Over the next few blogs I’m going to really hone in on clarity. Lingering questions are the key to excellent craft but if you ever want your writing to be published there must be some clarity on a few things.
Today think about your goals. Are they clearly defined? You want to be published? When? Where? What form? What genre? What publication or Which project?
Do you even think about these questions? Do you say “I want to be published next year” or do you say, “I want to have my WIP “Awesome Book” completed and at least three queries out by August 2010”?
Does it seem I am really beating on this right now? It is because in the course of working with authors in my Writing Career Coach program I find that most people are extremely ambivalent. They are afraid of failure and are thus stuck in this persistent “One day” mentality.
So, write a clear goal for each day this week. What is ONE thing you will do each day? It could be research [Read 17 pages on Regency etiquette] or it could be directly writing [write 1,500 words], but whatever your goal determine going in how doing this will help advance your writing career. That will give a real value to your goal and make you more likely to follow through.
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Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at writingcareercoach.com
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4 comments:
Hi Tiffany -
From your post, I can see many of my goals are too vague. Thanks for a jolt of reality. :)
Blessings,
Susan
I am hearing that from many of my clients which is why I decided it would be a great topic to post on here. I'm glad it helped you.
Make sure all of you have subscribed to the blog on the new website so you don't miss the updates. It's at WritingCareerCoach.com
Yep, I'm afraid. I haven't been setting any goals due to a lot of reasons. But it sounds like the beginning of the year would be a good time to sit down and make some specific goals. I love what you said about making sure they will be goals that advance you. Thank you for the advise.
I wonder if there's a parallel in the writing world with all the advice around voice: Find your medical personal statement voice, write in your own voice, the best writing has a distinctive voice, etc.
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