Think back over the whole of 2024. What have you achieved with your writing?
Make a list of your accomplishments. Even if you didn't hit a goal you were aiming for, you likely did some writing along the
way.
Some of the things I've achieved:
- I wrote 250+ words/day from 1st January to 15th September
- I sent out 2 short stories to competitions
- I landed a new freelance
client
- I worked through a course on outlining novels
Even if you worked on your novel for a week in January and then didn't touch it at all, that's still a week of writing fiction in 2024.
Once you've got a list of achievements, give
yourself a moment to really be proud of them! Even if some of them relate to goals or targets that you didn't reach (e.g. I'd initially planned to write 250 words/day all year), that doesn't negate what you've accomplished.
What About the Rest of 2024?
At
this point in the year, it's easy to think "I might as well restart writing in 2025."
But there's still time to tackle some small writing goals ... giving yourself a head start on next year.
Unless you've got a much quieter December than me, this probably isn't the time to
"write a novel in a month" or "launch a new blog".
But it might be a good opportunity to:
- Start, and finish, a short piece. Think flash fiction, a poem, or a blog post.
- Finish off something that you've already nearly completed. Perhaps you've got a
short story that just needs editing before you send it out.
- Try out a small and simple writing habit. You could try writing for just 5 to 10 minutes each morning, for instance.
Don't pick a goal that makes you feel stressed or burdened: find something small and light that lets you enjoy writing as you look forward
to 2025.
Next week: In next week's Monday newsletter, we'll be looking at how writing might fit into your life in 2025.
Happy writing,
Ali
P.S. Here's last week's blog post, in case you missed it:
What is Writer’s Block? The Myth, the Reality, and How to Overcome It
