Writing Goal for Your First Draft

Someone once said that a goal not written down is only a wish. In order to achieve goals, it’s important to write them down and then make yourself accountable for those goals, especially when it comes to writing. It’s easy to say, “I want to write a novel.” But, what does that mean? Specifically, what will you need to do each day to accomplish that goal? You need to break your goal of writing a novel down into manageable pieces. After all, writing a novel is a long process and can’t be accomplished overnight. You need to write that first draft. Be sure to write down how you plan to accomplish writing your first draft. Post your plan where you can see it each day. The more often you see it, the more likely it will be that you will focus on accomplishing your goal to write a novel.

Here are some ideas on how to finish your first draft:

Daily Word Count. Figure out your approximate word count for the book and divide that by how many days you want to spend writing your first draft. If your word count goal is 60,000 words and you want to complete your first draft in 60 days, you’ll need to write at least 1000 words per day.

Daily Time. Instead of setting a word count goal, you may work better with a time goal. For example, you may want to dedicate one hour to writing your novel each day. You may figure that writing your first draft will take you 100 hours, which will result in 100 days. You may want to test yourself to see how much you can write in one hour so you can more accurately determine how long it will take you to write that first draft. Your completion will depend on how well you use your time and how quickly you write.

Time Limit. You may decide to finish your first draft in 30 days no matter how long it takes each day to reach that goal. Make sure you can dedicate enough time each day to accomplish your goal.

The important thing about setting a goal to finish your first draft is to make it realistic for you and your lifestyle. Writing should be enjoyable, not stressful. If you find that writing has become cumbersome, you may want to adjust your goal. Remember, your goal is there to guide and help you, not to hamper your creativity. Never be afraid to evaluate and change your goal if necessary. Make your goal work for you.