Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Monthly Writing Goals

Even though everybody talks about them all the time, daily goals have NEVER Worked for me, at all. After several years of doing NaNo, I finally got the epiphany to set a low-ish Monthly goal for all year around. 

  Now working in Scrivener, (NaNo goodie! I should have got it long ago!) this is easier to do, 'cause I put my different projects into “chapters” and work on whatever appeals at the moment. This way I can easily have an accumulative word count, and I’m progressing on something all the time.
 (I am going to have to write up a post on the experience of Scrivener, it's different but good!)

   Monthly goals work particularly best for me, because I am a “bursts” writer, so I can rack up the words one week, and then lie fallow the next. And I don't risk feeling depressed because "I'm not getting my writing done!"
 Instead I can remember that I already did it.
 YahoooO! Love that feeling.
 
I’ve set a trial goal of 20k per month, and have hit it well so far. In fact, I finished my 20k for Feb. by the 16th, which made me very happy! I’m definitely on a creative high at the moment. :-)
  So... if I am able to get in 20k per month, that is 20k x 12 =  240k words in a year! That is two major length books, or four shortish novels, or three medium ones.
 
    Yes! That would be progress!!! :-)

 What do you think? Would monthly goals make sense for you?

  

3 comments:

Kelsey Bryant said...

That's great to hear that you found something that works for you and that your writing is going well! I never thought about monthly goals ... I see how they help you, but I'd probably get lost in that frame of time. I'm a daily or at least weekly goal kind of person ... a very nit-picky, detail-oriented person. :) I would love to hear about your Scrivener experience!

Unknown said...

This Scrivener sounds intriguing!
I never think in terms of monthly goals, so it sounds natural to me that you wouldn't either. I'm more a day by day person.

Prairie Shepherdess said...

Thanks for your comment girls! I will post a report on Scrivener in a bit.
Thanks for stopping by!