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Thoughts on Writing

January 5, 2012

January is the time of New Year's Resolutions. They orbit our heads like May-flies, live their short season, and die. We start out with the best of intentions--get in shape, lose weight, write more. But by the time the first green leaf-buds form on the tips of the tree branches, the only parts of our resolutions that remain are regrets.

The seed of failure often lies in the resolutions themselves. We make them too general, which makes them unattainable; and being unattainable, they are easy to abandon.

Unless it's an all or nothing proposition (eg. I will stop smoking, effective today), a resolution should be measurable--or at least able to be broken down into measurable parts. "I'll write a novel this year" is probably doomed to failure. "I'll write a novel this year" broken down via the cold math of 90,000 words divided by 180 days and another 180 days for revision tells you that you have to write 500 words a day for the first half of the year and revise 500 words a day the second. "Write a page a day for six months, then edit from July until the end of the year," is a much better resolution. Easily understood, easily measured, and flexible enough that if you're sick for a week at the end of March, you can math out that upping your word count roughly 40 words a day until the end of June to still gets you to your first goal.

The same thing holds for any other resolution you might make--the measurable is attainable. "I'll exercise 30 minutes a day" is measurable. "I'll get in shape" is not. Losing 15 pounds in 6 months is measurable; losing "weight" is not.

With 2012 still young, try going back through your New Year's Resolutions to see if you can measure them; and if not, re-work them until you can. Being able to track your progress gives you impetus to, well--progress. And an elephant is eaten one bite at a time. So once you have your yardstick for success in hand, roll up your sleeves and get to work. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you've accomplished when the end of the year rolls around.