I started playing around with writing in 2010. I joined a critique group about a year later, and with a few exceptions for LIFE, we have met every two weeks to exchange pages. In that time, three of us signed with agents (myself included), one of us self-published three books.
The two who also have agents have published two stand-alone MG novels with a YA to come out 2021, and the other has published a YA historical fantasy trilogy with a stand-alone also coming out 2021 (yes, I secretly hope they have the same release date…). I still linger in the status of agented.
If you have been on social media at all in the last few weeks, you’ve likely seen either “the decade is coming to an end, how will you finish?!?” or “share the great things you did this last decade!” conversations. While they can be fun and inspiring, if you aren’t quite where you wanted to be, it can be frustrating. Demoralizing. Self-doubt inducing. Somehow, I don’t think this is a just me situation.
So, as you are looking beyond the holiday season, however you celebrate, I would like to encourage you to block out some time away from loved ones, some time when you can sit, on your own, and do a couple things:
Read it.
How far did you get before you could see things you could make better? Why do you think you see that now when you might have thought it was pretty good before?
My friend, it’s because your understanding of writing has gotten better, deeper. You understand nuances of the craft you didn’t know then. Just like we often have to put marks on the wall to show our children they are growing, we need to let ourselves see where we were before to see how far we’ve come.
I don’t care if it won a contest, got you your agent, if that piece initiated a relationship with a publishing house, or if it won awards. Everything you have written counts.
On a piece of paper, write what you learned while writing that piece. Did you think you were a YA author and started writing and realized the voice felt wrong (this was me)? Did you learn how to write a new POV, how to draw out the emotional potential of a scene or chapter or book? Did you learn about pacing and how to make the reader lean in? Did you learn a new form of organization? If you learned it, write it down.
Pretend they just asked you how it all works. Can you outline what CP and POV and beta readers are? Do you know about query letters and synopses and what R&R means? (if you don’t, I’m giving you some hints.) Did you know what this was a decade ago? Who are you following and interacting with on social media that you didn’t know a decade ago? What advice would you give to this person about how to start, what to expect?
Did you realize you knew as much as you did?
One of the funny things about the writing world is there are people who can’t wait to have an agent, an editor, a deadline. And there are authors with all those who sometimes yearn for the days they weren’t writing with deadlines. The grass is greener and all that.
If you are not as dedicated to your craft as you’d like to be, what might you do to make those changes? If you are dedicated to your craft, are you still having fun with the creation?
If not, why? This isn’t to say you will go from a person who staggers out of bed at 7:00 to a member of #5amwriters overnight (seriously, you’ll make it three days. Don’t try this). And this isn’t to say that you dismiss contractual obligations because that book just got hard (they are ALL going to get hard).
But it is a good time to ask yourself how this whole thing would look, in an ideal world, for you. A couple of 20-30 minutes sessions of writing? Two dedicated hours? A “dessert” thing you dabble in when you have met your obligations for the day?
Now, here’s where it gets really tricky…
Prior to WWII, the word priority wasn’t plural. Ever. You didn’t have a priority list, you had a priority. You didn’t have your top priorities, you had a priority.
Flip to a new document or a new piece of paper and write down where you’d like to be. Then work backwards. If you have lots of projects you’ve started but never finished, you may have the goal of finishing. But you aren’t going to do that in a day or a week or likely even a month.
What do you need to do in order to finish? What has prevented you from finishing before? What modification can you make to allow yourself time and space to get a little closer to that goal? What do you need to do during January 2020 to help you do this? What do you need to do January 1–4 to help you do this? What do you need to do today to help you do this? What can you do right now to help you do this?
And so on. You go smaller and smaller until you see the one thing that will help you start toward your goal. It might be watching a show AFTER you’ve met your writing goal. It might be gradually guiding yourself toward being a morning person (15 minutes earlier, 3-4 days at a time, please). It might be that you stay at work 30 minutes later, or go to work 30 minutes earlier.
As someone who lives in the real world, I know this isn’t going to ideally happen every single day. It just won’t. So as you are striving toward your goal, you have to give yourself some grace and remember you are striving, working on, practicing. And when a setback happens, see if it was preventable, and if not, que sera and try again tomorrow.
