Writing a 50,000 word or a 150,000 word manuscript is not something that happens over night. It takes time and persistence. You simply cannot sit down in a single night and write the whole thing.
To be a successful writer, it is crucial that you create goals for yourself to get the book finished. In fact, you really need these goals in everything you do. I'm not talking long term goals, but also short term goals.
Everyday, as you sit down to do your writing project, create a list of things that have to get done in that period of time you set aside for your writing. As you finish those items, cross them off your list. If you finish before your time is up, it is OK to just congratulate yourself and walk away. If you have the motivation, pick another smaller goal and go for that.
The same goes for your long term goals. What do you plan on finishing by the end of the week? When are you going to get the book finished? Lay it all out on a calendar and stick to it. You might be surprised. The book might not only be great, but it will be finished.
There is also a side benefit to this. You learn how to work with deadlines that you are going to have to face when you get that elusive editor.
Just something to think about today.
Scott
I do set a schedule for the things I want to achieve. Sometimes though, it frustrates me that when I am confronted with failure, I tend to navigate away from my schedule. Starting a routine and picking things up again are often times difficult. Thank God, I get by...so far.
ReplyDeleteI love setting goals. Plotting and planning how I'll accomplish goals is one of my many joys in life. Unfortunately, my problem is execution and completion. I start off strong, knocking off each mini-goal/task. Then another goal pops in my head, and I'm off to plotting and planning again while leaving my prior goal in the wayside.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why I get so excited over the goal setting aspect. Even something as simple as creating a book outline gets me poppin'. I have to force myself to go back and work on old projects.
Setting goals was huge to helping me finish my first novel. By making it a commitment to write every day, even if it was only for a few minutes, helped me keep my head in the story as well as make me feel good seeing the progress being made as I worked to that finish line. Great post.
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