It’s the start of the 10th month of 2020. It’s been one hell of a year but we’ve made it this far. This time to take another look at your writing resolutions that the beginning of the year. Here’s a reminder of what I said when we started this year.
***
In recent times, skeptics and killjoys have argued that resolutions do not work. I disagree with them. Resolutions, not just the ones made in the new year, certainly work. What is important in accomplishing your plans is to adopt the right approach in working on them.
According to the writer, Sonia Simone, “Most people fail at resolutions (at any time of year) for two reasons. The first is that they focus on outcomes (lose 50 pounds) rather than behaviours. The second is that they try to put massive changes into place all at once (I will work out three hours a day, even though today I work out 0 minutes a day)”.
For writers, the above applies. Just like everyone else, if you want to become a better writer, so you can reap all those awesome benefits of being a strategic, authoritative content creator, you’re not going to get there by resolving to “be a better writer” this year.
To help you make better resolutions for me, I looked to one of my role models for help. Jeff Goins is the best-selling author of five books, including the national bestsellers The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve. He makes this list of 17 resolutions every writer should make. I find them instructive and really helpful. I hope you do so too.
- Measure activity, not results. As a writer, your job is to share your truth, not worry about the outcome of your work. The first goal of a writer is to sit down and do the work, no matter how scary or hard it may be. When you do this, you almost always create something better and more honest than worrying about “what will people think?” So, write what moves you and leave the results to the readers.
- Tell the truth. No matter what, regardless of what is at stake, we must create something that is true, both to us and to the world. That means not only to be honest but to true to oneself. If something feels wrong, don’t do it. Your gut is the only thing that separates you from a robot. Try to trust it and be wary of the quick and easy route that leads to success (it doesn’t).
- Write what scares you. There is something powerful about leaning into fear and doing the thing that petrifies you. Nothing stirs the emotions of a reader like writing “from the heart,” as they say. Don’t hold back now. This is the year where you show all your scars, and maybe people will thank you for it. Regardless, you will be sharing your truth and that is enough.
- Don’t take yourself so seriously. I am guilty of this myself, but the truth is some of the best writing in history has a sense of humour. There’s nothing wrong with making the reader laugh. If all you’re writing is the facts, then you’re a reporter, not a writer. Which is fine, unless you want to create something that tests the boundaries of the status quo, something that goes beyond “just the facts.” In which case, you had better be funny.
- Try a new genre. Are you a business advice writer? Try memoir. A novelist? Consider journalism. Whatever you are comfortable with will ultimately cause what you create to stagnate, unless you infuse it with some novelty. Honour your calling as a creative and test the boundaries a little. Push yourself and see how you grow. As for me, I’m trying my hand at fiction.
- Write when you don’t feel like it. Professional writers don’t just write when inspiration strikes them. They offer themselves no excuses and do the work, no matter what. You need to do the same. Show up every day, without fail, as often as you can. When you don’t feel like it, do it anyway. This is how you will develop the discipline that turns you from an amateur into a pro. If you do this, you’ll do what so few are able to do. You will turn your passion into a habit.
- Do your research. It’s not enough to just “write what you know.” You have to expand what you know. Read a book or two, for crying out loud. Don’t merely pontificate. Tell us something we haven’t heard before, something we won’t hear unless you take some time to ask important questions like “why?” and “how?”
- Rewrite until it hurts. Let’s face it. Nobody is brilliant on the first draft. And the second one after that usually sucks, too. This is okay — it’s normal, even — because this is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t consider yourself done until you’ve put in at least several hours and a few drafts into whatever piece you’re working on. Remember: all good writing is rewriting. Everything else is just prologue.
- Shut up. Take some time and listen — to what people are saying, to what you’re reading, and to what you’re writing. It’s all trying to teach you something. Pay attention, shut that big mouth of yours, and open your ears once in a while. Learn from your surroundings, then use it all to make your writing better.
- Read widely. This isn’t just research, it’s practice — honing your craft by studying the masters who came before you. Pick a book that didn’t just pop up on your Amazon list; read a classic or something that has nothing to do with your field. We base our careers on words, so the best thing you can do is absorb as many of them as possible from as many different sources as you can.
- Fast from social media. Get off Twitter or Instagram and spend a few hours a week writing. Not your platform or your growing contingent of Internet followers, but the thing that really matters: the writing. No one will thank you for this, which is precisely why it’s important. You will feel better, and the work will improve (promise). So, take a brief break — at least a week — from the noise and focus just on the work.
- Break a rule. Write in an unusual voice or depart from a norm. Stop using commas. Get rid of all adverbs. Do something that causes others, maybe even yourself, to feel uncomfortable. Don’t worry; this isn’t a new style — it’s just an experiment. In the discomfort, we grow. So, mess with the status quo, and see what happens. It could be good, really good. Or maybe not. Regardless, you’ll learn something.
- Publish something. An eBook, a manifesto, a full-length book. If you’ve never put your work out into the world in the form of a published book, it’s time. Nothing grows a writer like shipping. Yes, it’s hard and scary and you probably aren’t ready. But do it anyway. Enough with the works in progress and plans to publish “someday.” It’s time. You’ve got this.
- Make money. You heard me. Set a goal to actually earn some income from your writing this year. I remember the first year I set this goal — it changed my life. Our son was born, and seven months later, I was making plans to quit my job and become a full-time writer. Amazing things happen when you set a goal, chart a course, and stick to it.
- Start a blog. Blogging is an essential craft for the modern writer. It helps you practice in public, get discovered, and build your fanbase. It’s fun, too. For a step-by-step tutorial on how to get a blog started, read my “how to launch a blog” page.
- Meet other writers. You can’t succeed alone. We all need the help of others who are in the trenches with us. Set a goal to grab coffee with another writer at least once a month. If there are no other writers in your town, then hop on Skype and talk online. Don’t try to go this alone; the writing journey is a long and lonely one unless you have friends to share it with. For more on this, you can read my post on networking.
- Quit stalling and get writing! Quit reading this post or re-checking your email for the fifth time today. Turn your phone to silent and unplug from the world for an hour. Just write. It’s the simplest, hardest, scariest thing for a writer to do. Not to think about writing or talk about writing, but to actually write.
Of course, resolutions aren’t what make a year new. They’re a formality. The real trick is not setting the goal but having the resolve to do it. Once you start moving in a direction, you don’t have just a plan or a goal. You have a habit. And that changes everything.
I wish you all the best in 2020. Have a great writing year. It can only get better. We can only get better.
Elikem M. Aflakpui
