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Write SMART: How to Create Terrific Writing Goals--And Achieve Them!Katey Coffing, Ph.D. Open up your favorite calendar and circle todays date. Why Because no matter what day it is, youve been given a wonderful gift: a bright and shiny year ahead to make your writing dreams come true. What are your writing goals for the coming year If you dont have any, this is the perfect time to create them. Clear goals help you stay focused as a writer. If you choose what you want to accomplish, you can arrange your time and priorities to get them done. Take five minutes right now to decide what big things youd like to achieve this year. Ill focus on your writing, but this technique can work for any area of your life. A long-established acronym, SMART, can help you create great goals. SMART stands for Specific
Heres how each of these words can help you succeed. Specific: When determining your goals, be precise. Instead of "Ill write more this year," consider "Ill complete a new chapter every two weeks." Measurable: For each goal you choose, make sure you can measure progress. For example, how will know youve completed it Action-oriented: Choose goals you control so theyre not at anyone elses mercy. Rather than "This year Ill get a book contract," set goals to complete and polish two novels or mail 30 queries to agents. Risk/Realistic: Its always good to stretch yourself. However, if writing ten pages usually takes you several weeks, dont count on writing six novels this year. Unrealistic expectations can get you so frustrated youll lose momentum. Instead, create goals that motivate you without being burdens. Timed: Setting a particular deadline will help you pace yourself to get things done. For each of your goals, establish a completion date. Next, take these big SMART goals and figure out what smaller steps youll need to achieve each of them. Design these subgoals to be SMART too! Once you have a list of goals for the year, put them where youll see them every day. Print them out and tape them to your computer, your office wall, even your bathroom mirror. See them, know them...do them. Writers, I hope this coming year brings everything you wish for. More importantly, I want you to *make your dreams come true*! Katey Coffing, Ph.D. © 2004 All Rights Reserved
| | | | RELATED ARTICLES The Top Five Mistakes That Companies Make with Regard to Technical Documentation I’ve seen it time and again. One of the most common weaknesses that I’ve seen in engineering companies—indeed, an almost universal fault—is the lack of proper technical documentation. Some would laugh this off as a minor detail; however, the repercussions are often severe. A company’s entire future can be made or lost based on the amount of attention they pay to this issue. How to Multiply Your Freelance Writing Work You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 tocarry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients toinvest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaignsachieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, of course, as thefreelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a succession ofassignments that assimilate a successful campaign. Dance With Words: A new Writers Portal for the experienced and the amateur writer Are you a writer looking for a great place to share stories, experiences, to communicate with other creative souls And individual who wishes to meet new and interesting peopleIf so, you need to visit www.dance-with-words.com Making Better Word Choices - 4 Examples Writers face many decisions when working on a project. Choosing the correct word for a certain situation is one choice that writers often either struggle with or make an incorrect choice. This article will give some basic guidance to writers on four of the more common word choices that authors face. How To Promote A Book Nowadays it’s no longer a matter of whether or not an author should promote his or her book, but how aggressively one should go about it. The sad truth is that publishers often fail to promote books, and if we, the authors, dont promote your own book then it may be destined to a lifespan between that of butter and yogurt, to paraphrase Calvin Trillan. The authors extra efforts may make all the difference between a book becoming a long-lived seller, and being recycled so that some other author can take advantage of the paper. 3 Tips to Achieve Your Writing Goals 1. Make your goals achievable. Do You Plot With Your Character In Mind Creative Writing Tips – Write a Letter, Make a Difference Today I took the dog for a walk and realized that there is a letter that I must write.Near our house, we walk up a once paved road that is now mostly rock and mud.It runs behind several houses then up a hill and ends at some very high priced home sites that are, as yet, unbuilt.In the winter this is a beautiful trail lined with small waterfalls and lush green trees, in summer it is a trail overrun by wildflowers that the neighborhood children enjoy picking.This trail, used regularly by its neighbors, is in danger of disappearing.The developer of the homesites is petitioning the city to repave the trail and make it once again an automobile thoroughfare.This trail is a vital part of our neighborhood, and losing it to another street that would benefit only the future homeowners of 5 homesites would distress those who use it regularly to walk the dog, teach their children about nature, or to escape the concrete jungle for a moment of peace. You Can Get On The Oprah Show Before 2011! Oprah has extended her contract until 2011, that means you can still get on her show. You have to know how to get on the show. You also need to know how to make the most of it while you are there! Being on the show can mean millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Many people know that being on Oprah will make their book a best seller or increase sales of their products and make them millionaire. But many people do not watch the show. You have to watch the show and really understand what it’s about. This will assist you in making your topic relevant There is nothing worse for a producer, than listening to someone pitch topics that are totally inappropriate for the show. I host a woman’s talk show. I was pitched a topic on how to date women and get sex without a commitment. That is not a topic compatible with my show.When you record the shows and watch them, look at the credits on the end. There will be producers listed. Take notes on what the show was about and who was the producer. You will then know who to talk to about your topic. Beginners Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as a Freelancer Beginners Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as a Freelancer by Brian S. Konradt of BSK Communications and Associates The Best Freelance Job Boards for Writers How many times have you checked out a job board to that either it no longer exists or that there is one or two jobs listed. Out of the hundreds of job boards on the Web today, how do you find those containing projects that you are interested in and qualified for. How to Discover your Primary Market Whether you market online or offline, you already know the shot-gunapproach to marketing brings few results. You will sell more productsand services when you step back and set up a strategy to reach yourtargeted market. Top 10 Ways to Know your Book Concept will Sell--Before you Invest Time and Money Make your book stand out from the crowd! Test your books significance, find your market before you write, and treat your book as part of your business. Is Now the Time for a Play about the War in Iraq Everone knows that comedy is mostly about timing. If you hit upon the right nerve is a funny bone a nerve at the right time then, usually, you dont even have to be original or even marginally funny to win laughs. The audience laughs just at the reference i.e. "How about Michael Jackson" and may fall into hysterics at a gifted comics pause. Is The Theme Running Throughout The Story Creative Writing Tips – To Outline Or Not To Outline Ah, the age-old writers debate--to outline or not to outline Savage Nature: The Life of Ted Hughes One of the most important poets of the post-war period, Edward James Hughes 1930-1998, was drawn towards the primitive. He was enchanted by the beauty of the natural world, frequently portraying its cruel and savage temperament in his work as a reflection of his own personal suffering and mystical beliefs - convinced that modern man had lost touch with the primordial side of his nature. How to Sell Your E-book - or other information product - Through Quickie Seminars Ive been selling my own self-published information products mainly e-books online for the past 3 years. Is it profitable Definitely. Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It Creative Writing Tips – Chaucers The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales Criticism of the portraits in Chaucers General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales has taken various directions : some critics have praised the portraits especially for their realism, sharp individuality, adroit psychology and vividness of felt life; others, working in the genetic direction have pointed out actual historical persons who might have sat for portraits; others appealing to the light of medieval sciences, have shown the portraits to be filled with the lore of Chaucers days and to have some typical identities like case histories. |
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