By Susan
Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine
Have you ever wondered how many books
die before they ever get to the publishing circuit? Unfortunately, I don’t have
a count, but I would imagine a great many.
You see, many people start to write a
book. Some can even get to 28,000 words, then life takes over, interest wanes,
and it is put on the back burner, where it dries up.
Then there’s the writer who is so
excited, has the perfect story line, sits down and puts a few paragraphs on
paper; gets interrupted, loses train of thought. They think they will continue
tomorrow but alas; other things get in the way. Another book dies where it is.
So, what happened? The writer didn’t set
a goal to write nor did they make a true commitment. Like most things we do in life, there must be
a goal, so we will be committed and work towards the goal to achieve our
desire.
A goal can be based on how many words to
write or how much time each day. Choose
one that is comfortable. But set a goal.
I personally like to write several words
per day. Example: if I set a goal to write 750 words today, and my thought
process runs out of words to write I keep putting words on the paper to reach
my goal. The important thing is that I reach that goal today, regardless of the
last few words I am writing. Why? I am
trying to establish a habit with my writing time. (And yes. The next day I come
in, read what I wrote and remove any gibberish and then continue to reach
today’s goal.)
One important piece of advice, remove
any distractions. I turn my phone, TV,
and anything that can make a noise off. I know some people like to play music
while they write. If it helps them write, sets the mood, that’s great. For me,
I must have everything turned off.
Goals are important. Les Brown said, “Your goals are the road maps that guide
you and show you what is possible for your life.”
Another quote I like is from Brian Tracy, “Goals allow you to control
the direction of change in your favor.”
Without goals, how do you know where you
are going and when you have reached what you were striving for?
By setting your goals your book won’t
die of an early death!
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