The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Your Writing Goals for 2024
In less than three months, we enter 2024.
That statement probably brings with it shock, excitement, or maybe even shame as you look at your 2023 goals that somehow fell by the wayside. I can sympathise—this year turned out much different than I planned, but I hope you’ll be encouraged with me as we dive into how to set better goals for 2024!
Now, if you’re in the camp of “I always plan but I can never stick to it,” I get it. It might seem pointless to plan if things haven’t gone to plan before, but setting goals is still extremely important. Even if your year turns upside down, goals help you organise your priorities and pinpoint your motivation.
My 2023 reality turned out way different than my ideal version of it. I made all these beautiful plans at the start of the year, but hardly any of them happened. This has undoubtedly been the busiest year of my life—something I didn’t anticipate when the year began—so I’ve found priorities shifting.
But when it came to writing, I always knew exactly where I stood because of the goals I set. I didn’t achieve many of them, but I knew their aim: more of my stories published. Although I didn’t publish a story this year, I got a 13,000-word short story just about ready to submit to a competition. I did lots of research and found professionals I can hire to help make my next books the best they can be. I even attended a fiction book marketing conference and got tons of great resources to study. I’m still taking steps, however small, towards my overall goal, and that’s the most important thing. I’m now ready to use what I learned this year to begin creating my goals for next year. . .
But that’s easier said than done.
While setting goals is extremely important for writers, it’s also time consuming and thought provoking. It’s probably not something you can finish in a day. If you have many things you want to achieve next year, you might even be wondering where you start. If you’ve never done this before, you might not be sure how to physically sit down and begin crafting your 2024 writing goals. And if you haven’t been able to meet your goals in the past, you might be hoping there’s something you can do differently so that next year is more productive.
You’ve come to the right place. Today, I’m breaking down goal-setting for 2024 into three easy (albeit detailed) steps: understanding, creating, and implementing. Remember: goal-setting isn’t hard, but it can be time consuming. Stick with the process and don’t get discouraged. Setting good goals takes time.
Understanding the Power of Writing Goals
What does goal-setting actually mean?
Goal-setting is a term we throw around so often that it can lose its meaning. Simply put, goat-setting for 2024 means writing a rough draft of the year ahead. Yes—a rough draft! Goals can never be 100% perfect because we can’t see the future, but we can make a plan and use it to craft a blueprint of what we want our writing year to look like.
Goals are especially important for writers because we are creative people. We tend to get off track and chase new ideas rather than see old ones though. We need structure to make our creativity successful; otherwise, it would be out there running wild!
Is setting goals just a fad?
If you want the short answer: no. But the long answer is pretty fascinating. According to PositivePsychology.com, “Goal-setting. . . is an essential tool for self-motivation and self-drivenness. . . It gives meaning to our actions and the purpose of achieving something higher.” The writer also cites some scientific studies and points out that “research has established a strong connection between goal-setting and success.” It’s also been “linked with higher motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence, and autonomy.”
Humans have been goal-setting since we were created, but only recently have we put a name to it and discovered just how beneficial it is. A plan is important to keep your life going in the right direction—and the better the plan, the better the chance of success.
How do goals impact my writing?
Imagine sitting down at a blank sheet of paper with no ideas whatsoever and trying to then write an entire rough draft. Sounds pretty terrible, right? Maybe you even know the feeling from experience—I sure do! This is what it’s like when you don’t set goals for your writing. If you want to have momentum and grow as a writer, you need goals to guide you. Otherwise, the story won’t be written, the book won’t be published, and you’ll be at a loss when it comes to what to do next.
Crafting Writing Goals for 2024
It sounds great on paper, but how do you actually create goals that will help you? These five steps will guide you through planning good goals.
1. Where is your passion?
The most important thing to consider when setting goals is where your passion lies. What do you want your life to be like in five years? What do you want to write more of? What kinds of things do you want to learn? Really dig down deep for this. Remember: this isn’t a time trial. Consider your passions, your values, your drive, and use those things to guide your goal-setting for next year.
2. SMART goals
Another fad? Nope. I first learned about SMART goals towards the end of high school and they helped me immensely throughout college and the start of my career. You can set random goals all you want, but they won’t be any help unless they’re intentional. You can use the acronym “SMART” to help you remember how to craft good goals. Intentional goals are:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-bound
3. Know where you are so you can know where you’re headed
To create attainable and realistic goals, you first need to know where you are in your writing journey. Some of you might instantly know. If you’re unsure, consider these points:
- How much have you written this year?
