Do you often set creative writing goals for the new year? Maybe you want to finish writing your first draft or land a publishing agent.

Goal-setting allows you to reflect on your progress and develop your next steps. It ensures that you are continually learning and progressing in your craft!

However, when developing New Year’s goals, most people will write down a giant goal. Then, they try to accomplish too much too fast or without any clear pathway ahead and burnout sets in.

If our goals are left unfulfilled year after year, we can’t trust ourselves to build a habit and stick to it. This can result in negative self-talk or complacency.

Writers, I want you to set writing goals and continue to make strides toward the writerly lifestyle that you envision for yourself.

I want you to complete this process in a way that will support your overall writing journey.

So, today, I’ll break down the benefits of goal-setting and share how I plan my writing goals for the new year.

I’ve also created a downloadable booklet to help you outline your writing goals, track your progress and stay accountable. You can find it at the end of this blog post!

Let’s prepare for a new year of fabulous writing adventures!

Most often, people come up with New Year’s resolutions – a simple statement of what you want to accomplish.

If you stop at the resolution stage, you’re left with an unclear path ahead. You complete tasks without an understanding of how they serve your big vision.

Goal-setting provides focus. When you have a clear vision, you’re more likely to remain motivated.

By breaking your goal into manageable steps, you witness yourself accomplishing each mini milestone, fueling your drive to continue.

The goal-setting process also provides you with structure. Yes, you can fly by the seat of your pants at times. You’re always welcome to change your plan or reroute when something isn’t working. 

But, a structure provides a hypothesis for you to follow. It’s the, “If I do X, then I predict that Y will most likely happen next.” And that’s important.

With structure, there is room to explore while still recognizing a pathway for you to follow so that Point B is within your line of sight.

Be honest… in the past while setting writing goals for the new year, did you always start with the question, “What do I want?”

This question certainly provides us with many tangible outcomes to strive for: “I want to write a novel. I want to get a publishing agent. I want to sign a book deal.”

But, it leaves out the “why?” It doesn’t hit on our purpose for accomplishing the goal, the secret sauce to remaining motivated.

Today, you’ll start by asking yourself, “How do I want to feel? Every day, at every moment.”

This question comes from Danielle Laporte’s goal-setting book, The Desire Map. In this book, she discusses the concept of core desired feelings. 

Core desired feelings are the deepest feelings that you want to experience in all aspects of life.

You might wish to always feel: creative, powerful, excited, inspired or a series of other core desired feelings.

To figure out what feelings connect with you, consider: Within my writer lifestyle, I want to feel…

Jot down all of the words that come to mind.

Then, step back and reflect on each word’s meaning. Which ones resonate with you the most?

Circle one or two.

Those will be your core desired feelings – the focus that will guide all of your choices moving forward.

Dig deep. Don’t stop with surface-level feelings. Find the word(s) that aligns with your desire.

Within my writer lifestyle, I want to feel soulful, creative and inspired.

What about you?

This core desired feeling is your “why” behind any writing goal that you choose.

When you start sifting through your numerous goals, you’ll continually ask yourself, “Why? What is my purpose here? Will accomplishing this goal lead me to feel my core desired feeling(s)? Not just once it’s accomplished but throughout the entire process?”

If it’s a hard “no” then that goal is not the one to keep you motivated this year.

Want a little more support with Laporte’s concept? You can read my blog post on The Desire Map here.

Habit # 2 from Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” is “begin with the end in mind.”

Covey states that when we have a clear vision of our end goal, then every action that we take can be purposefully aligned with this goal.

So, your second step is to zoom out and consider your overarching goals.

Start by brain-dumping all of your potential writing goals on paper.

Don’t yet think about how they align with your core desired feeling or if the time frame is realistic.

Take a moment to envision everything that you want to achieve as a writer in your lifetime.

There are numerous ways that you can create this master vision. You could journal it out, create a vision board, meditate or write a letter to your future self.

I have writing goals for one, five and ten years down the road.

