Writing-tips

Setting Writing Goals

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In general, when you go to set a goal for yourself self you should be S.M.A.R.T. about it. This system of S.M.A.R.T. goals is something that is used all over the educational and professional worlds. Here is an explanation of the system and how you might implement it as a writer.

The Acrynm stands for

  • S – Specific
  • M – Measurable
  • A – Achievable
  • R – Relevant
  • T – Time-bound

Hopefully, with just the list of items, you can start to see how this process can be extremely useful for you in writing.

Specific

You need to be Specific when creating goals for yourself. From the beginning, a specific goal could be, “Write Act 1 of the outline this week.” If you are already in the middle of a manuscript, it could look like this: “I will write 5,000 words this week.” If you are nearing the end of your manuscript’s life-cycle, it might look like this: “I will edit 2 pages today.” Each of these is specific because it gives exact details. Act 1, not the whole book. 5,000 words, not “I’ll do some writing.” 2 Pages, not “some editing.”

Measurable

They need to be something you can measure. Using our previous examples. You can measure how close you are to being done with an outline of an Act by checking where you are in the hero’s journey. You can check the word count on your document every day to see how many words you have written so far this week. You are able to see when you have scrolled two pages in thorough edits this week.

Achievable

If R wasn’t already taken, I would have called this section “Reasonable,” because that’s the goal. This is also why I split my examples into sections: early, middle, and later stages. If you are just starting out, taking a week to outline your story’s first Act is achievable if you put your knuckles to the grindstone. It might take you an afternoon if you are more experienced as an author. If you are working hard on your novel and are entering the middle stage, 5k words in a week is doable. That’s only 715~ words per day. You got this! If you are near the end and in the middle of edits, 2 pages in a week should be manageable. Edits are the hardest part of writing, so younger authors, don’t scoff, you’ll be here too soon enough.

Relevant

Your goals need to be relevant to what you want to accomplish as an author. Your goals should not be, “get to the coffee shop this week.” Or, “Read that book that’s been in my TBR for the last three years.” (You know who you are.) While these goals may be noble, they are not going to help you achieve your dream of writing that story or publishing that book. Trust me, you can waste an hour on your cellphone as easily at the coffee shop as you can at home (don’t ask me how I know).

Time-Bound

Speaking goals into the ether might feel good, but it’s only when you set real goalposts that you achieve. Saying, “I want to write 400 words,” is great. Okay, when? You need to get these things done and not be able to just say, “I’ll get it done tomorrow,” because trust me, tomorrow will come, and you will not want to do it even more than you don’t want to do it today.

Need more advice? Stuck? Check out my blog for more great inspirational articles about how you can push forward, and carpe diem!

Creating Fantastic Worlds

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As creatives, we are tasked with understanding the hearts of our stories. Much as in real life, we find ourselves looking to the real world for inspiration, our characters must look to their own worlds for inspiration. Lacking a world for your characters to live in is something that I call the “blank canvas problem.” If all that exists in your story’s world is what immediately affects the main character, it can make the story feel shallow.

Here are six tips for creating deeper, richer worlds.

Tip #1: Look Around

Look around your world. Close your eyes, yes, you, the creative, close them. Okay, now imagine you are in your character’s or subject’s shoes, open your eyes, what do you see? Do you see a fantastical forest with trees reaching for the stars? Do you see epic cityscapes on a faraway planet? Write what you see. Even if this does not show up in your draft, or painting, or whatever you’re working on, having the written knowledge of what your character is seeing will help you create emotions on the canvas or depth on the page.

Tip #2: Look Within

Turn your imaginary telescope on your character now. Look within. See what is hiding in your character’s heart and soul. Who do they love, what do they fear, why are they persisting, and what do they want? All of these could lead to small details that will help your world, and not just your character, feel better developed. For example, if my character wants power, what does that look like? What does it mean, in this world, to have power? Is it merely strength, or is it political? If it’s political, that can lead me down a worldbuilding rabbit trail where I develop an entire political system for my Speculative World.

Tip #3: Use All of Your Senses

As you come out of your character’s soul-searching journey, stop at their surface. Feel everything they feel, smell what they smell, see what they see, hear what they hear, and taste what they taste. Each of these, again, can fill you with inspiration that leads to a more meaningful world. Do they feel hungry? Are they poor? What does economics look like in this world? Are they full and able to smell the pie their family member just baked? What are pies in this world of yours? Do they fill them with regular fruits or some new and imaginative pomological creation?

Tip #4: Create a Map

Getting out of the character now, we can look at the world itself again. Sometimes, especially if you are writing Sci-Fi or Fantasy, creating a real map of your world or solar system using a tool like Inkarnate, or even MS Paint. This will ask many questions of you and has the potential to be either the most shallow or the most enriching addition to your world. I learned much about my fantasy world’s setting when I made the map below for it. I learned where things were, mysteries that could develop, and who lives where.

A map of a beautiful island continent called "Avalon" The Home of the Once and Future King.

Tip #5: Write Short Stories

The best way to get to know a place you are creating is to write about it. This goes for all creatives! I don’t care if you’re an artist or a sculptor; writing will help you understand what you are creating. Does that mean these short stories ever have to see the light of day? No. It does mean that you will have a better, more detailed description of what you are working on, though. I am working on developing a Science Fiction setting about a war between humanity and space-faring dragons, and part of how I have developed it is by writing a series of short stories on the subject. While the short stories do a lot of character work, they also helped me develop what these space dragons are, who the humans are that are fighting them, and what kinds of spaceships the humans use to fight the void-breathing dragons. Interested in reading more about spaceships fighting dragons? Read this short story to dive in!

Tip #6: CREATE!

The original header I had for this section was “WRITE!” because that is what applies the most to me as an author, but “CREATE!” implies the same idea. You need to work out your creative muscles for them to grow. If I stopped writing after my first “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” fan-fiction, I would not have six published short stories and be working on publishing my first novel! Davinci gave up when he made a finger painting for his mother to hang on her fridge; we would have never received the Mona Lisa. No matter what, keep writing!

Still need more inspiration? Check out these other inspirational blog posts that I have written: Keeping the Beacon Lit, Working Out & Writing Down. Tell me about the worlds you are creating! Do you have an inspirational blog post you want to share to inspire others? Post it in the comments below!