You have done amazing things. You will go on to do amazing things. Remember to set goals you have control over (this basically means don’t say sign with, publish with, have books made into ... you don’t control that), go backward until you find the one thing, and then keep at the practice.
What did you realize you have learned this last decade? Do you know what you are thinking about for your big goal in the upcoming year? What is the one thing you can do to baby step toward that goal?
Tasha Seegmiller believes in the magic of love and hope, which she weaves into every story she creates. She is the president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and studying in the MFA in Writing Program at Pacific University, and teaches composition courses at Southern Utah University. Tasha married a guy she’s known since she was seven and is the mom of three teens and co-owner of a cotton candy company. She is represented by Annelise Robey of Jane Rotrosen Agency.
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I LOVE this, Tasha! Because we are all so busy looking for the next handhold on the sheer rock cliff we're climbing, we tend to forget standing on the ground, being afraid to start. Reasons to celebrate are far between in this industry - you can get discouraged. I've seen many quit.
When that happens to me, I look at my milestones, and though I'm not where I'd like to be, I'm farther than I ever thought I could be!
My goal this year is to FINALLY sell in the Womens Fiction genre. And dang it, it's going to happen!
Merry Christmas my friend.
Funny, we have the same goal but are coming at it from different directions. Love and joy to you my friend.
Good post. Goals have to be measurable, and lofty ones (publish a book) need to be broken down into the things you can control. Write XX words/day/week. Send XX query letters/month. Attend 3 writing workshops, etc.
Yes! And we need to remember that sometimes our goal isn't in our control, but the habits to build toward that goal are. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Who can think back that far? Lol!
I totally have to go pull up old files, but saving everything is beneficial in several ways.
Unfortunately, not all of my files are electronic, e.g., on paper and in longhand or typed, lol.
Thank you so much for this post, Tasha. I really needed it. I started playing around with writing in 2010, too. Yet, it would be another three or four years before I became serious about it and began taking classes, reading writing books and blogs, and thinking about plots, pacing, character arcs, etc. Lately, I have been feeling a bit depressed (and disappointed with myself) because I'm not as far along as I wanted to be. Heck, I thought I'd be published by now. But, you're right. I have learned a lot since 2010. I am a stronger writer, and I shall focus on that in this coming new year. Thank you again 🙂
I’m so happy it helped you better celebrate all that you’ve done and learned.
My goal is to be published again. I have two submissions out there (two different works).
denise
Best of luck, Denise!
Thank you, Laura!
I love this article, especially looking up my writing from the start of the decade. WOW. Such a good idea, not only to take stock, but also to see how much the writing has changed!
I'm going to take all of the suggestions and look at them before the New Year, hopefully, and I am sure it will change my outlook, improve my writing and much more.
This is the shot in the arm I needed. Thank you!
Not to sound all 'hey i am so good' bragging, but I did most of this already. I looked at my earlier work and saw leaps and bounds of changes that have taken place. I began to edit a novel that I wrote four years ago and although its really messy, its not a disaster. And I sat down and wrote out goals for 2020. Writing goals, life goals, Financial Goals, Health goals, even reading goals. I setup a habit tracker in a journal (the journal thing has been half-assed for about two years). I setup an annual calendar to schedule when I would write on what body of work. I have some rewards included. My 2020 is all ready to begin with great intent. So now my worry is just to follow the plan. I feel great about the upcoming year but I worry about focus and distraction. Thanks for the reminder that I am a writer and my work is worth the effort. I will be publishing in 2020. And My PhD will be finished. But if something changes perhaps I will be publishing in 2021 and will have written two more novels by then. I'm good with progress. Here's wishing you good luck with your year, as well. JLNicky
I'm late to the party, Tasha, but I love this post. It is exactly what I needed this week as I sit down and plan for how 2020 will look for me. Thank you!!!
Just sat down to my desk after the Christmas chaos with my boys upstairs engaged in a large lego project and the husband back at work and this was exactly what I needed as I look ahead to next year's priority setting and intentions. Thank you - looking forward to digging into my own answers!
Thanks for this post, Tasha, I'm looking forward to comparing my early work to what I'm doing now. It's making me cringe as my inner editor is sharpening all the mental pencils around me. Taking time to celebrate the milestones we have reached is important and your post is a good reminder.