Here to put advise under a microscope.
This week is the first in a series of goal setting. Enquiringly about smart goals, I know, the acronym is overused. Somehow, it can be used for seemingly everything. A quick refresher.
Table of Contents
What Are SMART Goals?
Specific – well defined and unambiguous
Measurable – including a baseline to measure against
Achievable – realistic and attainable
Relevant – what makes this appropriate for you?
Time-related – a timeline and target dates for tracking your progress
Making Your Own SMART Goals
Okay so, the tedious procedure to create your own. This particular SMART goal will be regarding writing my first fiction book. I had to make some decisions to start the process. Firstly, I researched the average lengths of books to make a specific goal.
Short stories are 1,500 – 30,000 words.
Novellas are 30,000 – 50,000 words.
Novels are 55,000 – 300,000 words.
Why not go for the middle man in the novella category, I thought.
Secondly, I used my research to adapt my goal and motivate my reasoning, to make it relevant to me.
If I was going to write a book, I wanted a medium-sized one. Where readers could get absorbed into my little world for a while. Not just a short amount of time. I certainly was not ready to commit to a monumental task to complete a novel. However, I did want a challenge to overcome.
Thirdly, I thought of a good amount of time to complete this goal, to make the goal measurable and time-related.
Off the top of my head, I thought about what results I wanted to have. A year seemed too long to get the bulk of the writing typed up. I wanted to work hard and gather the story in a challenging amount of time. Let’s try 6 months I concluded.
I was not finished yet. Fourthly, I had to make sure my smart goal was attainable.
Ambitious on the surface but getting to the details and reasoning behind it, the goal loses some outlandish aspects.
To achieve this goal I would have to write 6,666.66 words a month. A daunting amount. 1,666.66 a week, still terrifying to a first time writer, and 333.333 words for 5 days a week.
This is when I had a turning point. I got excited. Just over 300 words in a day? This seemed very achievable. With all the ideas I had filling up my head, I decided to write any ideas that this book could involve in OneNote. Easy access in my pocket on my phone. Something I added to many times in sparks of inspiration.
Keeping the details above in mind, the SMART goal for writing my first book is: To write 40,000 words in 6 months.
By this point, I already had a concept and the flow of the book. Far from having all the events that happen start to finish.
3 Months Down The Line
In my case, I have been using this particular goal for 3 months now. Have I stuck to it fully? No. Have I keep at it? Yes. Bringing me to a total of 10,252 words. 9,742 words shy of my goal. Why? Many reasons
- I had underestimated 300 words. I knew this would be demanding but needed to try. Imaginative ideas come naturally to me, so I thought that would help. In the process, I had to be producing new scenes on most days. That takes a toll on your mind when you are not used to fiction writing.
- The formidable writer’s block came my way and I took a break for a few weeks to reconcile my thoughts and imagination. It was a blow to my confidence, a harsh blow. However, when I caught hold of the new ideas, they felt magnificent. Determination filled my view.
- Carrying out the goal, there were also times I did not feel like writing. Meaning breaks for a day or days at a time.
Although, having exercised my writing muscles for writing most weekday and pushing through writer’s block, I am more resilient for it. Furthermore, thankful for what I have learnt throughout this time.
How I Will Press Forward
Now, How will I continue? Well, I would still like to aim for 40,000 smart goal and we’ll see how it goes.
So far, I write around 600 words a day since then, for 5 days a week to reach the sizable goal. The writing amount may have doubled, but I find it easier to write this amount through my past experiences.
Keeping a plan of what to write aids the fluidity in constant parts to write.
The end goal is not so inflexible. I will take breaks when necessary AND when I just don’t feel like writing. I’ve learnt that not all goals need to be achievable. Rather, some are simply there to use as a tool to make us work harder than we thought and in new ways.
Will my book truly be 40,000 by the end of April? Maybe. By the time I edit and edit and edit… I have no clue. Yet, I know the amount I create by that time will give me A LOT to work with. Even then I might not reach my goal, that’s fine. Aiming higher than I thought I could achieve shows me I am capable of doing something MORE if I set my mind to it.
Goals can change over time and I think we owe it to yourself to not be so rigid when it’s not working out. Take a break. Getting to know myself better. Through practising this goal it makes me understand what I could achieve next.
What goals will you be smashing and altering? How is your writing journey going?
Let me know in the comments. Until next time.
Hi! I'm Shannon, a blogger and author. I help people earn doing what they love as writers.
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