If you’re anything like me, I thoroughly enjoyed the run up to Christmas, Christmas day itself and the cheese induced haze that followed. But very quickly my mind turns to the new year and how I can be a better person (and more importantly, a better writer /editor). As the great Anne of Green Gables once said: ‘Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it.’ And to think – we’ve got a whole year! So here’s a short blog post about setting yourself realistic writerly goals.

You will have heard about SMART targets, and they work here too. Writing a novel is a huge undertaking and whether you’re a planner or a panster, the struggle is real. It can feel overwhelming to set yourself the goal of writing a novel, so aim for a daily or weekly word count instead. There’s a reason why NaNoWriMo works – it’s because for 30 days, 1667 words is realistically achievable. I wouldn’t go as far as suggesting 1667 words a day for a year is doable, but find the word count that works for you and stick to it. After all, you can’t edit an empty page.

Using any kind of tracker to keep on top of your word count is an excellent way of tracking your goals. Sticker charts don’t just work for children! Colour in a square in your favourite colour each time you hit your goal; keep an excel spreadsheet that you add your word count to each day (you can even get it to add up your daily word counts and give you a satisfying overall total!)

Accountability can be a wonderful motivator. If you’re not ready to tell your family or friends that you are writing, share it with your writing family on Twitter or Instagram. I find posts from other writers who have hit their daily goals really motivating, and posting my own goals can help too. If people are expecting you to do something, it somehow makes you more likely to do it.

Remember, though, your writing goals might seem sparkly and shiny at the beginning of January, but as the year wears on and life happens, it’s okay not to write. It’s okay to change your short-term goals and amend them to work within lifestyle changes or when your longer terms goals change. But if you can just add a few words to your word count each day, 2023 might just be the year you publish that novel.

If you are looking for an editor or beta reader for your novel, contact me to find out how we can work together on finding your book’s happily every after!