My writing did not go how I wanted it to go this spring.
Although I published a short story as well as some nonfiction (yay!), the first draft of my novel totally stalled out while I dealt with some health issues for a couple of months.
I’m working on the resistance of getting started again, and with that comes planning for summer, which is one of my favorite times of year to write.
Maybe it’s the extra daylight or how much lighter everything feels to me this time of year. Whatever it is, I just know that when summer rolls around, I’ll be writing again. But first, I want to set some intentions and make it super clear how I’ll reach my goals.
If you’re ready to also set your summer writing intentions (and MEET them), I’m here to share my best tips with you.
Start Where You Want To End Up
What would you like your writing life to look like by the end of the summer?
You can accomplish a lot in three months even with limited time (hello vacation and kids home from school and weddings and baby showers and parties and beach outings and all the things!)
If you know your destination, it’ll be so much easier to plan your route getting there.
So before you even begin working on your summer writing project, make a realistic decision about what you’d like to have accomplished when fall rolls around.
For me, I want to finish the last 10,000-ish words of this first draft and do a full revision. I also want to be back in a routine of writing more consistently, sending out short stories, and selling more essays.
What about you? Where do you want to end up?
Think about it and be as specific as possible. Clear goals are much easier to reach than vague ones.
Plot How You’ll Use Your Time
I have one day a week when my toddler goes to daycare. The rest of the time, I’m with him and squeezing in my work during naps (and sometimes evenings, if I’m not totally exhausted).
Even though he’s been going to daycare once a week for nine months, I still overestimate how much I can accomplish with my free time. So I totally understand the feeling of disappointment when the time you have to write doesn’t fit with the actual writing you want to do.
To avoid feeling bummed or stressed by what you don’t accomplish, plot how you’ll use your time before you start.
Be conservative rather than ambitious. It feels so much better to get more done than you expect rather than run out of time and be nowhere close to your goal.
You can always go back and work on something else if you have time to spare, which will make you feel like a superstar!
So first figure out how long each part of your process typically takes, then add some time onto that. Always build in extra room for delays like resistance, bad writing days, or just life happening.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Break Your Intention Down Into Smaller Chunks
Once you have an idea of how long it’ll really take you to accomplish your goal, it’s time to break it down into smaller chunks that you can tackle each day, week, and month.
Try to be super specific here, too.
It’s not only satisfying to cross a specific task off your list, but it also helps avoid the paralysis that can come from being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start.
Below is an example of how I would break down the goal of writing half of the first draft of a novel over the course of the summer if I wanted to start something new.
This example operates on the assumption that I expect to write daily, or pretty close to daily, during the summer. Your version of this may look drastically different, so make sure you tailor it to what’s realistic for you!
- The draft will be roughly 40,000 words, so that means I should write around 13,500 words each month for three months
- 30,000 words a month means my word count aim each week is 3,375
- That means I’ll write about 482 words a day on average
- I have a loose outline of my story, so I know my story’s four emotional markers (read The Plot Whisperer!) and what happens at each one
- For the first month, I’ll focus on the first emotional marker and writing toward that specific scene
- The second month, I’ll focus on the portion between the first and second markers
- The third month, I’ll focus on the second emotional marker, which is the midway point of the book
- For X week, I’ll write the first three scenes of the opening chapters. Those scenes will cover XYZ.
- So on and so forth…
Your plan might be much more detailed or much looser than this, but the key is to have a plan for how the months, weeks, and days will break down. Even if you miss a few days or even a week, you can rework the plan to get back on track.
And keep in mind that this can be fluid. You can change course whenever you need to, but it definitely helps when you set out with a plan.
Get Some Accountability!
Without a doubt, this is one of the best things you can do for your writing when you have a goal or intention you want to reach.
I offer accountability as part of my writing coaching service, but you can find accountability with your writing partner or group or any other creative in your life who might also need some support.
Accountability isn’t necessary, but when I’ve had other writers cheering me on, I’ve written so much more than I would’ve on my own.
For many writers, it just helps to feel a sense of camaraderie and support when we’re working on a project.
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