How To Set Your Personal Writing Goals

[@sven-rajinagardner9457]

First of all, thanks for this inspiring video! Your video about why you like typewriters as tools for creative writing motivated me to get a typewriter, too! (Actually I got a few ones from Ebay to check out differences and find one that I really like best). The best time for me to sit down in front of my typewriter and put down my creative thoughts is about 1 to 2 hours after having my morning coffee and breakfast. Especially the first coffee of the day puts my mind into a creative mode. Then there is another 1 - 2 hour phase in the evening, say from 8 till 10 pm that I use mostly to edit and revise what I've previously written.

[@TheAspiringTypist]

+Sven-Rajina Gardner I’m glad to hear that you found it inspiring; makes me feel like I am accomplishing my goal if I can inspire even one person. You sound like you have a great writing niche cut out in your day - keep focused on that!

[@robertswritingchallenge7381]

I find I can write in the afternoons after I get home and before the family gets home. Many times it is still a struggle to get started. Once I get started, I can write. I can go for a good 15 to 20 minutes before I need a break. Then I watch a writing KZbin video to get myself going again. My goal is to write every single day without fail. I don't have a wordcount goal. What I do have is accountability by posting a progress video everyday on my channel. It has kept me going for the past 45 days.

[@TheAspiringTypist]

+Robert's Writing Challenge Excellent goal. I seem to need occasional breaks or I burn out. Typically I will write for a few days then rest for a few days. My goal is to write at least four hours a week; normally, that is split into 4-5 days.

[@RebeccaLoran]

Epic Fantasy can be anywhere from 120k~400k words a novel. These are usually books that end up being a multiple book series. Not everyone is Robert Jordan, but what I believe he did right, despite not being able to finish the series before he died, but at least drafted the final book, and was ultimately finished by Brandon Sanderson, which he felt deserved three books to do it justice, was achieve a satisfying novel within its own right rather than what some authors do, which is arbitrarily drag out a story across multiple books when it could be done with one. A book only needs to exist to tell the story. What I notice in book series I read is that each book is essentially a new story, even if it's a direct continuation, such as Wheel of Time as mentioned above. Each book has its own set of steps that move it forward, and those steps are focused in different ways. The structure of the story revolves around the goals that are being accomplished or denied, resulting in new 'threads' of the overall story tapestry. I particularly like using Wheel of Time to describe this because of the nature of the weaves of the Pattern, which reading the series will make it clear for anyone who hasn't read them. Every book in a series is like the passing of events in our lives. We are essentially new people, and like when we reach new stages of our lives, our goals change. Who we are and what we believe in change, even if only slightly. So a book series is an evolution of a story rather than dragging it out by making the reader purchase another book when the story you're telling can be accomplished much better in a single book. Each book in a series should only exist if there is a reason, and should tell its own story and stand on its own. This is a movie series, but think about the original Star Wars trilogy. You can watch Epiaode V without having watched Episode IV and still enjoy it. You will be a bit confused about plot details, of course, but the story is told in a way that it fulfills the promise of the overall story on its own. Another way of looking at it is to imagine if you were to only watch Episode IV and never watch any of the following films. That story has a clear and definite story it tells with an extremely satisfying ending. The subsequent films exist to expand the worldbuilding, nuanced character development, and plot. Now imagine if Episode IV required you to watch the nexr film before it reaches the ending. If George Lucas decided to add so many extra scenes that each film essentially became an act. Without the satisfaction of having a complete story with its own beginning, middle, and end, a reader or viewer will feel scammes. They spent all that time, not to mention their money, only to be left with a bookmark rather than an ending. Imagine that the reader will never read the next book in the series. You have one single chance to fulfill yoir readers' need for a satisfying story. Always keep the reader in mind. We must be honest with ourselves. We may come up with reasons that, when we truly look at them, aren't really reasons at all.

[@CM_Marquez008]

Very helpful, thank you. So glad I found your channel.

[@TheAspiringTypist]

+sylverbright Thanks! Welcome to the journey!

[@RooRooMEB]

Goal setting to the now - Comparison is the thief of joy - Someday Goal What is the one thing I want to do someday? Five-year Goal Based on my someday goal, what is the ONE thing I can do in the next five years? One-year Goal Based on my Five-year goal, what is the ONE thing I can do this year? Monthly Goal Based on my One-year goal, what is the ONE thing I can do this month? Weekly Goal Based on my monthly goal, what is the ONE thing I can do this week? Daily Goal Based on my weekly goal, what is the ONE thing I can do today? Right now Based on my daily goal, what is the ONE thing I can do right now? Something I found at the beginning of this year. I'm not sure where it was that I found it from, I just thought I'd share it, since it seemed relevant. Also if you've never written, a whole book before the middle section is called the muddle in the middle, because you have to push through it. Every writer seems to hate their book at this point, at least the hundreds I've talked to. Take care and keep pushing forward. :)

[@TheAspiringTypist]

+RooRooMEB Excellent breakdown - love it. And, I agree! The beginning was the easiest to write. For me I also feel as though I’ve been working on it forever and I loose interest a tad too quickly. That’s why I want to set a 6 month timeline for the next book. I’ve been working on this novel too long for me not to start showing signs of ADHD.