Writing Goals: If You Don’t Already Have Some, Get Some

Table of Contents

• New Writer or Better Writer in 2022
• Being a Writer
• Writing Goals
• But How are Writing Goals Born?
  • Because You Want Something
  • From Problem Needing Solution
  • From Needing To Improve
  • Through Envisioning The Endless Possibilities
• Non-Stop Progression vs. Consistency
• My Writing Goals
• Setting Out to Accomplish These Goals
  • Priority
  • What Each Goal Needs Or Cost
  • Time
  • Dependence
• Getting Goals, Loving Them, Organizing Goals Into A Road Map, And Accomplishing Those Goals: Being The Best Writer You And I Can Be

It’s almost been a year, since when I decided to take creative writing seriously and choose creative writing as a career, aiming to be an author. And just recently it is no longer 2021. So now that it is a new year and I am beginning to approach my one-year mark for taking writing seriously, have I learned much of anything so far?

Yes. I’ve learned more than I anticipated honestly. And most of my learning came from writing almost every day: from writing blog posts like these, writing assignments, and working on my creative pieces.

For example, more than I could’ve read how to delete unnecessary information, writing blog posts has forced me to be more direct about whatever idea I’m trying to convey. This can sometimes be a good thing and bad. Good because I’m more concise, but bad because I don’t want to remove or lose any of my creativity in writing.

I’ve figured that a simple fix for that is to try not to write blog posts and creative work on the same day. And if I must, not right after one another. I can also just bring some of the creativity here.

One of the biggest things I’ve picked up on is exactly how I am moving toward my goal. A lesson in the form of realization; In 2022 I am re-focused on my writing goals and aiming to complete them.

These goals aren’t new years resolutions. But goals that I have had and need to get a move on in completing. I also briefly mentioned some in 5 Writing Goals & My 7 Methods To Upgrade Writing Sessions, related to writing sessions and throughout other blog posts.

The thought of being a writer is great. Dreamy in fact. Being able to live my life doing what I love without the same time constraints or creative restrictions other jobs come with is amazing. Not that jobs unlike writing are bad or not ideal. But for me, writing is what I want to be doing for a long time. At least that’s what I choose now.

When I first chose to become a writer I had many goals. And one of my goals is still to complete and publish a piece. However, one aspect I did not factor in is time. I did not know that it would take me a little more than a little bit, to complete a piece. And at first, I was beginning to rush my pieces to completion, but I learned the benefit of time as a writer. And almost like wine the more my work can be worked on and passed through revision, the better it can get.

However at the very same time at some point the work has to be completed; Sometimes perfect work is imperfect.

A writing goal essentially refers to setting out to achieve something in your writing career, with your writing skill or related to writing. For example, an author’s goal can be to publish 3 books in one year. Or maybe a writer wants to write an article for The New Yorker.

Writing goals are important because, like any other goal, they keep us moving in the right direction: Toward progress and continual mastery in a skill or area. In writing what an audience wants changes and what works for keeping them may change. And that’s just one mere reason to continually get better at writing aside from the art of the craft; If your readers don’t want to purchase your work anymore, how do you or I get paid?

Writing goals not only move us but also challenge us in areas that we maybe didn’t know needed to be challenged. I’ve mentioned before that description is one of my strong suits. I mean I can go on and on in different ways. But now that I’ve got a leg up on being concise, how do I provide thorough details and descriptions while being concise?

This task alone requires many tests, trials, and practice. But the challenge will bring out better descriptions, I didn’t know I could give. Having the opportunity to analyze my goals, my writing, and myself as a writer, I realize that I need to write and aim to reach my goals. I’ve learned and grown so much in such little time and am progressively getting better at writing. With all that in mind, I have writing goals but need to accomplish them. If you don’t have writing goals get some and work towards reaching/accomplishing them.

Many writing goals are an effect of a cause. Others can form…

Because You Want Something

Some goals can form simply because you want something. Like how I want to publish a book or a piece. And from this want, publishing a piece is now a goal.

From Problem Needing Solution

A goal can come about because there was a problem and I needed a solution. Take a look at your writing, your writing process, or at yourself as a writer and identify a problem. Explore and find a solution (what needs to be done to fix that problem or supplement that lack). Then come up with a game plan to implement the solution and keep progressing (keeping that problem from re-occurring).

From Needing To Improve

Similarly, you can look at an aspect of your writing that is not necessarily bad but could be better and find a way to improve. Think of this as an intent to upgrade. Through this, you can develop goals that aim to improve.

Through Envisioning The Endless Possibilities

Sometimes to get specific about wants, envisioning needs to happen. With what if’s and wouldn’t it be cool to’s, and can I’s.

Now, this post does call for you to analyze your writing and what you’re doing as a writer and come up with or achieve your writing goals, through my experience with these concepts. But it doesn’t call you to necessarily restart everything or constantly change what you’re doing. Constant change can turn into instability.

To put it simply don’t go crazy changing things that don’t need to be changed and over fiddling with good things. Continue what works and master it. Find ways to make those good things better. And improve what sucks. Be consistent in what is good, by honing into your strengths and cracking down on your weaknesses that need improvement.

