by Nancy Callahan
www.inkthinkerblog.com — Goals can compel you to write faster, write better, and submit more often — but they need to be specific, quantitative and not overbearing if they’re going to work. So what sort of writing goals are best for you?
If you’ve always aspired to write, but have never been able to squeeze time for writing into your busy schedule, Time-Based Goals will assist you in establishing a fixed writing routine. With time-based goals, the emphasis isn’t necessarily on the quality of your writing but on simply making writing a priority in your life. Here are a few examples: “I aim to write for a total of 5 hours per week.” “I am going to write for at least 30 minutes right after I wake up every morning.” “I will write for three hours straight every Sunday afternoon.”
If you already write regularly but want to start holding yourself more accountable for what you produce, try Productivity-Based Goals. By referencing controllable output factors (such as words, lines, paragraphs, pages, chapters, submissions, and so forth), these goals push you to generate a constant stream of finished pieces (or at least finished drafts). They also help you increase your efficiency and stay focused. Examples of productivity-based goals include: “I want to write a 1,500-word article every week.” “I will write 5 sonnets every month.” “My objective is to have at least 10 fiction submissions out at all times.”
If you’re a published writer who needs something a bit more results-oriented, Accomplishment-Based Goals make excellent motivators. These goals are extremely demanding because they require that outside sources be the ultimate determinants of your success or failure. On the other hand, their challenging nature is precisely what makes achieving these goals so satisfying. Some examples of accomplishment-based goals are: “I will get 2 pieces of flash fiction accepted for publication every month.” “I intend to earn at least $250 per week as a freelance copywriter.” “I want to win the ABC and the XYZ essay-writing competitions this year.”
These strategies can be applied to any part of the writing life, from outlining to marketing to learning new writing techniques. Once you know where you’re going, it’s a lot easier to plan the journey.
Nancy Callahan is a freelance writer from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Please visit her website, www.nancy.cc, or contact her at writer@nancy.cc.
Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
Comments on this entry are closed.
Setting goals does sometimes seem like a challenge and I often forget to follow mine. I guess that I should so that maybe I would get more writing done and less pondering about it.
Sounds like a good plan but, I spend a lot of time getting info on what I’m going to write and not always the actual writing. Research takes a lot of time and you have to know your subject completely to write a good article. One time I spent 6 months doing research to write an article on creation vs. evolution. Do you have a suggestion?? Let me know!
tanx ang