I really like the emphasis on invisible work. My primary field is illustration and character design, but there's a strategy that I've found worked really well for me over the years which is to let myself have as many victories as possible. The main thing is to set the standard for a 7/10 success really low, so that even a sketch can be considered time well spent. The reality is creative skills are like any other muscle, and quality will simply follow quantity over time. To that end, little character sketches, thumbnails, doodles, and so forth all contribute to the greater project that is your bigger paintings, and I can definitely feel that this is the case in writing as well. Even the things you don't use will end up making the process easier down the road.
just the video myself and many others needed now, thanks! it’s nice to see clear and concise videos when many people just blather on and never get to the point
A couple years ago, I figured out that I liked making seasonal (technically 3-month) goals. Just because it’s a lot easier to see the finish line, and that creates a little more urgency. And then also gives me the freedom to update what I actually want to accomplish. Otherwise, I’ll change my mind on an annual goal and throw it all away.
Hanging in there is sometimes the only way, it’s a difficult thing to do. Writing a novel is no mean feat, I’m struggling for now but, let us struggle on. Persistence and patience go a long way.
my goal is to keep going. I'm working on two now, one NF and my 7th novel. I'm also doing shorts for my next anthology. When I'm not writing, I'm reading and thinking about what I'm writing. Like Yoda said, "Do, or do not, there is no try."
I started writing/planning for my first book this year in June! I set the goal of writing my first draft by then end of the year (big goal I know haha) but what actually ended up happening was me learning my process, researching storytelling, finding this channel, and building out the world my story would take place in. I often felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything because I still had no words on paper. I would panic and start to write only to give up because I wasn’t done planning the world or characters out yet. It left me with a bunch of false starts. I finally realized these past 6 months of research have been working on my book and now I feel a lot better!
Same here. I've had an idea for about 10 years that I could never put into story form--like trying to describe a dream. I promised my husband on his last birthday that I'd gift him a story, and that goal has become his next birthday in July. The goal is to present him with a readable, proofread first draft and possibly go from there with it, since I have since devised bigger dreams for the story. But your comment hit home, because I've been doing research, jotting notes, collecting images representing the story's world, learning the craft, etc in the meantime. I realized that the more I learn how to write, the easier it is to let the story form in my mind. John's videos have really contributed to this in the short time since I've found them. Good luck this year! :)
I don’t like making lists of goals because they don’t work for me. I used to do that but then I noticed that I would abandon my lists, they would become invisible to me like sticky notes on a fridge, so instead, now I prefer to focus on 2-3 goals that I simply keep in my head all the time until they are met (yes, anxiety is a prominent side effect but I get things done). 😅 So, in terms of my writing goals, I want to finish my novel that I didn’t finish in 2024. I have 4 chapters left (first draft). I am obsessed with this book and work on it nearly every day, so I will finish it, I know it. 😅 In terms of reading, I honestly never have “100 books” as a yearly goal. It would never be realistic for me. I have a very specific list of books this year. A half of them are potential comp titles (recent books, new authors, spooky middle grade fantasy) and the other half are bestsellers in my genre that are widely recognized for doing specific things extremely well. I need to analyze that, read and reread, make notes, enrich my vocabulary (for example, I collect idioms with specific words). That’s about it. 🤓 P.S.: Happy New Year and thank you so much for your videos!🎄
This was very helpful, thank you. I will say that I'm better at working on my goals when no one else knows about them. Once I tell someone, I feel like I gave away a secret and it's no longer "my thing" and loses value. Plus, the rebel in me doesn't voluntarily create a situation of another person checking up on me nor do I want to feel like anyone has given me homework to do but myself. I wish it worked, but it never has. I do need to read more. I have no attention span for reading books, which really stinks, but I'm trying.
Also, does it count that I took some time out yesterday to move a desk into a room in the house more conducive to writing? It was being used by the other person in the house and moving it allows me to use it, too. So moving furniture can be part of the work as well. :) (As long as it stays in one place and isn't an excuse to waste time!)
Wow. I am early for this one. Thank you so much for these advices. I used to do 1000 words per day for four months straight, and then I got pregnant and then had a kid and having a two year old and routine is not in sync, so there it is. But your advice is really helpful.
Goals (so far) for next year: 1. Read 12 books (that I've been wanting to read for some time). 1.1. This includes finishing the Halo: Kilo-Five trilogy (only read the first novel so far and loved it). 1.2. Also includes re-reading and continuing The Witcher book series. 1.3. Short stories, in particular. 1.4. At least one work by Shakespeare. 2. Write a short story from start to finish - even if it's bad. (I think it's important to get that sense of "completion" just to prove to myself I can see it through to the end on some level, at least.) 3. Type up my written notes and outlines for stories (I have so many of these, as I prefer writing with pen and paper (it's more relaxing and thoughts flow more easily for me that way), and I've been procrastinating too long to copy them onto my computer). 4. Resume reading at least one of the story writing thesaurus books on my shelf by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. 5. Research Middle Eastern cuisines. 6. Try to see through a collaborative small writing project with an interested friend. 7. Go bouldering.
