Setting Writing Goals

We all know how important it is to set writing goals, but do we know how or what type, especially as a new or beginning writers?

Goal setting can be done in many different ways and each writer/author has their who style and technique. I’ve shared some of my thoughts along with others here on the Utah Writer’s Blog, but today I asked co-authors Tom Listul and Heather Listul Hewitt to share a bit about their goals as they worked on their recently published children’s book, Monkey Made Dreams.

Setting Writing Goals with Tom Listul and Heather Listul Hewitt

Write Every Day

A simple goal to have is to write something everyday. Even if it does not seem like you are accomplishing much, write a couple of lines or a couple of pages. Some days ideas will flow freely and other days not so much.

Keep a List of Ideas or Lines/Scenes

If you have written down ideas or lines, you can go back through your ideas, on those off days, to help you move forward or spark a new thought.

Draft Ideas or Scenes Out

Another goal that might be helpful is to draft out ideas you may have. You can write down a topic sentence or main line and list multiple ideas after that about different directions a story can go.

Keep Your Personal Goals Small (Baby Steps to the Bigger Goal)

It is always good to set goals for yourself about what you want to accomplish, but it is important to start small. You do not want to get discouraged or frustrated if you are not reaching the goal you set. Think about other ways you can break your project down into parts, such as having a goal to write one paragraph or one page in a certain amount of time. It really depends on how you work as a writer and what inspires you.

Look for Inspiration and Take a Break

Some days you might not be able to sit and write, and you might need to find inspiration. While keeping your goals in mind is important, you should also feel free to take a break and find that inspiration when needed.

Do not put too much pressure on yourself, because writing should be therapeutic and fun. You should try to enjoy the process as much as possible. 

Tom Listul wrote Monkey Made Dream with his daughter, Heather Listul Hewitt, when she was eight years old. A farmer from southwest Minnesota, he is also a singer/songwriter. Listul made Monkey Made Dream into a children’s song and has sang it at numerous coffee houses and children’s classrooms. Hewitt is now a speech-language pathologist, who works for a school district with students of all ages. She enjoys helping children develop literacy skills and a love for reading.

 

You can learn more about Tom Listul and Heather Listul Hewitt at their World of Ink Tour page or Facebook Fan and Event pages.

Event site: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=198703490158349

World of Ink Tour: http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/TomListulandHeatherListulHewitt.aspx

Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Monkey-Made-Dream/119130761489469

It’s More Like Guidelines with VS Grenier

Riddle Me This!

They work for Father Time,

But some people hate them

While others love them,

And all writers need them.

What are they?

Do you know the answer? How about taking a guess? No, it is not a clock or timer. Nice try. Nope, if you guessed calendar, oh, you guessed a To-Do List and Schedule. Then you would be totally and completely . . . RIGHT!

One thing I find that works to my advantage is having many To-Do lists. I sit down and look at all the things I need to do for the day, week, month, and even the whole year. I find having To- Do lists work better for me over a schedule. However, I do have a daily schedule even if I do not stay on task all the time.

I am not sure how many of you use both or just one of these to help you as a writer. To be honest, I feel To-Do lists are one of the best tools to help you be a successful author. If you think about it, you sit down at your desk or open a file on your computer and it shows you all the things you need to get done in order for your manuscript to be mailed out to a publisher or agent. Maybe even both!

To-Do lists break down each thing making the task at hand seem less over-whelming and more manageable. The other thing I love about To-Do lists is if something is not completed the day I had it down, I just move it to the first thing to do the following day and so on. Let’s face it, no matter how hard you try . . . there will always be some kind of work needing to be done. However, To-Do lists help keep is all in perspective. For example, here is what my To-Do list looked like today.

Write article about To-Do list and schedules for posting.

Link, Twitt and post to Facebook all current SFC blog posts for this week.

Finish reviewing submissions for Stories for Children Magazine.

Post book reviews.

Manuscript editing for publisher.

Now, most of this I have worked on through out my day. However, my daily schedule/routine sometimes does cause a bit of conflict in getting my To-Do list for the day completely done. That is why I have a To-Do list for the week. The reason…my daily schedule/routine includes taking care of all three of my kids. And as any parent knows, children don’t always follow the planned schedule/routine.

The one thing to keep in mind about a schedule/routine is it is always changing based on things that need to happen. I look at my schedule/routine kind of how the Pirates of the Caribbean look at their Code. “It’s More Like Guidelines.” I don’t think I could have said it better myself.

That is why I have a weekly To-Do list. It will include each thing I want done on a daily basis. I break it up by day based on how much time I know I will have for my writing, which is normally about three to four things on my weekly list per day and that means I am really working my butt off to get it all done or my children are being very cooperative.

The thing I find helpful about my schedule/routine is it helps keep the momentum going so I can reach my writing goals. My To-Do lists help me reach my writing goals by breaking them down over a manageable length of time. As much as I hate having to keep a schedule or something close to a schedule, I find if I didn’t then I would not find the success I do by completing each of my goals as a writer with my To-Do lists.

So how do you stay on track with your goals, workload, and time? Do you keep a To-Do list? A calendar? Use a timer so you don’t work too long on one thing? I would love to know what works for you.

