December 30, 2011

Excitement builds as we head into the new writing year.

Old calendars cluttered with appointments and scribbles come down, and new pristine calendars go up on the wall. All those blank squares! All that potential for doing the writing of our dreams in the new year!

I’ve been reminding you (“harping”) for weeks about setting goals for 2012. I’ve been working on project goals myself, along with reading about making writing more fun (one of my goals) by writing in flow.

Heading into the Home Stretch

2012 is right around the corner. If you still haven’t given much thought to specific goals for next year, I encourage you to sneak off alone sometime this weekend with pen and paper.

Does goal setting feel overwhelming to you? Don’t know where to start? Don’t know how to set good writing goals–ones that have the best chance of being fulfilled?

How to Set Writing Goals

Help is here! See these excellent articles below.

• The strategies we use to get more writing done sometimes do more harm than good. Listen to this writer of “Resolve to Write Better and Smarter.” No matter what your specific writing goals are, these three strategies will help you meet them with a confident spirit.
• While “Setting Effective Writing Goals” by Moira Allen is an older article, it’s one of the best over-all explanations of the importance of writing goals, plus how to set ones that help you move toward your dreams.
• A short “Goal-Setting Course” is found at this blog. This link gives you the first of seven steps. Just read her seven posts in order for specific step-by-step help in setting your writing goals.

6 Comments »

1. 

   Well, your blog is a lovely discovery for this new coming year! Thank you very much! I will be visiting it often!
   Bonne année!

   Comment by nicole — December 30, 2011 @ 11:38 am

2. 

   Nicole, it was nice to meet you too (through your blog). I took four years of high school French, so I enjoyed your bilingual-ness, if that’s a word. Welcome!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — December 30, 2011 @ 11:40 am

3. 

   Thanks for all these “reminders,” (such a kinder word than “harping”), Kristi! Having set goals and failed, I’m going to write SMART goals this time (http://topachievement.com/smart.html)with the hope that the built-in accountability will help me achieve. Happy New Year–and let’s have fun filling up those blank pages!

   Comment by Jane Heitman Healy — December 30, 2011 @ 11:44 am

4. 

   Yes, Jane, let’s enjoy filling up blank screens and pages this year! For the last two months, I’ve done a lot of reading on “flow” and enjoying writing, and I’ve revised my goals a few times after reading something else. So much of it comes down to discovering how YOU best work, and what conditions are most conducive to YOU enjoying the process. Happy New Year!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — December 30, 2011 @ 3:04 pm

5. 

   Although I wrote my goals weeks and weeks ago, I found your links very helpful. Thanks! Happy New Year!

   Comment by Bridgette Booth — December 31, 2011 @ 11:26 am

6. 

   I’m glad they were helpful, Bridgette. I’ve revised my own goals several times lately, trying to figure out my best goals, my biggest desires, the habits I needed to develop to reach those goals, etc. Such a (fun) learning process, isn’t it?

   Comment by Kristi Holl — January 2, 2012 @ 9:06 am

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