It’s that time of year when everyone is busy making a list of
New Year’s resolutions. A resolution is like wanting to make a lifestyle change
such as deciding to eat better; deciding to lose 20-pounds is a specific goal.
The resolution may be our route to a goal or an end-result.
Following through on a resolution is to make a habit that
will lead us to our goal, but there is no actual measurement to a resolution.
Even if we fail to follow our resolution for a day or so, we can still go back
and try again. Setting a goal is final; we either accomplish the deed by the
date, or time period, we set for ourselves or we don’t. Goals come with
pressure, resolutions are more forgiving — but the pressure of a goal might
just be instrumental in helping us keep our resolutions.
As writers we should set goals for ourselves as well as
resolutions. The goal, such as finishing a manuscript, is an achievement and
hopefully an attainable result. In order to reach that goal we make time to
write, hopefully daily; we learn to shut out distractions and focus on our
task. And if we’ve kept our resolutions and accomplished our goal, then we are
likely to continue the habit and begin working on a second goal (a new manuscript?).
We put enough stress on ourselves just committing to an
accomplishment. Set goals that are realistic, things that you can control. A
goal to finish a manuscript is within your power, however it is NOT within your
power to have a publishing house choose to print it. Since you’ve gone to the
effort to write the book and would like to see it in print (or e-book), then
you can set practical goals such as submitting the manuscript to a new
publishing house every two to four weeks until it is accepted.
Remember to set resolutions regarding your writing habits,
your health, your lifestyle, etc. Some realistic writing goals to set (in
addition to finishing the manuscript) could be: attend a writing conference
this year; set up a writer’s web-site; write a blog post twice a week; read
three “how-to-write” books; purchase marketing materials like business cards
and/or bookmarks for previous works; and more.
Remember that a resolution is a lifestyle change or a habit.
A goal is a realistic thing you want to accomplish that is in your power to
control. Be realistic in deciding on a time to achieve each goal and the
resolutions that will help you on that path. Putting this plan on paper will
become your Life Plan and should be reassessed periodically through the year
(e.g. every six months).
Happy New
Year!
Writing Exercise: Free-write for 30-minutes a
day for five days in a row.
Writing Prompt: Make a list of six GOALS you
want to accomplish as a writer in the coming year. (If you can’t think of six
writing goals, list as many writing as you can and add up-to-ten more goals of
anything)
Challenge Assignment: Using the
list of goals you wrote, list the “steps” you need to reach each goal (such as completing
your manuscript). Decide which of these steps can be resolutions, habits to help
you reach that goal (such as writing one hour each morning before work). Decide
on realistic time periods or dates to achieve each goal. Set these goals and
the steps on a calendar. This becomes your Life Plan.
