The 5 Worst Goals for New Writers

Today’s “Tool of the Trade” is helpful goals.

I used to go camping with a friend of mine that lived out of state.  We'd talk about how much fun we were going to have, toss a couple of dates around, and then watch life pass us by without a camping trip.  Our problem, we eventually discovered, was that while dreaming up the big event, we never bothered with setting a date - saying, "April sounds good" or "Let's shoot for the end of August" just doesn't provide the precision necessary for success.

Writing is like that too.  (So are many other things but this blog isn't about manufacturing 'O' rings for NASA's now retired shuttle fleet.)  If you set a goal (and you should) then it should be chosen with care.  Don’t go with the first one that comes to mind, don’t pick some nebulous moving target.  To make things easier I’ve written another “top 5” list so you’ll be able to avoid wasting your life.  Pretty helpful, hunh?

Here is my list of The 5 Worst Goals for New Writers -- feel free to sound off in the comments if I’ve missed something even more important.

5.  I will get published.  This is a terrible goal.  Unfortunately it is also more common than congressional gridlock.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to get published but too often this goal ends without the needed follow-up details.  You must be more specific or this goal becomes nothing more than a will-o-the-wisp that you chase sporadically.  You may take this one in a couple of different directions – I will get published in Analog/Smithsonian/The New Yorker or I will always have a manuscript in the mail to a publisher – but you must be clear about exactly what "published" means so you aren’t thrashing about aimlessly.

4. I will make industry contacts.  I have industry contacts - I know people who sell cars, repair leaking pipes, and build houses.  You know how much good that does me most days?  Not much.  The only time I need the industry contact is when I need to buy a new car, get a pipe repaired, or I've sold my Great American Novel and can afford to build a new house.  When you have a completed body of work (a single manuscript does not count) you will have no problem getting your contacts.  Seriously, when was the last time you walked into a car dealership ready to buy and were ignored?  A better expression of this goal to specify the type of industry contact and the purpose you are seeking that contact for, something like “I will develop a professional relationship with the editors of XYZ so that they will contact me for freelance work” or “I will develop contacts that will be able to provide professional guidance to help me advance my career.”

3. Any goal with the word 'try' in it.  Do not "try to finish the draft by Thanksgiving."  Do not "try to find a market for your short story about a 10 foot tall dwarf with a rabbit that lays Cadbury eggs."  To quote someone who died a long time ago in a galaxy far away, "Do or do not.  There is no try."  There’s no commitment in ‘try’.  Don’t believe me?  Ask someone if they want to try being a parent with you.  ‘Try’ is what you do to Aunt Edna’s squash and brussel sprout casserole, not skydiving.  Goals are about commitment and if you put the word ‘try’ into them you are suddenly giving permission for a "quick" game of Plants vs. Zombies and, guess what?  You fail.

2.  I will make every page perfect.  You already know better than this.  You're probably still stuck on page one.  You can't make it perfect.  If I look at this blog post six months from now I'm going to cringe because "I can't believe I wrote that!  It's terrible.  I should have..."  That's how we are as writers.  Remember that you are writing a story, not a page.  So write the story, not the page!  When you finish writing the story, go back and edit it.  Then do it again.  When it’s good and tight all that worry you put into the first pages will seem silly because you've completely changed the ending anyway.  You might win a Pulitzer or Hugo but I assure you that, upon a reread, you will be horrified by what you wrote.  Forget perfect, focus on story.

1.  Someday I will... whatever.  Great dream, but it’s not a goal.  Keep your dream.  Cherish your dream.  Protect your dream.  But when you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and achieve it, you need to set goals.  I dream of becoming a commercially successful writer someday, of being able to retire and write.  From my yacht.  But that’s not a goal.  Writing a blog six days a week every week for a year?  That’s a goal.  Finishing Nano?   That’s a goal.

Don’t tread water or spin your wheels.  If you’re serious about something, be serious about it.

"To me, it's just somethin' else I never got a chance to be."

I hope you never have to say that.  Don't lose track of what you are, and have been.

It's okay to be inspired by your own accomplishments.  Stephen Roche won the Giro, the Tour, and then the World Championship all in the same year (1987).  Nobody does all three (except for him and the peerless Eddy Merckx).  I'm certain that his victory at the WC was inspired by his previous wins and historic placement.  There's a Wal-Mart in every strip mall because the Walton family was spurred on by their own success and rather than sit humbly on their heels, pressed on to the next level.  And then the next one after that.

I read somewhere that if you put a top 5 list in your blog, it will be far more popular so, to honor our first week of over 100 posts, I thought I make a list of the top 5 reasons this blog has been successful - to further inspire me, and hopefully, you.

5.  I wrote 100 posts on a tighter schedule then Delta Airlines.  When my schedule was disrupted I was able to still press through.  There were only a couple of days that I was supposed to post and didn't end up making it.  I have achieved the goal of becoming a more disciplined writer.

4.  I wrote something meaningful to someone.   I’ve gotten some wonderful emails about a few of my posts.  One post in particular garnered several private comments to the effect of “that was really well said and has made a difference in my life”.  Couldn't ask for more.

3.  I have created marketable work.  My Friday writing exercise has led to both total flops that nobody likes and short stories that have picked up some buzz - one scheduled to be published next month, the other being actively marketed by someone other than me.  Commercial success doesn't make you a writer, but it does offer some much needed inspiration on the days you wonder if anyone is really listening.

2. My weekly page hit count has grown.  Thank you.  No really, I mean it.  Talking to rocks and trees are fine when you’re wandering alone through the woods, but my goal is not to keep myself company online.

1.  I love to blog.   You all either like what I write or want me to be successful so you keep reading, keep commenting and (at least some of you) keep critiquing my prose.  I started a magazine when I was a senior in high school but couldn’t get any traction so (mostly due to the cost of postage and a lack of maturity on my part) I gave up.  R&A is successful and I don’t have any plans to quit now.

Have you seen any good movies lately?  Share your thoughts in the comments.