And don’t just do those things for no reason. Improvement is good. But improvement with an aim is even better: Improve so that you can accomplish your writing goals.

Generally speaking, I have three main goals

1. To Write (becoming the writer I know I can be)
2. Publish Some Pieces (including a book)
3. Make Money Writing

And from these goals come other goals.

My mini goals from Number 1. To Write are to…

• Keep up good writing discipline
• Develop an effective writing routine that’ll ensure the completion of my pieces
• Develop a strong and unique writing style
• Have effective but fun diverse writing sessions

My mini goals from Number 2. Publish Some Writing Pieces are to…

• Publish a short story in a literary magazine or journal
• Publish a book with Writers House
• Portray strong, positive, and good messages through my work
• Build an author’s platform/reputation through the things I publish

My mini goals from Number 3. Make Money Writing are…

• Make passive income with published works
• Make some sort of active income writing (like writing on this blog)
• Use income from writing to invest in other things
• Pay my bills with income earned from writing
• Earn more than pocket change

My goals may be different or similar to yours but either way, know your main goals. These main goals are mostly clear and encourage questions (like how do I do that? What do I need for that to be done? Do I need to take a class or need a license to do that? When can I start that? etc.) And then figure out what mini-goals each main goal needs to be completed. Or the mini-goals they bring up. These mini-goals can serve as markers, steps, or indicators, that you’re closer to accomplishing your goal.

What should you and I do after having some goals? Well, ensure that these goals are accomplished of course; A game plan or plan of action is needed. Now that you have goals and mini-goals, here’s what to do with them.

To help you understand the many ways you can set out to accomplish your goal. We’re going to follow a made-up example. Clara is an experienced writer. Somehow she has made up an entirely new genre of writing. To date her main goals and mini-goals are…

1. To be the leading author and writer in this genre.
   1. Publish a book with the Penguin/Random publishing house
   2. Publish some short stories in the Threepenny Review literary magazine
2. Open up a bookstore
   1. Buy a building near where she lives
   2. Build her credit score to better her loan rates
   3. Serve coffee, tea, and pastries in her bookstore
3. Teach this genre
   1. Teach this genre in her own time
   2. Get paid to teach this genre

Like Clara, after you figure out your writing goals and mini-goals (things you’re aiming for related to writing) come up with a plan of action. The plan of action can best be recorded or illustrated as a road map. This road map put outlines and organizes your goal into a plan of action.

Priority

Organize your goals based on their importance. That implies that you list and organize your goals based on which one you value the most or which one brings the most value (like reputation or monetary value).

If Clara was building her road map based on the importance of her goals, She would probably put number 3 teaching in her new genre, at the top, because above all of her other goals, this is the one she feels more passionate about. So because this goal is now at the top of her list she would go after teaching in this new genre first.

Maybe then she would open up her book store and work on becoming/staying the lead author and writer in the genre.

What Each Goal Needs Or Cost

All of your goals are possible. But how possible? It may be extremely difficult if not impossible to accomplish all of your goals at the same time. Why? Because some goals take more time. And other goals need things like money, a team, a place for operation, etc.

Organizing this way can look like this: for Clara out of her top three goals, opening up a bookstore requires the most money and resources. So that is not at the top of the list. Becoming or staying a lead author in the genre requires the least amount of money and resources (since all she needs to do is write and maintain her reputation).

So, becoming the lead author in this genre would be at the top of her road map. Next would be able to teach in this genre. And last but not cheap is opening up a bookstore.

Time

Another way to organize your goals is to order them based on whether they are short-term or long-term goals. Short-term goals are goals that you want to happen ASAP. Whereas long-term goals are goals you don’t mind starting or completing weeks, months, or years down the line.

Factoring in time could also mean organizing your goals based on how long each of them takes to be completed. Maybe you want to start the goals that need years to develop now and get a head start. Or maybe you want to check off the goals that complete faster first.

According to how long each goal will take to be accomplished, in Clara’s road map being the lead author and writer in this new genre would be first. She can start this goal right now with a pencil and paper. Next, she could teach in the new genre. For this goal, she would have to find students, a place to teach, generate material to teach, come up with ways to make money teaching, and keep a system that makes it easy for her to manage her teaching.

Lastly, she could begin the process for her bookstore. This goal requires her to find a place, get permits to do any construction or renovation needed, et permits and licenses needed to run a bookstore, decorate and furnish the place, fill it up with books, maybe find employees, and market the place to bring in customers. Maybe after she could look into finding a vendor to serve coffee, tea, and pastries.

Dependence

Some goals need other goals to be completed before they get started.

In Clara’s case, she could put being a leading author and writer first. Again that goal doesn’t need many other resources. It could even be done little by little simultaneously as the other goals are being completed. Next, she could open up her bookstore. The book store too, needs none of the other goals. However, maybe teaching in this new genre needs to use the bookstore as a classroom. That’s why this kind of road map is going last.

I think my writing goals are awesome. Who knows, maybe they can change or grow in the future. But for now, I have to work on making sure that they get done. With a really good road map, you and I accomplishing our goals are in the near future.

Now you don’t have to spill the beans but I’m curious: What are some of your writing goals?