New Year, New Words: Writing Resolutions for 2026
By The WITS Team
Every January, writers everywhere swear this will be the year! The year we finally finish the manuscript, stop tinkering with Chapter One, and resist the siren call of reorganizing our fonts instead of writing actual words. As 2026 rolls in—armed with fresh calendars, fresh coffee, and the same old blinking cursor—it’s time once again to make our New Year’s resolutions.
But instead of promising impossible feats like “write 10,000 words a day without snacks,” let’s talk about writing goals that inspire us, challenge us, and maybe even survive past February. After all, storms are easier to weather when we’re steering the ship with intention, and not diving right into the deep waters.
So, at the start of this new year, let's list some resolutions to get us started on the best year possible!
Ellen
My New Year’s resolution for 2026 is to have a mindset shift and spend more time connecting with readers. I’ve been remiss with my website and that needs to change. I plan to publish the fourth book in The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon series in 2026!
May the coming year be an enlightening and beneficial year for all. Cheers!
Jenn
2026 is the year that I buckle down and find my old writing rhythm, or at least a new writing rhythm that works for me. It's time to focus on my career again. I would love to publish two books in the coming year, something I was not able to accomplish in 2025. I would also like to continue to grow my developmental editing business, helping authors shape their worlds for others to read. And the last thing, I would love to really dig deep into my illustration roots again, and start working towards creating title treatments for book covers.
Here's to a fantastic 2026!
Jenny
My One Word for 2026 was "Receive."
I did a lot of foundational work, both for my writing and my business, in 2025. This year is when I allow myself to receive all the energy and opportunities that flow back from all that work.
I often burn myself out by focusing on my output, rather than concentrating on the journey. This year, I am open to the unexpected moments and experiences that occur only when you let go.
Lisa
I'm focusing on recovering joy in 2026. Bringing joy and creative energy back into my writing world.
Sarah
Resolutions don't work well for me. I forget and/or get bored with them very quickly. So, this year I DON'T resolve that I will slow down, count my blessings, and, if I want to change something in my life, I'll create a workable plan I can stick to, and make my life better.
What are you 2026 writing goals? Tell us in the comments.
Header Photo by Natalie Kinnear on Unsplash
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14 comments on “New Year, New Words: Writing Resolutions for 2026”
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Brava--all!
For years on my blog, I picked a fresh word for the year in January. This year I'm not doing that--just using a word I saw from another writer's intention: Refresh!
My goals? Continue blogging, something I'e done since 2013 on WordPress. Also, I have gathered a bunch of haiku, so I want to organize and publish them late fall of 2026.
I live this! We can all use a little refresh.
All great goals. I definitely have some writing goals, but I don't make resolutions. Instead, I pull tarot cards for the year (one for each month) and search for my word for the year. This year the word is COURAGE! I will publish a compilation of short stories in 2026 and maybe (if the muse checks in) publish a novel or novella.
This is a great idea! I never thought about pulling out my tarot deck and letting it do the picking for me!!
I know I don't always have the control I need to complete my competing goals. I'd like to earn $20,000 from all the freelance stuff. I'd like to complete my novel revision and get the full to beta readers. I will start looking at potential comps as part of my reading time.
I'd also like to put together a brochure for school visits for my work-for-hire graphic reader and put it (myself) out there. But that's more daunting and may wait until I complete the revision as I'll need a break from the manuscript before tackling what betas say. If only time weren't a limited resource.
These are all fantastic goals!!
Debbie - I wish you lots of success in these goals. I feel the competing goals. That's something I struggle with.
Accept that there is a reason when I'm not actively writing, pen to paper. Reading is writing, editing others is writing, watching movies is writing (one of my genres is screenwriting). Meeting and brainstorming with critique partners is writing. Attending a conference is writing.
Even if you are not actively writing, all that other stuff counts as work!!
complete and submit my wip!
Woohoo! That's a great one, Denise!
Thank you for sharing these approaches to the new year with me. The approaches that resound the most for me are Jenny's (building an author career is a journey) and Marian's (I have stuck with the same focus word for years now—keep. Keep writing. Keep revising. Keep submitting.) I also like to pick my writing projects for the year. In 2026 I will be writing a short story collection and a memoir. I will also leave room for those unexpected/unplanned projects.
A great blog this is. Just interacted with it briefly and already hooked! I will surely benefit a lot from the content.
Last year my "resolutions" were to send out a hundred queries on my second book, create a single edited version of my first book and re-publish it as a second edition, rebrand my website as a true author website, learn and commence marketing using various media, website, Facebook, Instagram, Sub-Stack & others... monetizing my work. Plus, plus, plus even painting my boat and doing some cabinetry work.
I sent out about seventy queries, which was exhausting even after partially streamlining the process. I did launch my new website and learned how to enjoy doing it–however, did not effectively market it or my work using any venues other than Facebook.
This year, I'm keeping it simpler. Concentrate on building permanent skills on Scrivener, Pages, and Word to properly format my works for POD, Kindle, and iBook. Learn and practice video creation, Instagram, Book-Tok, Sub-Stack until I've developed practical (automatic) skills. Finally write the textbook on my old career, already outlined and which I could write in my sleep. And actually and effectively market and re-release my first novel. If I just plow through and develop these new skills alone, I feel I'll be better off for the year.