My aim is to read a lot more (specifically first person novels) and just keep learning. Finding my own unique writing style and sticking to it. I’ll hopefully find a writing group to learn even more. Ultimately, learning more about the craft is my perpetual goal.
I joined a writing group, and my big goal is trying to let me non-work writing match pace with my work-related writing. I have to put out four manuscripts this year for my work tasks. So I'm going to try to tie one writing project to do alongside each of my manuscripts. That means reading, research, writing, revision, and of course, submission. Let's see how this goes!
I have tons of ideas on book writing. But i lack experience, 0. I don't know anything much to go further, so upon understanding and learning the fact that i should drink the whole ocean by drinking one drop a day, i decided to go into Short story writing first, and even in that I'm doing as best as i can. One line at a time...
You covered a multitude of drawbacks and solutions so well in this short clip. I find the reading books to learn from them a valuable goal for me as a beginning author. I would only add Never give in to Manana [tomorrow] unless there is a real emergency that can't wait beyond the allotted writing/reading/research schedule. That has been a major problem for me.
Fantastic Advice. I used to be so bad at setting realistic goals. I started writing a book in 2013, my goal every year was to finish it. I finally found a method last year that worked for me and finished it, and then wrote another. It would be a lofty goal to aim to write another this year, but that is my first, but flexible goal. Next would be to read through and edit my current drafts and have a friend beta read them. Third, I would like to enter a writing competition at some stage, and Fourth, perhaps try a short writing course. All flexible and all attainable I feel, as I capitalize on my momentum.
I like the idea of focusing on the habits and the steps that help guide you to be the writer you would like to be or to achieve the goal of finishing the project. This advice is similar to Atomic Habits. Good stuff.
Small goals are the best! This year I'm continuing to write one hour every day. Today was a tough one but I'm proud to say that I just finished writing for an hour and will indulge myself with some UA-cam.
My goals are: Read 12 books (mixture of actually reading and listening to audiobooks), Finish 2 1st drafts, Complete the editing for 3 books, and Publish 3 books (writing is all done with these, I just need to figure out the publishing process and start it by August)
Little daily goals have helped me a lot. Mostly it's just 'write daily' even if it's just a paragraph or two. It stacks up and builds my work ethic to boot.
Writing goals: start a calisthenics routine, acquire an extremely comfortable chair and ottoman, find a developmental editor buddy who will slap my wrist when I get out of line.
My writing goal is to sleep early, imitate authors’ writing style and make writing friends irl *I have stopped being a perfectionist in previous years*
My main writing goal is to write the first draft of my second novel. I've looked through my 2025 calendar and planned out a timeline on how to make that happen on a weekly/monthly basis. I don't want to rush it, but I do want to make steady forward progress, and I think I've got a decent plan to get me there. I plan to adjust the plan quarterly as needed.
What you describe in #2 is exactly what I went through and it just wrecked my motivation and created a lot of emotional resistance to getting back to the writing. In the past couple of years, I've focused on time spent writing. While I hope it's all quality words, lets face it - getting the right words in the right order takes time and several re-writes. I focus instead on moving the story forward, or 'have I added clarity to this scene' or another way to put it 'is this scene better than what it was before?'.
Thank you for this video! I was just writing a list with my writing goals for 2025 and a lot of the projects I have in mind feel so far away I felt almost silly. In any case this helped, so thank you!
I have a goal that goes on from 6am to 7 am that I try to fulfill every day, and that's SLEEPING. Seriously. we need that too midtnight to 8:30 that is offlimit to any activity other then sleep
I have to put on my writing hat and do two fifteen minute writing times, alarm set so I walk around, I'm 68 and don't want to feel like I'm 70 just yet ---- I have to do the two writing cycles FIRST THING in the morning (when my old mind is less dull) --- or I have to take a 30 second cold shower. I started it 5 weeks ago, with an accountability partner, and my productivity is sometimes off the charts, and always at least 30 minutes wearing the hat.
My goal is to spend half of my free time on getting published. It can be writing, reading, networking, editing, or researching any of those topics. Apparently when I subtract enough time for sleep, work, commuting, and chores I have almost 4 months worth of hours of free time, meaning I have almost 2 months of free time I could be spending on my dream. That's the goal.
I had to chuckle when I saw the clip from "The Play That Goes Wrong", it's comedic gold. :) Idk what to do for goals this year. I started writing book 3 of a trilogy (to keep myself in line and working towards an ending instead of exploring too much). I started in the summer, and at first, I was so motivated and I had so much ready tog o stuff, I had a crazy pace, gigantic output. I'm done with Act 1, most of Act 2 and bits of Act 3. My opening and ending are solid. Now my output is minuscule because I keep having to go back and re-read myself so there's no glaring errors about who said what when or where. Like, I'm not "editing", I don't correct anything beyond continuity stuff. It feels weird. Like, it's exciting to work towards the end result, but it feels like "shoveling rocks in a sitting position". I don't even know how I could possibly set a goal for finishing that first draft. I just sit at my computer every day and... slog. :) I have a "loose" goal of finishing book 3 first draft and the first draft of book 1 by the end of 2025, but I think I'm just trying ot get myself to keep showing up. I traveled for Christmas and the loss of momentum was huge, I'm still trying to regain.
