Over on the Ideas on Fire blog, I have a new piece on how writing commitments (instead of plans or goals) can help you write now, amidst all this change and uncertainty.’
‘Tis a new year, which for most writers means a flurry of ambitious new writing goals and plans for the year ahead. Even in the midst of a pandemic and massive political upheaval, many authors are trying to figure out how to get their writing and publishing done. Instead of highlighting how to set achievable writing goals, I want to talk about writing commitments.
Writing commitments are regular practices you engage in that move you forward with your writing. They’re different from writing goals or plans in that they’re focused on the journey of writing rather than a specific destination. To commit to writing in this way means to incorporate it into your regular routine, to experience the act of writing itself as something to look forward to and cheer along, without burdening that writing with expectations.
Now, I’m all for an awesome writing plan and if breaking down your big goals into concrete writing tasks is motivating you right now, by all means go forth and rock that. But given how much uncertainty structures our lives these days, maybe writing commitments would fit better.
