Writing goals can be about creating a certain kind of world or story, writing in a certain genre, or even writing about specific kinds of characters. But writing goals can also be about the craft of writing itself. For example, they can be about writing so many words a day (i.e. a word count goal), or to finish a chapter by a particular date, or to write on a prompt that is intended just to get us writing.
Ultimately, writing goals are a discipline. It’s kind of like an exercise where one must do it regularly to keep one’s skill and strength in peak condition. If writing isn’t done regularly, it can be hard to return to it after a week or a month long absence. When we do return to writing, it’ll be harder to write at the same level of intensity and output as before. To be disciplined about writing, we need to write even when we’re not in the mood to write, or if we’re tired. The bottom line is, we just need to write.
I usually only have a word count goal if I’m writing a novel or a short story, but that goal is tentative, since I’ll go over it if I’m really engaged in the story. But it’s not the word count that matters so much as the act of writing itself. Getting started–putting my thoughts down on paper (or the computer) for a few minutes–that’s the most important thing. Once I get into a routine, it becomes easy to pour my thoughts on to the page. And once I get that going, it becomes easier to write, and all the rest will follow: the word count, writing a story in a genre I want to tell, etc.
Even if I’m tired or I’m not the mood to write, the act of writing will revitalize me with zeal and energy. The ideas will come flowing from my mind to my fingertips, and I’m continuously thinking about the story or the blog post that I’m writing about. It’s like I’m having an inner dialogue with myself, talking back and forth about what my thoughts are on a story or topic. I’m utilizing that chamber of my mind that likes to debate and inquiry and hammer out ideas. It becomes my voice as I write–one that has stayed quiet throughout most of the day until I’ve awakened it from its slumber.
Fallton Havenstonne 