Your 6-Step Fall Writing Plan
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
I had my first pumpkin spice oat milk latte today (homemade) so it must be... Fall! Actually, we’re in that sweet spot where the mornings are cool (even a bit chilly) and the days are warm and sunny and not humid. But still, it feels like we’ve turned a corner. Kids are back to school, most vacations are over, time to get back to work.
As always at the change of season, I think about goals. What did I accomplish the previous season? What do I want to do now?
Step 1: Reflect. It’s good to first take some time to reflect on your previous goals. If you met them, congratulations! Give yourself a treat and a hearty pat on the back.
If you didn’t quite accomplish your goals (or ditched them altogether), gently ask yourself why. It’s not about blaming and shaming, just figuring out why you made the decisions you did. Otherwise, you run the risk of the same issues popping up when you make your next set of goals.
I confess, I am in the position of someone who did not even work on one of her goals this summer.
You’d think this might be a little embarrassing for a book coach to admit – and it is, in a way. But I’m also human, and I’m willing to own my decisions around what I did and didn’t do this summer.
I didn’t accomplish writing goals, but I did embrace PLAY. I’ve done seven weeks of Artist Dates in a row. I’ve read a ton of books. I’ve been doing coaching work. I started a Substack and have been posting regularly there. While I might wish I had made more time for fiction writing, taking some time away was perhaps a good thing.
Now, of course, I need to re-focus. Getting back to fiction will be a challenge. It’s hard to pick up from where I left off. But I will hopefully come back with new ideas and new energy for the two stories I’m working on.
Step 2: Take stock. Where are you in terms of your creative projects? Are you generating new work? Revising? Sending things out into the marketplace? Now is a great time to think about what you want to accomplish between now and the end of the year. I have two novels in the revision stage. I’ll probably focus on those, but I may generate some new work as well, especially in October when I’ll be on a writing retreat in Italy.
Step 3: Set your goal(s). Remember the SMART goal method: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. “Write 15 minutes a day” is nice, but vague. Think about where you are, and what you can reasonably do in 4 months. “Finish revising the 2nd half of my novel,” might work. “Write and revise a new short story every month” is another. “Query 10 agents per month, and spend 15 minutes a day generating new work” might be another. Then get more granular, as needed: how many minutes or pages per day do you need to meet that goal?
At this moment, I want to revise one of my novels-in-waiting. Which one that will be will depend on what I see when I explore them. This first week, I’m going to re-read, make some notes, and see where that takes me.
Step 4: Make a plan. Next, you need to create a schedule. Your writing time should go into your calendar, marked in a specific color, with no other appointments allowed in this time (barring true emergencies). Don’t skip this step! Having a visual cue will remind you of your commitment. You might even set an alarm to make sure you know it’s time to get to work. Fortunately, I have my daily writing hour laid out from 8:00 am – 9:00 am Monday-Friday with my Zoom writing group (if you’d like to join, let me know via the Contact Page).
Now is also the time to assemble any support you might need. An accountability buddy, a coach, a class, a writing group... it can be simple and cheap, but this will help immensely when you have those days when your energy and will are flagging.
Step 5: Make a contingency plan. Despite our best intentions, life happens. As it turns out, I’m going to be away several times over the course of this fall, in September, October, and November. It’s going to be hard to stay in the writerly groove. It’s not just being away, but the recombobulation period when I return. I know it will take at least several days to a week to really feel back on track. There’s also the holidays, with all the prep and events involved.
BUT – constraints can also make me more productive, since I have to be disciplined in order to get writing in. Given all that, think about what you can realistically accomplish.
This is where you might want to break things down into mini-goals when you know times will be busier. Or you might want to commit to NaNoWriMo and really push yourself. Or you might simply want to make a plan to get back on track after a break (e.g., I will start with 15 minutes per day). Having a plan in place will save you when things get crazy.
I am going to have to figure this out. Having a consistent writing time helps (as does having to be the one to start the Zoom). I usually do tell myself to start with 15 minutes. Once I’ve started, it’s easier to continue past the 15 minutes. It’s always overcoming that initial inertia that’s hard.
Step 6: Plan your rewards! This is the fun part – and the part I always struggle with! I mean, I’m giving myself the gift of a creative retreat in Tuscany this October, so my rewards beyond that will be smaller. If I do finish the revision of one of my novels, maybe I’ll plan a day trip to the Hobart Book Village.
This doesn’t need to take a ton of time. Spend a half hour or so with your journal and your calendar, and write it all down. Write WHY you want to achieve this goal. Flip back to these pages, or make a poster or collage or some visual inspiration to keep you going.
If you like, share your goal(s) in the comments!
If you like this, head on over to the Contact Page and sign up to get my weekly email featuring tips on creativity, productivity, and the writer’s craft.
