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How Do You Do It?

Last November, I decided to squeeze NaNoWriMo into my goals for the third consecutive year. It wasn’t planned or scheduled at the start of 2006 when I initially set writing goals, so I considered my current projects to see if the 50,000-word challenge might be feasible. My projects included editing two novels for a publisher, a novel-length project for a client, juggling my freelance career and prepping my next fantasy novel for submission.

The one question I’m asked more than any other is: “How do you do it?” I’ve written goal setting articles as we've started new years before, so this year I decided to offer a bird’s eye view of how I pace myself to complete yearly goals, and also achieve what I call bonus items like NaNoWriMo.

Set Flexible, Attainable Goals
One way to learn is from the experience of another. With that in mind, I offer a glimpse at what I hoped to achieve at the beginning of 2006 as I planned for the year’s projects while working a full-time job.

1. Submit at least one freelance article or story per month
2. Promote Pumping Your Muse
3. Build editing business for Team Spirit Critique and Editing
4. Write Refining Your Muse
5. Edit and rewrite and submit The Inheritance
6. Edit and rewrite and submit Beyond the Fifth Gate
7. Work on The Knights of SW Florida

As a word of clarity, goal number one did not include current columns. The reasoning behind this goal was to increase writing income by boosting productivity. Goals must not only be flexible but attainable. I have no control over income. Setting a goal like: make more money, is beyond my jurisdiction. I can only try to make more money. Attainable goals offer a measurable rate of success. If you set a goal to sell and don’t, you’ve failed to meet the goal even though you did the work. However, a goal to submit at least one article or story each month is within reach regardless of whether or not it’s accepted. Attainable goals set you up for success rather than failure.

Goals offer direction but once you get into the year, another opportunity may bump a tentative project. Don’t fret. If it fits into your overall objectives you’re still on task. Figure flexibility into your goals. For example, among the above examples, The Knights of SW Florida required input from the Knight family. That proved to be slower than I anticipated, and in the meantime I queried The Dabbling Mum® with the idea for a budgeting book. I adjusted my goals, co-authored the book with my husband and it is now in the editing process. Knights of Southwest Florida is still in the info gathering stage and is slated among my goals for 2007.

If I treated goals as if they were written in stone, this new opportunity would have slipped by. Flexibility is important, but comes with a word of caution. Don’t trick yourself into thinking you’re being flexible when you are procrastinating. Revised goals still move your writing forward in a measurable fashion.

Flexibility also leaves room to add to your list of things to accomplish. For instance, goal #2 above expanded after the release of my novel Windwalker. As much as I don’t care for promotional work, in today’s marketplace it’s part of being a successful writer. More than one publisher has asked what I intend to do to promote a book.

Break Tasks Into Manageable Jobs
Once attainable, flexible goals are established, break each goal into smaller tasks to be completed over a month’s time. Each month I know I have a new story or article to write. Throughout the course of everyday routine, I actively seek out creative fodder to spark a new creation. As I cleaned out files in January 2006, I found some old sermon notes and thought about how the points could apply to writing. I queried Spirit-Led Writer and the article became Tackling New Projects: Points for Writers from Nehemiah. The goal opened my eyes to see the article potential while re-filing notes from twenty years ago.

The week of January 2, I set a goal to write the first draft. The following week I finalized the article, and let it rest. On January 13, I submitted the article after reading through it one more time. How do I know these details so many months later? I not only write goals each month and week, but I update them so I can see what’s done, what’s not and what’s next.

This works for larger projects as well. I had two novels that needed editing. To accomplish these long-term goals, I divided the year in two. I finished editing The Inheritance the end of June and submitted the manuscript in early July. That left the second half of the year for Beyond the Fifth Gate.

A New Year—New Goals
Do you desire to accomplish more as a writer? Look ahead and set goals. Consider them as targets—moving targets. Don’t lock out the reality that things need to be reevaluated. When the opportunity to write the budgeting book materialized, that’s what I did. The Knights of Southwest Florida fell to a lower priority—2007.

When life throws an unexpected obstacle in your path, adjust your goals to deal with it. For me, I moved from Florida to Georgia last year. Moving takes time. Not just the move itself, but the packing, sorting, cleaning on one end, while at the other time is spent hunting for the right house and then more cleaning, painting, unpacking and settling.

I knew we hoped to move, but I set goals as if it wasn’t happening. The real estate market had turned and I didn’t know what to expect. However, the house did sell and Beyond the Fifth Gate’s edits and rewrites carried through into January of this year. That extra month reflects the move, and that’s fine. What’s important is moving toward the completion, and that’s happening.

On another note, don’t let goals hold you back. If you’ve accomplished all you set out to do and have an idea for something new, start it. Figure it into your weekly goals, but don’t lose sight of your original plan. Some months I write several freelance articles, and others I eke out one to meet my goals. Another example is participating in NaNoWriMo. It provided this year’s novel draft. The idea for the story had bumped around in my head for about two months and NaNo provided the perfect avenue to get it on paper without letting my other goals slide.

Remember, goals are guidelines. Flexibility allows forward progress without the guilt of failure. Targets move. Take new aim and accomplish your dreams.


About the Author
Author and freelance writer, Donna Sundblad, resides in Georgia with her husband, Rick. Together, they are working on a budgeting book that will be out in electronic format by early 2007. Donna serves as the Fantasy Topic Editor at Inspired Author, and her books, Pumping Your Muse and Windwalker are available in paper or ebook formats at epress-online.com. Check her website for more information at www.theinkslinger.net.