One Simple Tip to Accomplish Your Writing Goals in 2020

Know thyself

Know thyself

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

Writing gurus and experts over-populate the internet.

That’s because we writers are desperate to know how to make it work. We want to know how to create and sustain a long-term writing practice, how to write novels or memoirs or non-fiction books that entertain and change lives, and, yes, how to maybe, just maybe make a living at our writing.

And that’s just for starters.

And so advice-givers proliferate.

And many of them have excellent ideas. Most of them do, actually.

But there’s one big catch to following their advice: it might not be right for you.

And if it isn’t right for you, you may end up following long and tortuous writing paths that lead you on time-consuming tangents.

Know yourself

Know what you want to write. Novels? A memoir? A self-help book with life-changing advice in it?

And break it down further. What kind of novel? A mystery? A thriller? A romance novel? Enduring literature?

This may sound obvious and for many writers it is a no-brainer. But not always. Because some of us get stuck in the shoulds and ignore what our hearts are telling us to write. As in:

— I should write an article about climate change but what I really want to do is turn the information into a novel. But that won’t sell. Will it?

— I should write the Great American Novel, but dammit, I don’t want to! I want to write the story of my crazy childhood with a ballerina mother and a clown father. But that’s been done. Right?

— I should write the journalistic articles I’ve been researching but poetry is calling my name. I love writing poems, love choosing the words, but I can’t really do it. Because nobody reads poems anymore anyway. So why bother?

— People, writing is supposed to be fun. It’s a hard path full of rejection and criticism. And it’s also, in my opinion, the best job you can have. But, c’mon, most of us don’t do it for the money or the fame.

So if it is not fun, if it is not feeding your soul, and if you are not writing what you truly want to write, it’s time to admit that and switch gears in 2020. Commit to working on what you want to work on.

Know your goals

Maybe you really do just want to write poems that you share with a few friends. That’s cool. Or perhaps you want to write a bestselling novel. That’s cool, too.

But there’s a wide difference between those two goals. And if you know, starting out, what’s most important to you, it will help you prioritize.

I have a friend who is a successful indie published mystery writer and also publishes traditionally. She’s upfront about her goals. If she wants to make money, she’ll indie publish. If she’s looking for a certain kind of acclaim or a different audience, she’ll submit her idea to her agent.

Knowing your goals going in eliminates the fatigue of trying to figure it out as you go along and clarifies your writing path immediately. It frees you. Also — be honest about your goals. It’s okay to want to make money. It’s okay to write for the pure joy of it and never let anybody see it. Whatever your writing goal is, it’s okay.

Know your process

You may be a dedicated pantser, a writer who gets an idea and launches in without much forethought. Or you might be a plotter, someone who plans out every aspect of the story before beginning to write. And your habits may also lie somewhere in between.

You may also not truly understand the best writing process for you. Believe me, there are many people out there who will try to tell you what works best for you. But only you can know for sure.

Case in point: I’m a sucker for getting excited about new ideas about story structure, plotting, character — you name it. Hand me a book that lays out exact steps to construct a novel and I’ll follow it slavishly. At least until trying to slot myself into somebody’s else’s process starts to make me feel itchy and antsy.

Then I realize — if I plot everything out ahead of time, the story loses its luster for me. I do some prep work, yes, but I like to leave room for the magic to happen as I write. That’s the process that works for me. It may not work for you.

The Best Writing Process
It’ll help insure you get your story out in the worldwritingcooperative.com

So now I read the books, posts and articles and let them settle. Usually I glean a tip or two, a different way of doing things to add to my repertoire. But then I go back to my way — which is a combination of pantsing and plotting and has worked for me through writing five novels.

Be open to the new

One of the best things about being a writer is that there is always something new to learn. A new technique, a new way of putting words on the page. As you read widely, you’ll glean all kinds of information as you study how others do it.

You’re a Writer, You Must Read
Use these suggestions for reading in 2020writingcooperative.com

And so my final bit of advice for writing success in 2020 is to stay open. Yes, it’s a bit contradictory to what I’ve said up until now, but you never know what new information will light you up.

Maybe — just maybe — getting to know yourself better will lead you to a new understanding of your writing. For me recently, learning about the Enneagram and my type (9) has been illuminating because it has helped me to relax and quit fighting my natural tendencies. And from that standpoint, I can choose to improve or change from a place of awareness.

Which feels very bright and shiny and new.

Happy new year, happy 2020, and may all your writing dreams and goals come true this year!

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