One of the things I learned during the ‘fresh start’ workshop at the end of last year was how to set realistic writing and other goals and plotting the time accordingly. Because my debut novel is finally with the proofreader and actively being worked on, I had no goals to complete for the month of January, and my first writing goal was set for the end of February. I beat that goal by several weeks, but because it’s for a task that I don’t usually undertake (outlining), I gave myself plenty of time to do it.
I also researched the best ways to do one, and came up with the method that works best for me. I went into this outlining knowing I needed time to research and perfect those things, so I set the date well out from when I thought I wanted to be finished. This extra, realistic, scheduling method allowed me room to breathe and not feel like the inevitable learning curve was slowing me down, putting me behind, or causing me to fail.
By the end of February I expected a simple outline from myself. That’s it. What I have at the end of February is not only a completed outline, but also the first four chapters of another novel. I’m much further ahead than I thought I would be, which makes my next goal – a completed first draft by the end of March – very doable.
With the combination of baby steps and also a gentle nudging every time I sit down to write and look at my outline on my desk, I feel energized to hit that next goal. This method applies to more than just writing. Whenever you’re starting something new, you need to add some extra time for the learning curve.
That curve may be small, or it may be the biggest hurdle you’ve negotiated in some time. But with baby steps and bigger thinking rather than squeezing yourself with an unrealistic timeline, you’ll do better and achieve more.