Setting Realistic, But Ambitious Writing Goals In 2023!

Welcome! Thank you so much for clicking on this blog post, I hope you find it informative and helpful.

Hello writers & storytellers!
This is my first official blog post, and since it’s summer I thought I’d talk about how YOU can set realistic goals without shrinking excitement or big plans! My name is Hannah and I have felt connected to stories ever since I was a child, always writing for fun and finding writing to be a safe space to dive into a different world. It was until my early teen years that I discovered I wanted to be an author and take my stories to the next level and starting my novel writing journey — but enough about me, if you want to learn more check out the ABOUT page on this website. Let’s get into the topic…

So, whether you find summer to be the most motivating time to write or not, it can be a great time to reset and get a solid plan for your projects. For me personally, summer makes me SUPER hyped to write and get as much done as I possibly can. But, I’ve noticed that having all that energy alone with no structure can easily lead to feeling burnt out and in the end… drained of all inspiration and creativity. That’s why I’ve been trying to gather tips and tricks in my OWN writing life on how to find a balance between staying ambitious but not burning the candle from both ends.

Let me start off with saying this: BEING AMBITIOUS IS NOT A BAD THING. Get excited about your projects and growing your author brand, you need passion to be able to flourish in your craft! But, there have been a number of times where I had all that excitement, but no proper writing plan, and I ended up getting lost in several projects and ultimately lost a lot of inspiration. Another reason this can happen is because setting unrealistic goals can result in perfectionism, which I consider one of the BIGGEST killers of creativity. So — how do you take those ideas you are on the edge of your seat to get to work on without sprinting full speed towards the finish line and tiring yourself out? HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO TRY!

1 • Establish your “priority project(s)”. Ask yourself what project you could put at the forefront of your mind. Which ones are most important to you? What is a project that you could see yourself publishing before the others? This doesn’t mean that you have to throw away all your other WIPs, in fact I recommend having more than one at a time so you always have another story to switch to if you’re getting overly critical and frustrated over the current one you are working on. BUT, you may find it helpful to really narrow down what projects are the most urgent. Which ones you see yourself publishing in the near future, then you won’t find yourself scrambling to make progress on so many projects at a time.

2 • Work on projects in different stages. Something that I have found super helpful is, when I work on multiple stories at a time (which I usually always am because I have NO CHILL), is choosing projects that are in different stages. For example: I am currently working on the first draft of one novel and outlining another, while of course having some other scattered projects that I like to explore with from time to time. So if I’m really not in the mood to outline, I can always fall back onto that first draft or visa vera. This can also work with two projects in the same stage, I just find it helpful in general to have more than one project. But you can still make them priority projects! Like I mentioned above, you don’t have to feel trapped in one project at a time unless that’s what floats your boat.

3 • Find a project to write just for fun. I LOVE THIS ONE!! I did this for the first time in years recently and I stirred up more inspiration than I had in SO LONG!!! I made it a goal to not plot, outline, or really do any preparation before diving into the project besides fleshing out the characters a little bit. And let me tell you… I have been having SO MUCH FUN with this story! It feels like a little world I can hop into, explore and add to for a while, then close my laptop and step away without any pressure. Of course, perfectionism likes to sneak in, but I remind myself that this is my story that has no limits, no restraints, NO WORRIES! I remind myself to write my heart out and if I decide to publish later, I can go back and pick it a part later. To be honest, this is an okay mindset to have in ANY story, but having a designated story to do that with when you start pressuring yourself with other projects can be great practice on letting creativity flow and become a natural writing process.

4 • Monthly Goals. This is where I have gotten overly-ambitious in the past, but I think it’s still beneficial to set monthly goals for the year! I have done this previously and I almost checked everything off by the end of the year. Now, this is where you can take your “priority projects” and bring them into your monthly goal planning, making them the most important. Write down the same project for four months straight if you want to, like if you’re writing a fresh new first draft and need plenty of time, don’t feel guilty for spending months at a time on the same thing. Or don’t think that it should take a shorter amount of time.
Even just journalling and jotting down a basic outline of what you want to work on in the next few months can be a great guide. It’s easier to push a few projects at a time then hopping between multiple and, like I’ve been mentioning, tiring yourself out. In the past, when I’ve planned out by month, I used my tactic of working on projects in different stages. For example, the month of January would be dedicated to working away at a first draft while editing another story. Then fast forward to April, I may still be working at the same first draft, but now I’ve added a goal to plot another novel. I recommend having no more than 2-3 writing goals a month, and if you accomplish more than that, that’s great! I’ve noticed that I get more done when I stop trying to max out how much I can do.

5 • Lastly, remind yourself of the reason you personally LOVE to do what you do. When you lose touch of why you write, that’s when a lot of the negative thoughts come in. That’s when your work becomes less important to you. If you’re ambition is from a place of striving to accomplish as much as you can, or to create perfectly, or to simply get stuff checked off the to-do list, you’re going to lose inspiration and motivation very quickly. If you need a little extra help, make a journal entry of all the reasons you love to write! Remember those days when writing was nothing but a joyful opportunity to explore new worlds! Tap back into that feeling and motive and your creativity will soar so much more easily.

I hope you find some of these tips and tricks helpful! There are endless things to say about this topic, so if you want to discuss it further or have any questions please feel free to reach out to me (you can find ways to do that through the contact section). Thank you SO MUCH for reading my first ever blog post, I’m definitely new to blogging but I am excited and thankful to have the opportunity to share about my passion for writing with you.

Speaking of this topic, if you’re interested in seeing my own journey this summer, check out my FIRST YouTube video where I share my writing routine this season and let you know about some of things you can expect on the channel! There are many new beginnings in this new chapter of my life, and I have so much gratitude towards you for being a part of it. Check out the video below!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post and for supporting me!
Until next time,

ᥫ᭡Hannah