You should have managed to scrape some time together to write each day by now and maybe you’ve really gotten the writing bug. You can see your novel appearing before you and want to get it finished. Stop.

Set Smaller Goals

Set your main goal and then break it down into smaller ones that are easier to manage. You can't write a novel in one day, not anything of any quality anyway. Decide how much you can write every day comfortably and do it. Don’t focus solely on your novel either; write a few short stories and submit them to publishers or enter writing competitions. It doesn’t matter whether your work is accepted or not, or whether you win. It’s all practice and it’s all experience for when the big day comes.

Regular Writing Is The Most Important Goal For Any Writer

If nothing else, if you are not ready to start writing your main work yet, write something every day. If you don’t know where to start, head to Google and search for “writing prompts”. Choose a couple and start writing. Or think about something that you saw on the TV, in the street, even in a dream, and write about it. Go to a café with a notebook; watch people and make a few notes, then go home and write about them. As you write, it will get easier and you will suddenly find the words flowing with little effort.

Set Goals For The Year Ahead

Think about how many chapters you want to write; keep in mind that many of the best-selling books take several years to write and get ready for publishing. In between, you want to enter a few writing competitions, write some short stories for submission, even a few essays or articles for blogs. You could even start your own blog; it’s great writing experience.

It sounds a lot but when you break it down, it really isn’t. A short story is just that, short. Once you have an idea it shouldn’t take too long to write. Aim for a chapter of your book every month. That’s not a lot either and should be easily achievable, even for the busiest of people.

If you’ve done all this and you have your writing year set out, then go for it. If you haven’t, don’t worry. There is never a wrong time to set goals and it's never too late. The months on your calendar are just a guide, a way of measuring time, nothing more.

It doesn’t matter what you dream of achieving, what your aspirations are. Set your goals and go for it. Don’t keep saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow” because tomorrow never comes. Do it now; make those dreams a reality. If you do nothing more than write 500 words a day, it's better than nothing and it’s all practice.

And don’t forget; every November is NaNoWriMo, one of the most popular writing events. The National Novel Writing Month is a great goal to plan for – 50,000 words in a month. What a goal to attain!