. Being specific about what success will mean for you is key.

Understand the actions involved. 

Yes, we can write down ‘Write a novel’, or ‘Publish’, but that doesn’t really tell us what is involved in the act, and so can mean that success will be harder to reach. To set an effective writing goal, break down the actions that are involved in the task.

  • How will you achieve your set goals?
  • What is involved in writing a novel?
  • What will you need to learn to publish?
  • Will you hire an editor?

There are lots of questions to consider. If you need a hand with this bit, don’t be afraid to get in touch and ask for help!

Set a Timeline. 

Once you know what is involved in your writing goal, you can set a realistic timeline for the process. Be generous and realistic. If you need help with planning your writing week, check this post out here!

Remind yourself. 

It’s time to set up that writing habit. Look at your calendar and slot in those actions, setting reminders to help you remember to do the work. If you struggle with finding the time, The Time to Write Workbook can take you through the process. It’s an investment in yourself for the price of a cup of coffee!

Get to work.

Once those effective writing goals are set, the only thing left to do is take action. Getting to work on your goals can be made much easier by setting rewards for each task and keeping that final stage in mind.

If you’re looking for some further help, why not take a look at my Novel Writing Masterclass – It’s Time to Write Your Novel. This course takes you from idea to publication and will make setting those goals so much easier.

What writing goals do you have? Let me know – I would love to help you achieve them!

Found this blog post useful? Share it with another writer.

Want to read something similar? Check these out:

The Time Blocking Tools That Can Help You Write Your Novel
Tips and Tricks for Dealing With Procrastination 
Ten Tips For Planning Your Writing Week