My goals are mostly around regular dedicated writing time. I try to write every morning ~6AM for 1-2 hours. The challenge is that my kids get up and wildly different hours, so sometimes I have 2 hours of uninterrupted time, and sometimes I have 15 minutes... Such is the life of a parent. My family knows I love my writing, but they're important too =)
My reading goals are around reading more authors in the fantasy space. Reading the first book in a series gives great exposure to the author's style. I read all 3 Mistborn books, and I wish I'd stopped at the 1st one. Not that they weren't good... I just feel I could have gotten more as a writer by reading other books. And let's be real, Sanderson is exhaustingly long-winded. I've been putting off the Stormlight Archives because they're so beefy, but I think I'll read the first one this year and only continue on if I really want to.
I’m absolutely counting my Bookfox UA-cam binge sessions in my writing goals, because they’re informative and validating, and count as learning the craft, right? 😂 Thank you, sir.
My writing goal for this year is to learn about revision. I'm at a point where I've pounded out a couple of rough drafts of various things, but I've never taken it farther than that. My goal this year is to properly revise one of the three projects I have finished most recently--though I haven't decided which one, and they're rather different lengths.
I found this very validating for my method, which, ironically enough, is pantsing my goals. Going to the gym daily keeps me in a mental and physical space where I can write, and being a professional musician puts me in a number of prime spots for people watching or social observation, which ends up in my writing. I get hardest on myself when my word count is not quite what I want; however, I prioritize quality. From last year, I have written over 200k words; however, my WIP stands only a tenth of that today. Those 20K words are solid, though.
My goal is to fast draft my 2nd novel while editing and finishing my first novel. My reading goals are to read in the genre I am writing at that time. Ie while drafting my second novel I am reading supernatural, sci-fi and fantasy books. While working on my first novel I’m reading regency romance and period drama. So 2025 I’ll cycle between working on those 2 projects and reading / consuming content in said genres
I guess my goal is to spend more time going in depth to figure out my characters and story. I wrote out 9 whole chapters without narrowing down my main characters arc or key details about the world and I constantly find myself now adding characters that change the plot and developing the world which also change the plot.
I have three characters and a loose plot I'm trying to develop into a story for a game. You would think that it would be easy since it's a pretty straightforward idea, but it's proving to be quite daunting. I guess finishing that story would be a good goal for this year.
My core rule for 20years has been “One sentence a day is a win.” If you can manage one sentence, or a tweak to the prose … win. My current weekly goal is 3k-6k words ( one chapter ) per week. I do not believe in writers block, I believe i need time to understand my own book and what happens next in it. As a writer you are simulating other people in your head, and that can be slower than knowing yourself. Time to contemplate your main characters needs/wants/beliefs is critical time spend. Last year’s goal was “Finish the first draft of the novel.” I wrote 250k words last year, and shocked myself! This year? “Make that draft into a polished second draft for my beta readers.” When the book is being read & edited, then and only then do i start painting book covers and stuff. Also, I love making theme music lists for my novels to build mood while writing scenes. Often I use songs as memory triggers for moments in my novels, or characterization. Kudos for calling that one out!
My goal is to experiment with omitting certain scenes and/or characters. I have a LOT of scenes and characters. If the story works without 'em, they're history.
Great tips, thank you. Over-committing can lead to a worse outcome than procrastinating. And now I have justification to count my walks as writing time😝
I set my short term goals for each week. Daily is impossible for, since chronic illness will ruin too many days and thus kill the vibe rather fast. Long term goals are more for a season / quarter of a year, since a whole year is too long and I have to look at where I am right now. Working that way allows me to focus better on one character's through-line or just on who segment of the Kishotenketsu and put other things on hold.
A writing group? Writing classes? A conference? A writing grant? Could you talk more about finding these things. I try to find these locally and online with no success.
if you ae excited about your writing, nothing will keep you away from the keyboard. You will write until you have said what you needed to say in that session and stop when you are happy, or have the bare bones of what you wanted to say; even if you haven't acheived some arbitrary number you have set yourself;. Writing is an art. Take pottery for example, you don't leave a half finished lump of clay on the wheel because 'times up.'
