How many times have you set a writing goal but faltered along the way and given up?  For me, this has been a recurring theme in my writing career.  I start off strong then something happens, and before I know it, a week has gone by without any writing progress. 
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This scenario has played out every time that I have set a writing goal for myself, and perhaps it sounds familiar for you too.  Today, people’s lives are busier than ever, so it is not surprising that sticking to a goal is more complicated and challenging than ever. 

The way we read, study, write, work, parent, and interact today allows for more interruption, more distraction, and a lower sense of peaceful concentration than just a decade ago.  That sense of overwhelm and distraction can derail a project.

If you have read the writing guides by the greats like: Stephen King’s On Writing, Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, or E.B. White’s Paris Review Interviews, then you know that many professionals recommend a daily writing practice—7 days a week 365 days a year.  When I first read On Writing, the thought of King’s writing schedule overwhelmed me. 

How is he able to write every single day?  Although I appreciate his dedication to the craft, I also have to recognize the differences in our lives.  I work 50ish hours a week at my job plus a commute; I have elementary-aged children to raise, a house to manage, and other creative pursuits (I crochet, and turn wood).  So, sure King is able to write 365 days a year, but in my life, there are too many tasks pushing their way into my schedule to allow for that. 

After reading several books and articles from the greats, and after failing at meeting my writing goals, I recognized that I needed to create my own path.  

I tend towards setting an enormous, usually impossible, goal at the beginning of the year (i.e., to write 5 books plus weekly blogging).  It never works out, but setting an impossible goal has been my habit for decades.  If I lived the life of a full-time writer, I probably could meet my goals, but I have other responsibilities.  Inevitably, a couple of weeks into my goal, I reevaluate the effectiveness of having a massive goal and start to revise.
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You know what is happening in your life, and your routine is unique to the obligations that you manage.  If you are a student, you have to juggle multiple courses and dozens of assignments simultaneously.  If you are a parent, you juggle children, a home, a job, and activities for everyone.  If you are retired, you have to consider your activities in a different way (some people take up parasailing in retirement and some watch their grandchildren 10 hours a day). 

In all likelihood, your life runs by the calendar.  Pull out the calendar you use (i.e., a pocket day timer, a wall calendar, a digital tool on your phone or internet).  Add all of your engagements onto the calendar: work, commuting, activities, date night, workouts, and as you add these items onto your calendar, organize them by time so that you can see visually.   

Your personal writing goal can be anything at all: to write an essay a week, to finish the great American novel by year’s end, or to collect 50 personal stories for your memoir.  Your writing goal should fit with your writing schedule.  Regardless of how much time you set aside, your goal can be accomplished; the only thing that changes is its completion date, but if the project is valuable to you, then you will persevere until the final draft is in hand. 
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The road to your goal will be littered with complications.   

In everyone’s lives, we deal with random problems, unanticipated setbacks, and inconvenient illnesses that threaten to derail our best laid plans.  Inevitably, as challenges creep into our lives, they test our resolve to continue with our goals.  Do we continue towards the goal after having a week-long flu?  Or do we feel defeated and give up? 

Taking on a viewpoint of flexibility can help in this area.  I have seen writers who create get-out-of-writing cards for themselves after setting their goals.  When a setback happens, they cash in their card and use it to buy a time out from their writing schedule.  For some, this can help create that flexible mindset they need to forgive themselves for unforeseen setbacks and move on. 

Another tool for managing setbacks is to acknowledge the quality work you have completed.  Some writers keep track of their word count on a daily or weekly basis.  By doing this, they can look back at their accomplishments and congratulate themselves when a setback happens.  This method tends to lessen the disappointment after a setback. 

Setbacks are opportunities to pick up the pieces and keep going.  They are chances to re-evaluate the goal and determine what parts of it are working and where change is needed. 

They encourage us to get better organized and plan more efficiently.  And they are a natural part of the process that we can use to our advantage to move forward on our projects. 
If you set a writing goal for yourself but have been unable to continue with that goal, get back in the game.  Reconnect with your goal by evaluating your schedule, the goal, and your mindset and persevere towards the end result of a completed project.  

Anyone who has ever gone on a diet, signed up for a gym membership without previous workout experience, or purchased a self-paced online course guaranteed to change one’s life knows how difficult it is to make a significant change in one’s life.

When we make changes, we rile up all of the demons who control our entrenched habits and behavioral norms.  Sure, I have followed a diet for a day or two, or maybe even a week, but like most everyone, my dieting experience has been spotty at best.  I fall into my old habits and therein the problem lies.

Writing, making art, or starting a creative venture is no different. 

When we choose to write, we choose to change ourselves for ourselves.  We decide to make ourselves a little bit better each day, we face the dark sides of our creative minds, and we take steps towards the true people we believe ourselves capable of becoming. 

And that is hard work. 

So, if it is difficult to change our habits and potentially invigorating but also challenging to start a writing practice, how does a person establish a personal writing practice? 

