With the new year quickly approaching, it’s time to think about making resolutions and, more importantly, how to keep them. Writers, this is the perfect time to set writing goals. Increasing writing skills, writing a novel, or simply just writing daily are just some resolutions that you can achieve by the end of next year. As we welcome a fresh start, it’s time to stop procrastinating and get started. Here are some things that you can do to reach your writing resolutions.

Setting Realistic Goals

Although many people start the year thinking they can conquer the world, it’s best to know your strengths. Figure out what you want to achieve as a writer, and set a realistic goal. Setting too high of a goal can leave you feeling discouraged if you can’t keep up, and setting too low of a goal could hold you back from what you can accomplish.  

If your goal is to write every day, choose a daily word count or how much time you want to spend writing each day. If you want to write a certain number of words in a year, break it down even further. Set small monthly and daily goals that will help prioritize the workload and make the goal easier to achieve. Keeping a goal for a month or a week is easier than keeping it for an entire year. These everyday goals will then eventually turn into habits that will allow you to keep moving forward without hitting a wall in the middle of the year. Remember that these goals are not set in stone. As the year goes on, adjust accordingly to what you can handle and what will produce the best results.

Holding Yourself Accountable

Behind every resolution, there should be a purpose for completing it. Find that reason and let it motivate you to get started, pull you through the tough times, and hold you accountable throughout the year. You can also set milestones to track your progress and reward yourself when you hit them. Celebrate your achievements by treating yourself. Reward systems never hurt. 

 Consider joining a community of writers. There are many ways to meet writing friends on social media, events at your local bookstore/library, or certain writing websites. NaNoWriMo is a website designed to track progress, set milestones, and connect you with other writers. You can join writing groups and attend writing events to help you reach your goal even faster. Outside support will help with accountability and any writing problems you may need to talk through.

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writer’s block happens to the best of us. If you’re completely stuck on where you want to take your story, take a break instead and do something that will get your creative juices flowing. Read something similar to what you’re writing, read anything, take a walk, listen to music, or have conversations to work through what happens next in the plot. Venture deeper into the world you’re creating by writing a separate scene with your characters unrelated to the story just to get to know them more. Try to stay off social media if it hinders your imagination.

If you don’t feel like taking a break or are just stuck on one pesky scene, skip it and return to it later. Create a placeholder for it by typing, “XYZ happens here” or “Character does a thing.” It’s better to have one missing scene than to stop altogether. Once the story continues, you can come back with more insight into what should happen. 

 If things still aren’t coming together, shake things up. Switch POVs, write a scene five different ways, add a character, take away a character, or write a list of every single thing that could happen next on a scale of most likely to least likely to occur. Pick one of the more interesting events and take it from there.

Conquering the Hard Days

It’s not going to be perfect every time you write. However, you can always edit bad writing. You can’t edit a blank page. Writing can be hard; you’re creating something new from scratch, without any instant gratification. Although you may not feel like writing sometimes, remember your purpose, set a timer for 15 minutes, and do it. If you get through that, set another 15 minutes and keep going! All you have to do is begin.  

 If you’re working to produce a finished piece, lower your expectations for the first draft. The first draft is there to get you started. Even if it’s awful, it’s okay. Something great will come out of it and you have a jumping-off point to explore new ideas, edit, and make progress toward a better draft. Starting is the hardest part, but it will be well worth it.

Reaching the End of the Year

New Year’s Day is the perfect excuse to begin our resolutions, but goals can be set at any time of the year. If you falter during the year and stop for a few months, don’t wait until the next year to pick it back up again. Make another plan, stick to it, and forge bravely ahead.