I found that if I set my everyday goal low enough I usually write more since I'm no longer stressed about writing more words a day. Unfortunately I work a full time job and have other projects also, so i set my goal at 300-400 words a day but I usually find myself writing around 500, which I see as a total win as long as I do it every single day
My goal is to finish my novel to the point that I can send it to my test readers by the end of the year. I already have about 2/3rd of the story (about 55k words) although it needs editing to a better deep POV
A video on the scraping of interlectual property by AI is a critical resource. A guest legal specialist maybe? Especially to shine light on the danger of using AI writing software because the developer owns any content fed into their build. You can be litigated into bankruptcy being sued for plagiarism by a comparison to your own aesthetics and stories to their AI. Think what Monsanto did with the seeds when they sued those farmers. Your content is the crop.
For 2025 I have one writer goal: Have 4 sessions a day of 25 minutes to spend on my novel (writing, but also where necessary: worldbuilding, lore building, character development, plot development) I'm not setting wordcount goals, because I still suffer from Post-COVID which means my brains don't always function as they should and writing has become a LOT harder. My other, hopeful, goal: Get a little bit better from Post-COVID. That would be awesome! And: Find more (free) nature sounds that help me relax and that support me while writing. Currently I can't handle music anymore due to Post-COVID. If anyone happens to have tips for (free) sounds of tropical birds (I live in Europe), underwater sounds, beach sounds, cave sounds, that would be awesome!
My writing goal is to have the second draft of my novel done by mid-september and in the hands of my alpha readers. Also, I bought a new kindle because I want to get off social media so much and read more.
I'm on the self publishing bracket and I want to hit three novels this year not high literary fiction more in the pulp genres. Maybe 200 to 300 pages each.
My writing goals for 2025.... 1. Finish editing book by February 28th. 2. Send to beta readers and receive feedback... mar1-31. 3. Finalize query letter ...mar 31 4. Incorporate beta feedback... apr 15 5. Start sending out query letters... april 20th 6. Buy champagne and celebrate... may 1 (kidding) 7. Start drafting book 2... April 21st
please please please, from an artist to a writer, dont use AI for your thumbnails unless you're gonna start recommending using chatgpt to write your books for you. The older thumbnails look so much better and aren't made from stolen art. Writers and artists are in the same family, don't fuck over your cousins.
This guy is a writer and a youtuber. He doesn't claim to be a graphic designer. I get that AI is sticky and largely unethical, but the backlash is better directed against people who are using it for their primary product (ie if chatgpt wrote the script for this video - which I'm pretty sure it did not) or companies like OpenAI that built this system without compensating or seeking consent from anyone who has unwittingly contributed to the base data set. Criticizing creatives who use these tools for a minor piece of their work, especially something like a thumbnail that's just meant to give you a sense of the vibe of the product, is obnoxious, petty, and unhelpful.
@@one_smol_duck False! Theft is theft! It's like if an artist uses ai to write their story, or voice their characters, or make their music. The fact of the matter is it's generated from work that was stolen from people, artists much like this creator, as a writer is still an artist! They were neither compensated nor gave their consent for their work to be trained on! To diminish the value of one form of art over another just because that's not your focus misses the point, and is exactly the kind of tactics these big companies want from the world...for us to see it as no big deal! Something small can quickly escalate when you let your sense of ethics slip for seemingly "minor pieces of work like a thumbnail" as you claim.
AI is a tool. People are allowed to use tools when they need help with something. The same arguments about AI have been made about every technological advancement throughout the entirety of human history. I'm sure many thought typewriters were "stealing" the art of writing away when before everything was written by hand, as an example. Through your argument, it could be argued people who do anything but hand drawn thumbnails are uncreative but we don't demonize people who use graphic design tools.
My writing goals are to spend less time on UA-cam and twitter and get better sleep. I spend too much time awake in bed
Relatable
Reallll
100%
So real😂
"My writing goal is to spend less time on UA-cam" he says in a UA-cam comment.
I really like the emphasis on invisible work. My primary field is illustration and character design, but there's a strategy that I've found worked really well for me over the years which is to let myself have as many victories as possible.
The main thing is to set the standard for a 7/10 success really low, so that even a sketch can be considered time well spent. The reality is creative skills are like any other muscle, and quality will simply follow quantity over time. To that end, little character sketches, thumbnails, doodles, and so forth all contribute to the greater project that is your bigger paintings, and I can definitely feel that this is the case in writing as well. Even the things you don't use will end up making the process easier down the road.
Well said!
Do something every day. The GOAT of goal setting.....
Reading, reading, reading, reading. I don't do nearly enough reading. That has to be the number one goal for improvement for me.
just the video myself and many others needed now, thanks! it’s nice to see clear and concise videos when many people just blather on and never get to the point
A couple years ago, I figured out that I liked making seasonal (technically 3-month) goals.
Just because it’s a lot easier to see the finish line, and that creates a little more urgency.
And then also gives me the freedom to update what I actually want to accomplish. Otherwise, I’ll change my mind on an annual goal and throw it all away.
I like it! I find myself subconsciously doing this as well, maybe purposely doing it will help things not feel so overwhelming
yeah ive found that month-long goals are much more achievable
My writing goal is to persevere.
