A pretty standard part of setting big, long-term goals is to chunk it up into a bunch of smaller goals.
And what is writing a book if not setting a big, long-term goal?
So, let’s chunk a book up into a bunch of smaller easier goals.
First, set the major goal: Get your book published. (I mean, that is the ultimate goal of all of our books, right?) Then, you have to start actually writing that book. (You can’t publish a blank page. Well, you can, but unless you are making really avant-garde art, it isn’t going to go over very well.)
But writing the book is the overwhelming part. So, let’s chunk that down.
If you’re a plotter, make your first goal to be doing your outlining and other pre-planning. Break that down into as many small tasks as you need. Then once you start writing, join the pantsers in putting words to the page.
For the people pantsing it (and the plotters once they are done with their pre-planning), make the goal be to write your first chapter. From there, start having word count or scene goals.
Try to write regularly, but don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t happen. Life can throw you some doozies. Give yourself some grace when that happens.
And if you are kind of person who likes rewards, be sure to reward yourself for each milestone made!
Once that very first draft is down, you can start into all the other steps that you’ll have to do to get published (editing, revising, querying, etc). But for now, just concentrate on that first draft.
It’s one word at a time, one letter following another. That’s how books get written, one little piece at a time.
