Year-End Review for Writers (Writing Exercise)
The end of the year is a time for reflection. We look back on the past twelve months to see what we accomplished, which goals we met (or didn’t), and what we lost or gained.
For writers, this is a perfect time to examine goals we set for the past year as a way to prepare for setting next year’s goals. This can be a daunting and frustrating exercise, especially if you feel like you’ve come up short in meeting your goals. But if you don’t assess the goals you missed, you won’t be able to figure out why you failed to meet them.
If you’re lucky – if you worked hard and stayed focused on your goals – then this will be a satisfying and gratifying exercise. You’ll gain insight into how you were able to do the things you set out to do.
Whether or not you achieved what you wanted with your writing, by reviewing the past year, you’ll be better equipped to start setting goals for next year that you can realistically achieve.
Take some time in the coming week to evaluate your writing goals for 2008. Most of us probably had a mixture of successes and failures. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Did you set clear-cut goals for yourself this year? What were they?
- Did your goals change over the course of the year?
- Which goals did you meet?
- What did you do throughout the year that helped you meet your goals?
- Which goals did you fail to meet?
- What did you do instead of meeting your goals?
- What could you have done differently to ensure you met your goals?
- Did you set too many goals?
- What can you do next year to make sure you meet the goals you set for yourself?
- If you met most or all of your goals, do you think you could tackle more next year?
Few people meet all of their annual writing goals. Things change, other obligations interfere, and we get distracted. Sometimes we decide the goals we originally set for ourselves are no longer in line with our true ambitions. That’s okay.
And it’s okay to miss your target. That’s why a year-end review is helpful and essential. If you did miss your target, figure out why and make the adjustments you need to better meet your writing goals next year. That might mean setting fewer goals, postponing some projects, or rearranging your schedule to make more room for writing.
And that’s the most important lesson – making time for writing. Regardless of whether you achieved all your goals or none, the most important goal for the year ahead is to keep on writing and never give up.
I posted my review this morning as Year End Review pt2. I took a different approach but I still think I answer many of the questions in your list.
Looking at my intended accomplishments and comparing with the actual accomplishments the year looks sort of like the Apollo 13 mission that was termed a “successful failure.” In a sense I too failed to make it too the moon but I landed on my feet and in one piece.
Debs last blog post..2008 Year End Review; pt 2: Writing and Blogging
My goals changed a lot over the year so my accomplishments look like the Apollo 13 mission as well. I find that sometimes you set out to do something and then find you need to amend your plans a little. As long as you’re on your feet in one piece at the end of the year – and still committed to keep on writing – that matters most.
Specific goals? I tend not to do that, any more than I make New Year’s Resolutions … which is probably one of the reasons I feel I didn’t accomplish much this year!
–Debs last blog post..It’s a Blogapalooza!
LOL, I never really set writing goals before this year and I found that it definitely helped me accomplish a lot more. I chose three top goals, which were to keep Writing Forward going (it was only four months old this time last year), complete NaNoWriMo, and move my copywriting services to a new website. I had lots of other, smaller goals that I didn’t meet but I pulled off those three, and it wasn’t so hard. Try it – I bet you will get more done in a year
As an school administrator who evaluates teachers and their goals, the questions were extremely helpful. They certainly will guide my dialogue this spring.
In question #2 I think “course” would be a better choice.
Have a great new year.
Margaret
Thanks for catching that Margaret! That’s what I get for blogging and wrapping presents simultaneously – a typo! I’m glad you found this post useful. Have a wonderful new year!
All I have to say is:
2009!
Heeheee.
That snow picture is BEAUTIFUL!!!
ScreenwritingforHollywoods last blog post..Do I Need an Agent?
Yep, can you believe that it’s just a few days away?
I sorta just posted something answering a few of those questions, more or less. But I did set some goals for myself but I know I didn’t achieve some of them, while I accomplished a few goals that weren’t even planned. And I don’t really consider something accomplished until it’s completed, and fortunately I have completed a number of projects this year.
I don’t make resolutions because thats a word/idea/joke that’s only used from December 27th until maybe January 4th. Maybe a little longer for gym commercials offering membership discounts, but for average people I hang around with, we speak very little of such things.
What I have learned this year is that I need to manage my time better, so I can devote time to hardcore writing for a few hours everyday. But it goes against my “go with the flow” lifestyle… I can’t win.
t.sterlings last blog post..is it considered "insomnia" when you’re on vacation?
The first time I ever set writing goals for myself, the list I ended up with was pretty extensive – more like the writing goals for my entire life rather than a single year. Since then, I’ve found that coming up with three core goals each year really helps me stay focused on bigger projects. In fact, I don’t think I would have completed NaNoWriMo this year if I hadn’t fixated on it as a crucial goal. You’re right – goals don’t always work well for a go-with-the-flow lifestyle but maybe you can balance flow and goals?