Writing Habits—More Powerful Than Goals
If you’re reading this post you’ve probably made some writing resolutions, but have you set new habits yet?
Whether your goal is to finish writing your first draft, edit your novel, or another special project, you want to make great progress this year. Unfortunately, most people who make New Year’s resolutions give up on them by March.
We begin with good intentions, but when next December rolls around we find ourselves far from reaching our high hopes.
How can we make THIS year the one when we reach our writing goals?
Habits, my storytelling friend.
Your New Writing Habits
To write your resolutions down doesn’t mean they will get done. If we really want to finish our projects and have that feeling of satisfaction, then we don’t only need goals—we need habits.
To reach a goal, we need to create a habit of working on the project everyday. It’s as simple as that. If we set aside time to work toward our dreams everyday, we will reach them.
As always, the hardest part is starting. But the fantastic part about a habit is that once it’s established, the action feels like second nature.
If you want to finish your book, you need to work on it. If you want to connect with more writers, you need to get out and connect with people.
This year, we need to focus on the habits which will lead us to success.
Related Reading: 4 Quick Steps to Create Your Own Writing Routine
Are you struggling to write every day, or need a little help sitting down to write? This free workbook will guide you through creating a simple writing routine that works for your life. You’ll thank yourself later!
Send it!
Where’s your time?
Along with new writing habits, we need to prioritize our lives.
What we want to finish by the end of the year must be prioritized. If we don’t make new choices, there will be no change from last year and this coming year.
If you audited where your time is being spent, what would you find?
I presume much of your time is accounted for by your job, kids, and household chores. Those are good and necessary priorities.
So maybe it’s the small increments of time during the day spent on more unnecessary activities which could be gathered and used for writing. How many minutes do you scroll through social media or how many TV episodes do you watch a day?
Take a baby step: Promise to write for just ten minutes, like before you turn on the TV.
Ten minutes is all you need to start a writing habit which will grow over time.
Related Reading: How to Find Time to Write a Novel
Forgiveness + Rest
You dig out the resolutions from last year, scan the list, and a sinking weight in your gut takes hold. Please let go of your guilt over last year.
Sure, maybe you could have done more, but you can’t change the past. What’s done is done, and your future choices don’t need to copy your past decisions.
This moment is brand new, and there is a shiny opportunity awaiting you.
Also, remember to give yourself grace this coming year. There will be mistakes. There will be failure, and even less than perfect stories being written—that’s life.
Challenge yourself to start a writing habit, but know you still have permission to do things which might seem unproductive. Don’t live your life white-knuckled.
Take breaks, refresh your creativity, and come back to writing rejuvenated. Above all, just make good choices.
Tell your story,
Sarah
Related Reading:
- “Set Habits, Not Goals,” by Jeff Goins on Goins,Writer.com.
- “How to Make a New Habit Stick,” by Michael Hyatt published on MichaelHyatt.com.
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S.J. Siedenburg is a thriller & fantasy novelist, an editor, and a bibliophile with a passion for stories and helping writers finish their novels. She’s the author of the guidebooks Character Presentation, Before the First Draft, and the How to Write a Novel online course. Six of her short stories have been published through writing contests. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5