Hanging in there is sometimes the only way, it’s a difficult thing to do. Writing a novel is no mean feat, I’m struggling for now but, let us struggle on. Persistence and patience go a long way.
my goal is to keep going. I'm working on two now, one NF and my 7th novel. I'm also doing shorts for my next anthology. When I'm not writing, I'm reading and thinking about what I'm writing. Like Yoda said, "Do, or do not, there is no try."
I started writing/planning for my first book this year in June! I set the goal of writing my first draft by then end of the year (big goal I know haha) but what actually ended up happening was me learning my process, researching storytelling, finding this channel, and building out the world my story would take place in. I often felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything because I still had no words on paper. I would panic and start to write only to give up because I wasn’t done planning the world or characters out yet. It left me with a bunch of false starts. I finally realized these past 6 months of research have been working on my book and now I feel a lot better!
Same here. I've had an idea for about 10 years that I could never put into story form--like trying to describe a dream. I promised my husband on his last birthday that I'd gift him a story, and that goal has become his next birthday in July. The goal is to present him with a readable, proofread first draft and possibly go from there with it, since I have since devised bigger dreams for the story.
But your comment hit home, because I've been doing research, jotting notes, collecting images representing the story's world, learning the craft, etc in the meantime. I realized that the more I learn how to write, the easier it is to let the story form in my mind. John's videos have really contributed to this in the short time since I've found them. Good luck this year! :)
I don’t like making lists of goals because they don’t work for me. I used to do that but then I noticed that I would abandon my lists, they would become invisible to me like sticky notes on a fridge, so instead, now I prefer to focus on 2-3 goals that I simply keep in my head all the time until they are met (yes, anxiety is a prominent side effect but I get things done). 😅 So, in terms of my writing goals, I want to finish my novel that I didn’t finish in 2024. I have 4 chapters left (first draft). I am obsessed with this book and work on it nearly every day, so I will finish it, I know it. 😅
In terms of reading, I honestly never have “100 books” as a yearly goal. It would never be realistic for me. I have a very specific list of books this year. A half of them are potential comp titles (recent books, new authors, spooky middle grade fantasy) and the other half are bestsellers in my genre that are widely recognized for doing specific things extremely well. I need to analyze that, read and reread, make notes, enrich my vocabulary (for example, I collect idioms with specific words). That’s about it. 🤓
P.S.: Happy New Year and thank you so much for your videos!🎄
Happy New Year to you as well. Great to hear about those goals -- sounds ambitious but also manageable.
This was very helpful, thank you. I will say that I'm better at working on my goals when no one else knows about them. Once I tell someone, I feel like I gave away a secret and it's no longer "my thing" and loses value. Plus, the rebel in me doesn't voluntarily create a situation of another person checking up on me nor do I want to feel like anyone has given me homework to do but myself. I wish it worked, but it never has. I do need to read more. I have no attention span for reading books, which really stinks, but I'm trying.
Also, does it count that I took some time out yesterday to move a desk into a room in the house more conducive to writing? It was being used by the other person in the house and moving it allows me to use it, too. So moving furniture can be part of the work as well. :) (As long as it stays in one place and isn't an excuse to waste time!)
Wow. I am early for this one. Thank you so much for these advices. I used to do 1000 words per day for four months straight, and then I got pregnant and then had a kid and having a two year old and routine is not in sync, so there it is. But your advice is really helpful.
The "100 rejections in a year" goal sounds amazing!
Goals (so far) for next year:
1. Read 12 books (that I've been wanting to read for some time).
1.1. This includes finishing the Halo: Kilo-Five trilogy (only read the first novel so far and loved it).
1.2. Also includes re-reading and continuing The Witcher book series.
1.3. Short stories, in particular.
1.4. At least one work by Shakespeare.
2. Write a short story from start to finish - even if it's bad. (I think it's important to get that sense of "completion" just to prove to myself I can see it through to the end on some level, at least.)
3. Type up my written notes and outlines for stories (I have so many of these, as I prefer writing with pen and paper (it's more relaxing and thoughts flow more easily for me that way), and I've been procrastinating too long to copy them onto my computer).
4. Resume reading at least one of the story writing thesaurus books on my shelf by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi.
5. Research Middle Eastern cuisines.
6. Try to see through a collaborative small writing project with an interested friend.
7. Go bouldering.
Awesome as always! This year, instead of a resolution, I've decided to have an Ugly Truth I'm gonna confront this year.
My aim is to read a lot more (specifically first person novels) and just keep learning. Finding my own unique writing style and sticking to it. I’ll hopefully find a writing group to learn even more. Ultimately, learning more about the craft is my perpetual goal.
I joined a writing group, and my big goal is trying to let me non-work writing match pace with my work-related writing. I have to put out four manuscripts this year for my work tasks. So I'm going to try to tie one writing project to do alongside each of my manuscripts. That means reading, research, writing, revision, and of course, submission.
Let's see how this goes!
Happy and productive 25 writer! Your content make a difference to me!
