Writing 101: What Are Your 2023 Writing Goals?
Let’s set our writing goals right.
Have you set your writing goals for 2023?
Writing goals are necessary to make your writing journey heading in the right direction.
Writing should not be like an aimless ship riding here and there and stuck amid the ocean and far from reaching the shore.
Setting targets and goals for your work is a prerequisite to defining your path.
As I have experience working in corporate and research organizations, I have seen closely how diligently the leaders with the team set goals and targets to achieve better outcomes, be it the sales & marketing team or production team. The same goes for the writing world also.
Many established writers suggest setting writing goals right.
“If you want to make serious progress as a writer, you need to treat your craft like any other serious area of your life. It’s not enough to treat writing as a haphazard hobby that you dip into and out of whenever the urge takes you. Instead, if you want to grow and evolve both your skillset and your level of output, you need to set clear writing goals to move you forward.”- Patrick McNulty.
Now, what is a writing goal?
A writing goal is a clear and specific objective relating to and defining your writing career. It can be both long-term and short-term.
Examples,
Long-term: I will publish 10 novels in my lifetime.
Short-term: I will spend at least an hour each morning on writing prompts over the next month.
Usually, once we develop our long-term goals, and then we break them down into short-term goals.
Annual goal> Quarterly goal> Monthly goals>Weekly goals.
Set your 2023 writing goals and then break them down into quarterly and monthly goals to trace your progress from time to time. You can redefine your goals based on practicality.
How to Set your writing Goals SMART?
Writing Goal should be SMART
S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Relatable
T Time Bound
Step 1 — Make your goals specific
Goals should be specific. Any vague or aspirational statement cannot be considered a goal.
•Example: I want to be a better writer (Vague)
•I want to take writing more seriously (Vague)
These might be worthy objectives, but they aren’t specific enough to be goals.
Be specific about how you want to be a better writer. For example,
•I will learn storytelling by participating in a master class by Neil Gaiman in 2023 class. Or,
•I will write one hour more every day to enrich my writing skill. Or,
•I will read one storybook per month to craft my writing more eloquently.
These all are specific and will help me to be a better writer and take writing more seriously.
Step 2 — Set a Measurable goal
Make it measurable to be able to measure the progress. It is needed to identify whether you are on track or not.
•I will make progress on the word count of my novel’s first draft.
•I will write 850–1100 words of my novel per day.
See the difference?
Both goals are specific, but the second one allows you to identify whether you are on pace or off the pace at any given time.
Making a measurable goal allows you to set deadlines and plan; it is crucial for gagging your progress and taking action accordingly.
Step 3 — Ensure your writing goals are attainable
Make sure your goals are realistic. Take into consideration your time, capacity, and other practical issues.
Don’t develop unrealistic goals that create unnecessary pressure on your creative self. Similarly, don’t make any goals that underutilize your capacity.
For example, writing ten thousand words per week will be unrealistic for a beginner.
Step 4 — Choose relevant writing goals.
You are free to set your writing goals. But, Don’t make any goals that do not serve your purpose or have little weight in your writing craft.
Focus on your ultimate vision. Your goals must align with your vision.
Step 5 — Set a time limit on achieving your goals
Time-bound is mandatory for setting a goal. It cannot be for an indefinite time.
Some examples of time-bound goals :
•writing x words on my project by y date and
- completing X and Y writing course
I am still working on my writing goals. Have you set your writing goals for 2023 yet? If yes,
what are your writing goals for 2023?
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Dr. Preeti Singh, Dr. Gabriella Korosi, Art Bram, Yousuf Rafi, Sharing Randomly, Victoria Gregg, Vashni Stories, Dharan.M, pockett dessert, Neera Handa Dr, Carmellita, B.R. Shenoy, Arbab Z., Walter Pop Matthews IV
I would love to your writing goals from you all. Please let us know in the comment section so we can learn from each other.
Whatever the goals are, I wish you every success in your writing journey.
Today, I would shoutouts two writers I have read for the first time.
I love how Christine Bernard has breakdown her goals from annual goals to monthly ones in her story, What Is Your 2023 Writing Goal?
I would like to shout out Cristina Cattai for her writing goal for 2023.