To learn more about VS Grenier visit her sites at

http://vsgrenier.com or http://thewritingmama.blogspot.com

How to Set Writing Goals with a Family with Author Mayra Calvani

I asked award-winning author Mayra Calvani, who is currently doing a virtual author tour, to share some tips with us today as part of her World of Ink Tour. Mayra not only writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She’s a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books, co-editor of Voice in the Dark ezine and a...Mother. I couldn’t think of a better person to motivate and inspire us today.

Guest post with Award-winning Author Mayra Calvani: How to Set Writing Goals with a Family

“Nothing has a stronger influence

psychologically on their environment

and especially on their children

than the unlived life of the parent.”

--C. G. Jung

You want to start your career as a writer, and you have young kids at home. How do you find the time to write and actually produce something while your children ask you for sandwiches, demand you play with them, or refuse to take a nap? Writing with kids at home isn’t easy, but it can be done.

The following are 7 tips to setting writing goals with a family:

Be realistic

If you set your goals too high, you’ll crash and you’ll be left with feelings of failure, frustration and bitterness. This will have a strong impact on the way you feel about yourself as a mom and wife, and will affect the time you spend with your loved ones. Face it, unless you have a nanny, you won’t have a lot of free time until your kids are old enough to go to pre-school. If you’re not able to set your writing goal to one hour a day, or even half an hour, what about 15 minutes? Start small. Take baby steps. Persistence is vital: If you stick to it, a lot can be accomplished in just 15 minutes a day over a long period of time. In 15 minutes, you can plot a scene, profile or interview a character, write dialogue, do research on a specific topic for your book, etc. Everybody can set aside 15 minutes of writing time.

Get organized

This is the key to succeed! Buy a planner or calendar and schedule your week in advance every Sunday. This way, come Monday morning, you’ll know what to do. What’s the best time to set aside those 15 minutes? Does your child take a morning or afternoon nap? Do you have the type of child who would be happy playing in a playpen by himself while you write? Could you hire a teenager to look after your child twice a week for an hour, while you write in the next room? Perhaps you know other moms who are in a similar situation and who would be interested in taking turns taking care of the kids? Brainstorm various possibilities. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

Stay flexible

You might not always be able to follow your daily writing goals. You know what? That’s perfectly fine. Life often gets in the way. In fact, it feels as if life always gets in the way when you have a family, doesn’t it? The planner is there to keep you motivated, focused, and steered in the right direction. However, those words aren’t set in stone. If you can’t meet your writing goal for that day, just try to get back in track the next. Pat yourself on the back and tell yourself, “I tried my best.” It’s like with a diet. You don’t have to quit the whole diet just because you broke it one day by eating pizza.

Be consistent

Books are made of words, sentences, paragraphs. Depending on how fast a writer or how inspired you are, you can write words, sentences and even a whole paragraph or paragraphs in 15 minutes. The key here is to keep doing it regularly over a long period of time. You have heard it many times: write a page a day, and one year later you have a 365-page book.

Stop procrastinating

If only I had more time!

I’ll write when my kids start school.

I’m always so busy!

When I’ll retire, that’s when I’ll write that book.

Blah, blah, blah. Listen: there’s never a perfect or right time to write. You just have to stop whining and you have to do it. Why leave for later what you can start doing now? Life is short and unpredictable. You have no control over the future. However, you have control over the now.

Love yourself

You work hard. You’re always there for your children, husband, parents, relatives and friends. Why is it that you so often forget about yourself? Treat yourself like a precious jewel. And I’m not talking about being selfish—though being a little selfish is often the best thing you can do to be able to give yourself to others. Reward your accomplishments, however small. When you love yourself, you’ll find the time to set aside those writing times because you know your goals and dreams are important. When you do what’s important to you, you feel accomplished and fulfilled emotionally and intellectually. When this happens, you’re able to give yourself to your family without reservations. Mostly importantly, the quality of those family moments will increase because you won’t resent them.

Set Your Priorities

How badly to do want to become an established author? Can you live with your home not being spotless or dust-free at all times? Or with letting the laundry accumulate once in a while? Because this is, exactly what will happen once you’ve made your decision of becoming an author. You’ll face times when you’ll have to choose between writing or doing the laundry. I’m not saying you should neglect your family and put your writing first. What I’m saying is you don’t have to be a ‘super’ mom at all times.

You have the potential to make your dreams come true. Nevertheless, you have to believe in them and you have to follow a plan. You also have to make them a priority in your life. Keeping these tips in mind will help you achieve your dreams and become a happier writer. As I always say, a happy writer is a happy mama.

 

 You can learn more about Award-winning Author Mayra Calvani, her books, follow future guest post, interviews and her World of Ink Virtual Author Tour at

http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/MayraCalvani.aspx

About Mayra Calvani:

Award-winning author Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She’s a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books and co-editor of Voice in the Dark ezine. She's had over 300 reviews, interviews, stories, and articles published in print and online. Mayra is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Children's Writer's Coaching Club. Visit her website at www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com. She also keeps a blog at www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com.

February 7th Mayra will be a guest on the Book Marketing Network where she will be sharing about how to pitch our book.

http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blog/list?user=VSGrenier&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_url