Are You Setting Smart Writing Goals?
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
You’re working on a novel for kids or teens and one of your big goals is to publish that novel.
As much as you may want that, it can feel somewhat nebulous, more dream-like than a natural next step in your personal writing evolution. Especially if you want to be published by a traditional house.
I get it.
Last time I briefly mentioned SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. And I suggested that for writers, SMART should actually be SMARTY.
The “Y” stands for “you-focused” because you have to be accountable for it and you have able to accomplish it yourself.
Why am I hammering on this?
Because if you, like me, want to go the traditional publishing route, much of it is beyond our control.
The agent you queried who seemed like a perfect fit may have just sold a novel with a similar concept as yours last week. Or your editor has accepted a new job before your publishing deal is final and your new editor isn’t as keen about it.
We can’t control how others respond to our writing.
So we have to focus on what we can control. And breaking down a big, juicy goal into smaller, more manageable chunks will help you keep moving toward it.
Let’s see how a big writing goal looks in SMARTY terms.
Specific—My big, juicy writing goal is to complete a middle grade mystery novel involving animals so my agent has a second animal novel to pitch (working title: The Case of the Poisoned Wolves: A Zoo Crew Mystery). I’ve done the blueprint planning for it, I’ve interviewed my characters, and now I’m drafting it.
Measurable—500 words or one hour of writing per day. That seems pretty quantitative to me.
Achievable—Breaking the work down into daily objectives, especially after the careful planning I put in, is proving to be achievable. I’m not waiting for inspiration. I’m just showing up. I have 18,000 words drafted so far for a novel that will probably be 50,000-60,000 words long.
Realistic—For several reasons, this is a realistic goal for me:
I have previously written a handful of novels to their completion so I know I can do it.
I’m using a more thorough planning process than I ever have before that’s providing significant story support.
My market research showed me that the concept for the novel is fun and new and has series potential.
Time-bound—Okay, I haven’t specified a date by which I want to have this novel completed and I think that’s what is meant by time-bound. To be honest, saying, “I want to finish a rough draft by XX date” freaks me out a little. But I’m going to give myself a deadline. The idea first came to me in March 2022, so my deadline for a complete first draft will be March 31, 2023.
You-focused—I’ve had some good help along the way—like some behind-the-scenes views of a zoo—but overall, completing a solid draft of this novel is within my abilities. Selling it will certainly require the input of others. But getting to “The End” of a first draft is under my control.
How are you doing with your writing goals?