If you want to see the words on the page go from zero per day to hundreds per day, you have to put in the time.  Yes, that is stating the obvious, but the old adage that Writers Write is true.  A writer needs to set aside time that is dedicated solely to writing. 

OK, so that is clear, but how does one do that?  We are all overworked, exhausted, and stretched to our limits, but when we write, we relieve stress, we create, and we rejuvenate the maker inside of us who wants to play with words.  Time spent writing is not the same as time spent cleaning the bathroom or dragging the recycling to the curb.  Time spent writing is time spent peeling away the layers of smog, grime, and dust that life throws at us. 

To establish a successful personal writing practice, set aside time to write. 

This time might be divided by creative output or it may be divided by minutes.  For example, one writer may set aside enough time each day to write one paragraph, and once the paragraph is on the page that writer can choose to continue writing or move onto another activity.  Either way, a new paragraph is on the page that did not exist before.  Goal accomplished.

The other method is to set aside a period of time.  Many people find that setting aside 30 minutes either at the beginning of the day or the end of the day gets the writing done.  If you choose the morning, then wake up a half hour early to write.  The reason is that your morning routine is already established, so to make that early morning writing time productive, it needs to fit within the established norms of your morning.  If you try to force a 30 minute activity into your already-busy morning, it has no room to fit. 

Writing in the evening seems to work out well for almost everyone.  Writers do not necessarily need to stay up later in the evening to write, though you may need to forego watching TV or playing on the computer. 

Regardless if you choose to write a certain length of content or a certain amount of time, set aside time to write.  
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Do you need support getting your writing practice established?  This video includes easy-to-follow steps to go from a blank page to a completed story.  

https://youtu.be/3R9Nl9_Wkes

Accountability is absolutely vital to establishing a personal writing practice.  Without accountability, will sheer willpower keep you composing each day?  Unlikely. 
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If you ever tried to kick a bad habit—drinking too much caffeine or smoking cigarettes, for example—then you know how challenging it is to do something for yourself without accountability.  Many people say that they were unable to kick a bad habit or take on a good habit for themselves.  It was only when they had some form of accountability integrated into their plans that they became successful. 

So, if establishing a personal writing practice is about taking on a new, positive habit for oneself, how do we inspire motivation and success by adding accountability?  We can employ personal accountability or a partner accountability. 

Personal accountability might include taking steps like using a daily checklist to identify your daily writing goal and note when it has been completed.  Even in our technology-dependent age, I still make a hand-written to-do list each morning, number my tasks by which one I will complete first, and strikethrough when I complete each task.  The list makers and checklist enthusiasts of the world can apply those skills to accomplish their writing tasks.

Most everyone uses some kind of day-timer or calendar to keep track of events.  I have three Google calendars (one for work, one for family, and one for writing), and all three post notifications on my phone.  If it is not listed on my calendar, then it is unlikely to be completed on time.  The pop up reminders are helpful because if I am running behind schedule in my day, then I am reminded what I still need to accomplish.

After you establish personal accountability measures like a checklist, calendar, and reminders, consider creating a partner accountability system.  I have three writing partners—one I write with about three hours a week, one at an hour a week, and one we communicate about our writing progress via email. 

A writing partnership does not have to be formal, in-person, or highly structured.  A writing partnership can allow for partner accountability as two people communicate to keep each other on track with their writing.  That partnership might be a daily or weekly email where they communicate about their writing goals.  It could be a regular meeting time, in-person, via phone, or online.  

Writing is both a personal and a community activity.  People write while alone, but need to stay connected with the world around them to stay observant and hone their skills.  Connecting with a writing community can be a positive step towards establishing a personal writing practice that works. 

Over the years, I have joined several different writing communities, and each one operates in its own way.  One group of writers met weekly at a coffee shop and wrote in silence around a long table.  In the meetings I attended, only one other writer spoke to me at all. 

In other groups, we have engaged in active workshops and critiques of each writers’ pieces with a focus on helping each writer improve.  In another group, we spent some time writing quietly and time asking each other questions and soliciting advice about a particular section.  And in another, we rotate the facilitation duty and each bring in different activities to stimulate creativity. 

Every group has its own pace, tone, and purpose.  Writing with other writers increases one’s level of accountability, because once you attend a meeting, people get the idea that you will show up again.  Attending writing meetings does not work arriving emptyhanded.  Writers expect you to write, to make an effort, and to take steps forward.  They can be the kindest people and most supportive when it comes to gently pushing another writer towards a set goal. 

If this is your year, if you have a new writing goal in mind, and if you are ready to start writing, then start.  And when you fail to meet your goal, brush off the dust and take another step towards the goal.  
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Decide to write.

Set aside time to write.

Set a writing goal.

Set a writing schedule.

Use a checklist, calendar, or reminders.

Hold yourself accountable.

Join a community.  

Accept occasional setbacks and keep writing.
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