I read 3 to 5 craft books every year and have since 2003. I've also written and published 8 MS as a result.
I have tons of ideas on book writing. But i lack experience, 0. I don't know anything much to go further, so upon understanding and learning the fact that i should drink the whole ocean by drinking one drop a day, i decided to go into Short story writing first, and even in that I'm doing as best as i can. One line at a time...
You covered a multitude of drawbacks and solutions so well in this short clip. I find the reading books to learn from them a valuable goal for me as a beginning author.
I would only add Never give in to Manana [tomorrow] unless there is a real emergency that can't wait beyond the allotted writing/reading/research schedule. That has been a major problem for me.
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the great writing tips and encouragement!
Fantastic Advice. I used to be so bad at setting realistic goals.
I started writing a book in 2013, my goal every year was to finish it. I finally found a method last year that worked for me and finished it, and then wrote another. It would be a lofty goal to aim to write another this year, but that is my first, but flexible goal. Next would be to read through and edit my current drafts and have a friend beta read them. Third, I would like to enter a writing competition at some stage, and Fourth, perhaps try a short writing course. All flexible and all attainable I feel, as I capitalize on my momentum.
I like the idea of focusing on the habits and the steps that help guide you to be the writer you would like to be or to achieve the goal of finishing the project. This advice is similar to Atomic Habits. Good stuff.
Love your advice!
Small goals are the best!
This year I'm continuing to write one hour every day. Today was a tough one but I'm proud to say that I just finished writing for an hour and will indulge myself with some UA-cam.
My goals are: Read 12 books (mixture of actually reading and listening to audiobooks), Finish 2 1st drafts, Complete the editing for 3 books, and Publish 3 books (writing is all done with these, I just need to figure out the publishing process and start it by August)
Little daily goals have helped me a lot. Mostly it's just 'write daily' even if it's just a paragraph or two. It stacks up and builds my work ethic to boot.
Writing goals: start a calisthenics routine, acquire an extremely comfortable chair and ottoman, find a developmental editor buddy who will slap my wrist when I get out of line.
Get a recliner - best writing tool there is.
I want to write 3 solid chpts. In the past I’ve gotten stuck on the first chpt and given up, this yr I’ll push myself!
My writing goal is to sleep early, imitate authors’ writing style and make writing friends irl *I have stopped being a perfectionist in previous years*
top writing goal for the year is to get books 3 and 4 in my series published
My main writing goal is to write the first draft of my second novel. I've looked through my 2025 calendar and planned out a timeline on how to make that happen on a weekly/monthly basis. I don't want to rush it, but I do want to make steady forward progress, and I think I've got a decent plan to get me there. I plan to adjust the plan quarterly as needed.
What you describe in #2 is exactly what I went through and it just wrecked my motivation and created a lot of emotional resistance to getting back to the writing. In the past couple of years, I've focused on time spent writing. While I hope it's all quality words, lets face it - getting the right words in the right order takes time and several re-writes. I focus instead on moving the story forward, or 'have I added clarity to this scene' or another way to put it 'is this scene better than what it was before?'.
This was a perfectly timed video. Now to sit down and seriously give my goals for writing for this year some hard consideration. Thank you.
Great, glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this video! I was just writing a list with my writing goals for 2025 and a lot of the projects I have in mind feel so far away I felt almost silly. In any case this helped, so thank you!
My goal this year is to edit my novel and do some much needed revisions.
I have a goal that goes on from 6am to 7 am that I try to fulfill every day, and that's SLEEPING.
Seriously. we need that too
midtnight to 8:30 that is offlimit to any activity other then sleep
I have to put on my writing hat and do two fifteen minute writing times, alarm set so I walk around, I'm 68 and don't want to feel like I'm 70 just yet ---- I have to do the two writing cycles FIRST THING in the morning (when my old mind is less dull) --- or I have to take a 30 second cold shower.
I started it 5 weeks ago, with an accountability partner, and my productivity is sometimes off the charts, and always at least 30 minutes wearing the hat.
My goal is to spend half of my free time on getting published. It can be writing, reading, networking, editing, or researching any of those topics. Apparently when I subtract enough time for sleep, work, commuting, and chores I have almost 4 months worth of hours of free time, meaning I have almost 2 months of free time I could be spending on my dream. That's the goal.
I had to chuckle when I saw the clip from "The Play That Goes Wrong", it's comedic gold. :) Idk what to do for goals this year. I started writing book 3 of a trilogy (to keep myself in line and working towards an ending instead of exploring too much). I started in the summer, and at first, I was so motivated and I had so much ready tog o stuff, I had a crazy pace, gigantic output. I'm done with Act 1, most of Act 2 and bits of Act 3. My opening and ending are solid. Now my output is minuscule because I keep having to go back and re-read myself so there's no glaring errors about who said what when or where. Like, I'm not "editing", I don't correct anything beyond continuity stuff. It feels weird. Like, it's exciting to work towards the end result, but it feels like "shoveling rocks in a sitting position". I don't even know how I could possibly set a goal for finishing that first draft. I just sit at my computer every day and... slog. :) I have a "loose" goal of finishing book 3 first draft and the first draft of book 1 by the end of 2025, but I think I'm just trying ot get myself to keep showing up. I traveled for Christmas and the loss of momentum was huge, I'm still trying to regain.
