This post should really be titled “Eh” because that’s how I feel about the past year of writing. I have gone from my 2017 goal of Write a Novel to a 2018 goal of Write Everyday to a 2019 goal of Write 1,000 Words a Day, Five Days a Week. All have failed. What could I possibly feel good about?
My only consolation is that, with each new year’s failed writing goal, I am getting closer to setting for myself a realistic and measurable bar to achieve, and with each reset I am actually seeing myself write more. So while I am still thinking through my goal for 2020, I think I can at least be happy that I have put pen to paper and written a couple of essays that are, at the very least, completed works. That’s how small I need to start.
What would I like to do differently? For one, I need to make writing a part of my routine. That is the only way I have ever seen results with anything, really, and so the key is to set a small and achievable goal that will start to incorporate regular writing into my week. Once I get that off the ground I think it will be much more realistic to set some of the larger writing goals I would like to accomplish, like writing fiction and potentially even a book one day. Right now, the key to routinization seems to be setting aside the time to write ahead of time. Once it is explicitly on the calendar it will be harder to forgo (or so I tell myself). Ideally, gamification of writing, in the same way that I lay out a training plan ahead of a large race, will help me feel compelled to follow through.
More to come once I lay down my goals for the year and reflect in greater depth on 2019 here.