The Habit Of Writing

The new year is a time when many people stop to reflect on the past year and make plans for the year ahead.  They quit anything that is not adding value to their life and set goals to achieve their aspiration.

For me, my goal was to write more.

1. To keep on track you need a plan.
2. You break your overall goal into realistic steps.
3. You reflect throughout the year at suitable intervals
4. You adjust your plan when required

Many people give up when they  feel like they've failed but just because you didn't meet a target doesn't mean you failed.  Reflect on what went wrong and how you can approach it differently.  Most importantly, if you really want to succeed, never give up.

Many writers struggle to find the time they need to dedicate to their writing.  Often, this is because they have other full time commitments in their life.  I combat this by allocating an hour a day for my writing  (8pm to 9pm).  It might not sound like much but it is better than nothing.

Even so, real life can still get in the way.  Today, my writing time went to an emergency waiting room to check my son didn't have Meningitis - he didn't *phew*.  Sometimes I'm tired after work, my husband wants to spend time with me, I'm ill or I want to socialise.  Despite all the demands of my life, I never give up.

January, I set myself the target to write a chapter a day.  When I've not been able to I've tried to make up for it the next day (writing two chapters).  I wondered if the target was too ambitious and then I remembered, I set it to try and get myself into the habit of allowing myself time to write and to write more.  When I look at what I've achieved this month, I've written a lot, so it worked.

If you ever feel like your not achieving your goals, remember to keep going.  If you keep trying you have a better chance of success than if you just quit.