Writing goals for this year are simple. Revise, publish, and market the three books I have written, and try to write three first drafts.
My goals are mostly around regular dedicated writing time. I try to write every morning ~6AM for 1-2 hours. The challenge is that my kids get up and wildly different hours, so sometimes I have 2 hours of uninterrupted time, and sometimes I have 15 minutes... Such is the life of a parent. My family knows I love my writing, but they're important too =)
My reading goals are around reading more authors in the fantasy space. Reading the first book in a series gives great exposure to the author's style. I read all 3 Mistborn books, and I wish I'd stopped at the 1st one. Not that they weren't good... I just feel I could have gotten more as a writer by reading other books. And let's be real, Sanderson is exhaustingly long-winded. I've been putting off the Stormlight Archives because they're so beefy, but I think I'll read the first one this year and only continue on if I really want to.
I’m absolutely counting my Bookfox UA-cam binge sessions in my writing goals, because they’re informative and validating, and count as learning the craft, right? 😂 Thank you, sir.
They do count! Absolutely!
My writing goals are to edit the rough drafts and to worldbuild so I can balance the grind of it all with enjoyable creativity. 🤞🏽
My writing goal for this year is to learn about revision. I'm at a point where I've pounded out a couple of rough drafts of various things, but I've never taken it farther than that. My goal this year is to properly revise one of the three projects I have finished most recently--though I haven't decided which one, and they're rather different lengths.
I found this very validating for my method, which, ironically enough, is pantsing my goals. Going to the gym daily keeps me in a mental and physical space where I can write, and being a professional musician puts me in a number of prime spots for people watching or social observation, which ends up in my writing. I get hardest on myself when my word count is not quite what I want; however, I prioritize quality. From last year, I have written over 200k words; however, my WIP stands only a tenth of that today. Those 20K words are solid, though.
My goal is to fast draft my 2nd novel while editing and finishing my first novel. My reading goals are to read in the genre I am writing at that time. Ie while drafting my second novel I am reading supernatural, sci-fi and fantasy books. While working on my first novel I’m reading regency romance and period drama. So 2025 I’ll cycle between working on those 2 projects and reading / consuming content in said genres
Awesome advice, as usual ♥ thank you!
I guess my goal is to spend more time going in depth to figure out my characters and story. I wrote out 9 whole chapters without narrowing down my main characters arc or key details about the world and I constantly find myself now adding characters that change the plot and developing the world which also change the plot.
I have three characters and a loose plot I'm trying to develop into a story for a game. You would think that it would be easy since it's a pretty straightforward idea, but it's proving to be quite daunting. I guess finishing that story would be a good goal for this year.
My core rule for 20years has been “One sentence a day is a win.” If you can manage one sentence, or a tweak to the prose … win. My current weekly goal is 3k-6k words ( one chapter ) per week.
I do not believe in writers block, I believe i need time to understand my own book and what happens next in it. As a writer you are simulating other people in your head, and that can be slower than knowing yourself. Time to contemplate your main characters needs/wants/beliefs is critical time spend.
Last year’s goal was “Finish the first draft of the novel.” I wrote 250k words last year, and shocked myself! This year? “Make that draft into a polished second draft for my beta readers.”
When the book is being read & edited, then and only then do i start painting book covers and stuff.
Also, I love making theme music lists for my novels to build mood while writing scenes. Often I use songs as memory triggers for moments in my novels, or characterization. Kudos for calling that one out!
My goal is to experiment with omitting certain scenes and/or characters. I have a LOT of scenes and characters. If the story works without 'em, they're history.
Great tips, thank you. Over-committing can lead to a worse outcome than procrastinating. And now I have justification to count my walks as writing time😝
I set my short term goals for each week. Daily is impossible for, since chronic illness will ruin too many days and thus kill the vibe rather fast. Long term goals are more for a season / quarter of a year, since a whole year is too long and I have to look at where I am right now. Working that way allows me to focus better on one character's through-line or just on who segment of the Kishotenketsu and put other things on hold.
I met one of my goals (post a short story on my substack) and have a few more ahead that are attainable. This was an encouraging video. Thank you
Awesome, you're starting the year right!
Simple goal. Write a first draft of books 2 & 3 in my Sword and Sorcery Fantasy. Edit and self-publish book 1. I am retired so I have the time.
A writing group? Writing classes? A conference? A writing grant? Could you talk more about finding these things. I try to find these locally and online with no success.
if you ae excited about your writing, nothing will keep you away from the keyboard. You will write until you have said what you needed to say in that session and stop when you are happy, or have the bare bones of what you wanted to say; even if you haven't acheived some arbitrary number you have set yourself;.
