Are you in a position where you want to write a novel or a short story, or a nonfiction book? Perhaps you even started to write your book for a couple of weeks, or a few months but then just decided to quit because it all seemed too tough?
There may be a whole host of reasons as to why you stopped writing. However, one major reason could have been that the writing goal you set for yourself wasn’t SMART enough. It might have been a very vague goal such as I want to write a novel this year.
What is SMART goal setting you may wonder? Read on to find out about exactly what SMART goal setting is, and how you can apply this technique to your writing:
Specific
Specific means the writing goal you have clearly states what you want to achieve.
An example of this would be I want to write a romance novel, which will have two protagonists, one antagonist and 4 other characters.
Measurable
You should be able to measure if you’ve achieved the goal or not.
An example of a measurable goal would be that I want my novel to be 80,000 words long.
Achievable
Your writing goal needs to achievable. For example, can you break the goal down into smaller and manageable chunks? Remember to ensure that you goal is not overwhelming and is one that you can you instigate.
For example, an achievable writing goal might be I will write 1000 words a day for 30 days.
Realistic
A goal that is realistic is one that takes into consideration other things that are going on in your life like family, partners, husbands and wives, kids, and day jobs. With all your other commitments, is your writing goal realistic? Do you have enough time to sit down daily and write, and have a quiet place to do so?
As an example, let’s say you want to write 1000 words a day for a month. Well, you might have a day job but can still find 1 hour every evening to focus on your writing, so for you, your goal would be realistic.
Time
A SMART goal for writing is usually time dependent where the goal setter has added a time by which he or she wants to complete the goal.
As an example, a time dependent goal could be I want to complete my entire novel including editing and proofreading in 6 months.
So, let’s take a look at the overall goal we’ve been using in the explanations above:
I want to write a romance novel, which will have two protagonists, one antagonist, and four other characters. I will write 1000 words a day for 30 days and will write for 1 hour a day in the evenings. Overall, my novel will be 80,000 words long, and including editing and proofreading will be completed in 6 months.
Goals which are SMART help to send the right signals to your mind-body. Because they are specific and focused, they help you to achieve the plans you have for your writing career.
Image credit: Leah Jones on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0