Goal setting on Writer's Wednesday!!

Oh, my dear gentle, gentle reader. I am sitting here listening to Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack on my head phones (have to stop writing for a little chair dancing), wondering what I will discuss this week. Ah, I will talk about goal setting. Goal setting is as much at home in life as it is in the writing community. Up to this point I have discussed at length tools that you can use in the process of writing your manuscript. Now I will talk about the planning side of the house. I am about as organized as a six-year-old hopped up on sugar these days. I have become an expert at planning. My life would be pure chaos without it! Of course, there is life throwing these wonderful, bedazzled monkey wrenches into my day as well. Just recently I had to get my truck worked on that cost me $1553, and some change. The salesman waited for me to stop sobbing, then with lifeless eyes, he directed me to the sales clerk to take my left arm as payment. Life is busy enough without wanting to do something that will consume every ounce of your focus, and writing will do just that.

When you’re not Ninja-dodging flashy, sparkly tools, you should write down things you want to accomplish. I have three categories: Short, medium, and long-term goals. Short goals are things that I want to take care of within three months. Medium goals are things I want to take care of within six months. The Long-term goals are everything after that. Clearly these things are on the horizon but not entirely important at the moment. I also have three sources to keep track of these things. I have a Quarterly calendar on the wall. A small dry eraser board right in front of my desk (If you look at my picture of me sitting at my desk with my headphones on, you will see it on the wall), and my planner. All these things are coordinated together.

The obvious question is why in the heck would I have so many weapons of mass reminding at my nefarious disposal? The idea is, by the time I write everything down between these things it will increase my recollection of things I need to do. Another reason is, that I am sure to have all of my responsibilities written out and not get myself into too much trouble by forgetting something. If you know me, then you know that I am more likely to forget what to write down in the first place. This is where Beth comes in to the picture with a swift kick in the tush. OK, on to the subject at hand.

When you write down your literary tasks, you increase your chances of getting your manuscript written in a timely fashion, and decrease the amount of time you will spend working on it overall. This could be anything from writing out chapters, self-editing, or touch ups. Me, I write three chapters a month. You might say, this is not a lot of writing for a whole month. I never said I was a saint, just said I understood how this stuff works. Savvy? In actuality I often will write more than that. There is the Podcast Writer’s Block; the vlog I am working to get on YouTube; and the second Podcast, On the Run, I record with Beth, and produce; and of course there is my book. This is on top of my ordinary responsibilities and work schedule. As of right now, I am starting on Chapter 12. Having just written Chapter 11. I have two more to write by the end of the month. I am not worried, we do the best we can with what we have, right. As always, I wish you the best. Thanks for stopping by.