Does Setting Writing Goals Really Matter?

I love writing. I love crafting a world and a story that gets people invested in my characters' plight. I love putting words on the page and seeing the word count grow. But in all my years of creating stories, I had never finished a long project until only this year. And now I have two projects completed and more in the works. The only thing I've done differently this year is I've begun to set writing goals for myself.

I guess we should start with what a writing goal looks like. It's really quite simple, though there can be many variations. The most important thing about a goal is that you have to be able to clearly determine when you've achieved it. This means that you need to set clear parameters for your goal so your mind doesn't find the loopholes in it. Try setting a specific date for achieving whatever it is. A time frame for completion will keep you on track. Choose the task you want to accomplish within that time and make it something realistic. Setting a goal of writing 100 000 words in two weeks may be impossible if you have a full time job, but if all you're doing is writing for those weeks, maybe you can. When crafting your goal, keep in mind what you can truly achieve. Aim too high and you can disappoint yourself. Aim too low and it won't challenge you enough.

Another valuable thing about a writing goal is that it should challenge you. Easy goals feel nice at first, but rarely help you really improve. Set goals that will push you, but make sure you don't overdo it. Nanowrimo is a great example of this. I have tried to accomplish Nanowrimo's goal of 50 000 words in a month many times. I've only achieved it two or three times in a decade. It's a great goal if you have the time to commit to writing that much. You may write slower or have a busy life with kids or work that leaves you less time for writing. Don't sweat it! Goals must be tailored to your situation. Whatever the challenge you set yourself is, let it push you, but not overwhelm you.

Another thing about goals is that they are flexible. Life happens. Sickness, busy seasons, exhaustion, and the like are real and need to be acknowledged. If you begin working on completing your goal and realize that your life right now won't allow you to complete the goal as written, don't discard it completely. Just adjust it to make it work. I'm not suggesting you set deadlines that are so firm they are immovable. Give yourself grace to grow and learn. You never know what sort of situation will arise, but your goals can morph and change with those situations.

Some people may argue that setting goals can harm you in the long run. I can see their point. If I set a goal for myself and don't accomplish it, I feel terrible. Or, in another example, if my goals are only mine, then I can change them whenever I want which can lead to deadlines being pushed back repeatedly. These are valid concerns! I have done both of these many times. There's a simple way to overcome these issues, though. Write the goals down somewhere and share them with someone. Writing the goals down makes them more concrete. Goals set in your mind alone are at the whim of your imagination. The person or people you share it with don't have to be a writing group (though those can be very helpful), just someone who you see often and who may ask you about it. If you know someone else knows what your target is, it will solidify the goal even further in your mind.

I've said a lot about goals, but let me give you a concrete example from my own writing. My most recently completed project, "Recentering Resonance," was drafted in just under a month, though I had done significant planning beforehand. That was my goal. Before this, I had taken months and years to complete a draft of a story. I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could draft a whole story in less time. First, I set my timeline. I wanted to be done by the end of May, so I chose May 31st as my goal date. The next piece varied a little throughout. I originally set an 80 000 word count goal, but it quickly became apparent that I was not going to have enough material in the story to hit that. Instead, I shifted it from a word count goal to a completion goal. I told myself I wanted to complete the first draft of the story by the same date. I wrote this goal down in a document I keep on my computer and shared it with a mentor of mine and my writing group. They kept me accountable to completing my goal and I achieved it.

My example may not work for many people. Drafting a story in a single month sounds crazy to a lot of busy people. Perfect! Set a more realistic goal for yourself. Maybe it's three months or a year. Maybe you need more time than that. I'm not advocating for a specific, short time line for writing. Any writing goal you set will help you push forward. If you want to write as more than just a hobby, I would argue that setting goals is an essential part of achieving that. Goals in general and writing goals in particular are helpful tools. Fill your writing toolbox with what helps you. If it doesn't help, don't use it. Every person is different and needs different things to succeed. I hope you do just that!