I read the other day that by January 21 of each year most people have abandoned or given up on the intentions they set on the first day of the year.

Wow!  Are we making our goals too hard?  Dreaming too big?  Reaching too high?

Or are we just not clear on what we desire?

Without clarity of purpose and plan, nothing gets done.  When that one vital piece of the equation, is missing there are no new inventions, symphonies, blockbuster books, movies, or movements.

In my last post, I gave you three words to focus on in 2017.  Now I want you to take another look at them.

 

Set Your Intentions

Are your intentions ambiguous and open-ended?

Maybe you’ve decided this is the year to get a book published.  Have you written any part of it?  Do you know what you want to say?  What do you want the book to inspire or incite in your reader?

 

If answering those questions make your head swim, it’s time to carve your intention into chewable pieces.

Those sub-intentions may look like this:

1)  Sit down for a week and decide on a theme/plot/reason for this book

2)  Write one chapter a week for the next fifteen (or whatever) weeks

3)  Devote two months to editing and rewriting the manuscript

4)  Spend the second quarter of the year researching publishing options, etc.

 

By creating clarity around your primary intention, you’ll have created a series of small steps that will lead you to your overall goal.

 

Sit Your Butt in a Chair and Write

If you’ve been having a tough time doing this, ask yourself what’s keeping you from getting started.

Maybe your chair is so uncomfortable you’d rather walk barefoot through a cactus farm than sit in it all day.  Get yourself a new chair.  If you can’t afford what you want, find a different place to work in your house.  Sit on the couch and write.  Curl up on your bed and create pages as fast as you can type.

If your environment is preventing you from writing, change it.

 

If time is your enemy, get up earlier, stay up later, or get a timer so you can work in bursts.  Once the timer goes off, you know you’re done for the day or for that writing episode.

Knowing you have a specific amount of time in which to write generates more creative energy. 

 

Success is the Compound Result of the Above Actions

You can have the best and clearest intention, but if you never sit down and write, you won’t be successful.

Or you can sit and write for hours every day, but without clarity around your purpose, you never attain your goal.

You’ve still got time to turn the new energy of 2017 into a tool to achieve your writing dreams.  Decide on your goal and purpose.  Get clear about them.  Claim them.  Then sit down and make them happen.  At the end of this year, you’ll be marking “Done” on your scoresheet while celebrating your accomplishment.

 

If you’d like to work with me in 2017, I’m currently setting my schedule for the next four months.  Email me at Suzanne@TransformationalEditor.com and let’s start a conversation about how I may help you attain your writing dreams.