- What kind of feedback have you received?
- Are you proud of what you write?
- What are your writing strengths and weaknesses?
Take some time to seriously think about these things. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t even know where you are now!
4. Short- and long-term goals
For a successful year of writing, you need both long- and short-term goals. You can begin by asking yourself this question: Where do I want to be by the end of 2024? After you figure out those long-term goals, work backwards. Maybe your short-term goals are monthly while your long-term goals range one, three, or even five years or more. But make sure you have those short-term goals to give you motivation along the way. Here’s the perfect way to do it:
5. Breaking down larger goals
Saying “I’m going to write a 70,000-word novel by the end of 2024” is great, but doesn’t allow you to keep track of progress. That’s why short-term goals exist. If you want to write a 70,000-word novel in a year, divide it by 12 and set a monthly goal of 5,833 words (doesn’t that already sound way more manageable?). Divide it further and set a 1,458-word weekly goal. Then go for a 208-word daily goal. To break down large goals, it’s almost always easiest to work backwards from large to small as I just did. See how easily 70,000 words (daunting) becomes just over 200 (simple)?
You can apply this method to any long-term goals you set!
I Have My Goals—What Now?
Creating good goals is only half the battle. Now, you have to implement them, and this is an art all of its own.
Making daily progress
Since you’ve already broken down your long-term goals into short-term ones, all you have to do is remind yourself what they are. But, again—easier said than done.
Let’s go back to that 70k-word novel example. If your goal is to write 208 words per day, write that in your planner (yep, every day!). Your calendar. Even a sticky note by your computer! Whatever it takes to get the number 208 in front of your eyes every day.
You can also set a specific time every day to work towards your goal. You could set aside 7:00–8:00 AM as your writing time (or make it 7:00–8:00 PM, whatever works best for you!). Creating some kind of implementation plan that consistently works with your schedule is a critical part of crafting your goals.
Tracking progress
The best way to make sure you achieve your goals is to consistently assess your progress and celebrate when you reach important milestones! Using the novel example again, if you decided to write a little bit every day, you could use Saturday as a reflection day after you’ve met you’re writing goal for that day. How many words did you write over the past week? Are you ahead or behind? The questions aren’t meant to shame you but to compare where you are with your goals.
This way, once Sunday hits, you’re prepared to make daily progress after reflecting on the previous week. At the end of every month, you can celebrate your progress! Get yourself a treat, do something fun, or take a day off of writing. Even on a weekly and daily basis, don’t forget to celebrate every step of the way. This can be as simple as putting a checkmark or sticker in your planner every day you meet your goal! And even if you don’t exactly hit the mark one day, remember that something is much better than nothing. Be proud!
Common setbacks
There are many, many reasons that writers don’t accomplish their goals. It’s certainly not a walk in the park and I want you to be prepared for some of the obstacles you might face like:
- Writer’s block: this is a whole other post, but the most important thing to remember is that writer’s block doesn’t own you! Check out this resource for more detailed help.
- Lack of motivation: most writers run into this bang in the middle of a project. The beginning is exciting, but once it becomes routine, the novelty fades. There are many ways to overcome this slump, and it may take some time. Just keep pushing through!
- Life changes: you can’t always control what happens to you. When life gets crazy and your progress is halted, don’t worry, and don’t get discouraged because. . .
It’s okay to adjust goals
As I just mentioned, there’s no way to tell exactly what 2024 will bring. You might get a few months into the year and realise you’re making a lot more or less progress than planned (which is why consistently reviewing your progress is so important). In this case, trying to stick with your original goal will do more harm than good. It’s better to learn how to adjust to your current situation. Then, you’re more likely to be successful in your short-term goals, which will lead to more success in your long-term goals, too! Don’t be afraid to change your goals a little to meet your needs.
Ready, Set. . . Goals!
Goal-setting is a detailed process that can seem like overkill sometimes, but trust me: all of these steps are necessary! Bookmark this post and read through it as often as you need to as you work on creating those all-important writing goals for next year. By taking the time to carefully craft intentional goals, you’re setting yourself up for a successful writing year in 2024.
Don’t give up. If things change, be flexible! Keep yourself accountable and celebrate every win. Let’s make 2024 our best year of writing yet!
Originally published at http://thestorycanvas.org on October 23, 2023.