Taking time to consider a reasonable order for accomplishing these goals can help you determine what is realistic for your year ahead.

You could choose numerous goals but you don’t want to spread yourself thin.

For the sake of this blog post, you’re going to pick one goal.

You can always add more to your plate once you’re ready for it.

Ask yourself: which writing goal will I accomplish this year that aligns with my core desired feeling(s)?

Review your master goals list and consider the timeframe or order for the goals that you have.

Choose a goal that is both aligned with your core desired feeling(s) and realistic to your season of life.

You may be thinking, “Excellent! I’ve got my goal. I’m ready to get started.”

But, let’s take a beat.

Remember how we discussed the pitfalls of New Year’s resolutions?

Most people never accomplish their giant goals because they go all in with no clear path ahead and eventually they lose motivation. Their goal gets shelved just like every other resolution.

I don’t want that to happen to you.

Instead, you’re going to take some time to break down your writing goal into achievable short-term milestones. 

Quarterly planning is the process of planning your tasks for the next 3 months.

This time frame is short enough to keep your motivation high. You’ll set realistic mini-goals while progressing toward the fulfillment of your major year-long goal.

Consider: How will I break my goal into actionable tasks that can be completed within 3 months?

What are the first one or two tasks that I’ll accomplish in the first quarter of the new year?

As you plan out your quarterly writing goals, make sure to revisit the concept of SMART Goals.

In particular, ensure that you have set specific goals. Tease them out enough so you understand exactly what you need to do.

Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. Usually, you’ll wish you’d had more time rather than less.

The great news is that if you ever have extra time on your hands then you can always revisit your goal earlier than expected.

But, you don’t want to make that your plan. There shouldn’t be any impending pressure.

If you’re worried that there won’t be enough time to complete a task within the first quarter, you need to break it down even further.

Focus on one quarter at a time.

By this point you should have:

• A year-long writing goal that aligns with your core desired feeling(s)- the “why”
• A breakdown of mini-action steps to complete in your first quarter

It might look something like this:

• This year, I want to complete the first draft of my fantasy YA novel because creating my fictional world will make me feel creative and inspired.
• Within the first quarter, I will: nail down the desire and fear of my main character (profile) and then I will use this information to outline the plot. I will utilize the 3 Act story structure, giving myself one month for each act (plotting and researching).

With your tasks ready to be accomplished, it’s time to determine how you’ll follow through on your goal and keep yourself accountable every step of the way.

James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits calls these actionable steps “systems.” 

He states that the daily actions or atomic habits that you use to support your goals should be your focus. These daily habits keep you on track and making strides toward achieving your writing goal.

1. Determine Your Atomic Habits: When and where will you write? How will you track your progress? When will you reflect on your progress?

2. Prepare Your Workspace: Do a declutter and ensure all your writing resources are easily accessible.

3. Complete a Weekly Check-In: At the end of each week, review your goal and reflect on your progress. Ask yourself: what went well? What was tricky? Plan out next week’s tasks and readjust any actions or habits for a smoother week ahead.

4. Celebrate Small Wins: keep your motivation high by recognizing what you’ve accomplished every week and celebrating your wins. Keep the process fun and aligned with your core desired feelings.

I’m so excited that you’re going to set a clear writing goal for the new year, driven by your “why” – a purpose unique to you.

Remember that taking the time to dig deep into your writing goal will set you up for success! 

Breaking down your goal into manageable quarterly action steps keeps you motivated and more likely to accomplish each task.

Start small. Build trust in yourself by remaining consistent and maintaining excitement for your writing goal by recognizing your milestones.

Once this process becomes easy, you can add a second goal or remain all in on your one giant writing goal!

Download the booklet to help you refine your writing goal and keep it top-of-mind. This workbook will help you track your progress and stay accountable so that you’re in control of your writerly lifestyle.

Share your writing goal in the comments below. What task do you plan to accomplish during the first quarter?

Download the workbook and plan your writing goal for the new year!

Talk soon!

Julia