Writing is an art. Take pottery for example, you don't leave a half finished lump of clay on the wheel because 'times up.'
I found that if I set my everyday goal low enough I usually write more since I'm no longer stressed about writing more words a day. Unfortunately I work a full time job and have other projects also, so i set my goal at 300-400 words a day but I usually find myself writing around 500, which I see as a total win as long as I do it every single day
My goal is to finish my novel to the point that I can send it to my test readers by the end of the year. I already have about 2/3rd of the story (about 55k words) although it needs editing to a better deep POV
A video on the scraping of interlectual property by AI is a critical resource. A guest legal specialist maybe?
Especially to shine light on the danger of using AI writing software because the developer owns any content fed into their build.
You can be litigated into bankruptcy being sued for plagiarism by a comparison to your own aesthetics and stories to their AI.
Think what Monsanto did with the seeds when they sued those farmers.
Your content is the crop.
For 2025 I have one writer goal:
Have 4 sessions a day of 25 minutes to spend on my novel (writing, but also where necessary: worldbuilding, lore building, character development, plot development)
I'm not setting wordcount goals, because I still suffer from Post-COVID which means my brains don't always function as they should and writing has become a LOT harder.
My other, hopeful, goal: Get a little bit better from Post-COVID. That would be awesome!
And: Find more (free) nature sounds that help me relax and that support me while writing. Currently I can't handle music anymore due to Post-COVID. If anyone happens to have tips for (free) sounds of tropical birds (I live in Europe), underwater sounds, beach sounds, cave sounds, that would be awesome!
My writing goal is to have the second draft of my novel done by mid-september and in the hands of my alpha readers. Also, I bought a new kindle because I want to get off social media so much and read more.
FINISH MY FIRST DRAFT BEFORE MY B'DAY (March 03)
(about 70% done, ~167k of 240k words to be split in an episodic story)
I'm on the self publishing bracket and I want to hit three novels this year not high literary fiction more in the pulp genres. Maybe 200 to 300 pages each.
Going for writing 6 books this year 😂 I got 5 done last year. Let's see how this year pans out 🎉
How are you spitting bars on every video
When I'm in writing mode, average is 3k a day.
My writing goals for 2025....
1. Finish editing book by February 28th.
2. Send to beta readers and receive feedback... mar1-31.
3. Finalize query letter ...mar 31
4. Incorporate beta feedback... apr 15
5. Start sending out query letters... april 20th
6. Buy champagne and celebrate... may 1 (kidding)
7. Start drafting book 2... April 21st
Why does this channel only have 55.3k subscribers???
NaNoWriMo really taught me how to carve time out and push myself, as well as getting myself creatively organized. It was a good practice shot.
Too many, but I have 4 releases scheduled for this year.
To see russian text at 5:08 was really surprising. Hello from Russia, lol
Writing ...goals?
* gulp *
please please please, from an artist to a writer, dont use AI for your thumbnails unless you're gonna start recommending using chatgpt to write your books for you. The older thumbnails look so much better and aren't made from stolen art.
Writers and artists are in the same family, don't fuck over your cousins.
This is terrible. Writers are different. No one says this year I'll write a novel. They say this year I'll complete this novel.
Why is a channel focused on human creativity using AI for its video cover?
This guy is a writer and a youtuber. He doesn't claim to be a graphic designer. I get that AI is sticky and largely unethical, but the backlash is better directed against people who are using it for their primary product (ie if chatgpt wrote the script for this video - which I'm pretty sure it did not) or companies like OpenAI that built this system without compensating or seeking consent from anyone who has unwittingly contributed to the base data set. Criticizing creatives who use these tools for a minor piece of their work, especially something like a thumbnail that's just meant to give you a sense of the vibe of the product, is obnoxious, petty, and unhelpful.
@@one_smol_duck False! Theft is theft! It's like if an artist uses ai to write their story, or voice their characters, or make their music. The fact of the matter is it's generated from work that was stolen from people, artists much like this creator, as a writer is still an artist! They were neither compensated nor gave their consent for their work to be trained on! To diminish the value of one form of art over another just because that's not your focus misses the point, and is exactly the kind of tactics these big companies want from the world...for us to see it as no big deal! Something small can quickly escalate when you let your sense of ethics slip for seemingly "minor pieces of work like a thumbnail" as you claim.
That a rhetorical question? Gen AI has its place. Maybe we help promote the channel, open the door for a designer.
AI is a tool. People are allowed to use tools when they need help with something. The same arguments about AI have been made about every technological advancement throughout the entirety of human history. I'm sure many thought typewriters were "stealing" the art of writing away when before everything was written by hand, as an example. Through your argument, it could be argued people who do anything but hand drawn thumbnails are uncreative but we don't demonize people who use graphic design tools.
Why is someone who was just offered free advice by an established professional being such a troll?
I only ever set one goal. I pick a title and story, and I write a book.