PREPTOBER 2022 | Your Goals

I used to tackle NanoWrimo with one goal: reach 50,000 words by the end of November. In previous years, I didn’t actually accomplish my goal and would wind up feeling defeated and frustrated by the time November 30th came around. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but each year I would look at my word count that was maybe 10,000 words short of where I wanted to be and feel so disappointed in myself.

The Low Point

The great thing about hitting a low point is that it can be where change happens. So if you’re in this place where you’re looking at November feeling sick and tired of not making it to 50,000 words every year, I want you to know that you are not alone and that this is the point of transformation for you.

What used to happen to me was by the end of the day, the week, the month––I could not tell you where the time went in November. There were full days that I would look back on and wonder, “What did I even do that day? Did I even write?”

And not knowing that is crazy to me now. Like, how can you not know if you wrote or not during a month where you’re supposed to be attempting to write a novel? What I was doing seemed so random and left me feeling like I was on a roller coaster. One day I would gain momentum and dedicate entire hours to writing. The next day I would lie on the couch watching television and saying, “Oh, I’ll get to writing tomorrow.”

I kept saying, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow never came. And I didn’t do the things I needed to in order to move the needle on my goal of finishing NanoWrimo.

Let’s talk about that: moving the needle on your NanoWrimo goals and actually figuring out what those goals are for you.

Setting Goals

Every day I write out my top ten goals for the month based off of a five category system––a method I discovered from Angie Bellemare. My goal setting isn’t just during NanoWrimo––it’s for every month of the year. I re-write them out every day so that I can keep those goals at the front of my mind on a daily basis.

When you write the same thing over and over again––what happens? That’s usually the thing that you’re going to think about the most. And the thing you think about the most should be what matters to you the most.

A lot of time what happens in life is that we don’t give ourselves time. We give time to everyone else: our jobs, our family, our friends––even the haters out there that try to bring us down. But the person who deserves our time the most is ourselves.

Take the time to list out what is most important to you and set your goals. I’m not talking about goals that you think would look good or society tells us we should strive for. I’m talking about your goals. Goals that are personal and actually mean something to you.

Don’t just say, “I’m going to write 50,000 words in the month of November.” Be specific, like: “I’m going to write 2,000 words every single day during the month of November” or “I’m going to wake up at 5 in the morning on weekdays and carve out two hours before work to get my writing done.” Your goals should be measurable––they should have numbers attached to them so you can look back after November is done and know exactly how you wrote those 50,000 words.

Don’t overthink these goals. Do think about them, but don’t overthink them. These goals should resonate with something inside of you and speak to where you are in life right now versus where you want to be.

For broader goals that don’t necessarily have to do with NanoWrimo, I recommend watching this video by Angie Bellemare.

Writing Goal Categories

Divide your goals up into different categories. When working on writing specifically, there are five categories you’ll need to focus on. These are: health, support system, writing, accountability, and fun. Feel free to comment down below with your notes and let me know what your brainstorming in terms of goals for each of these categories.

HEALTH

The first category is always going to be your health. This includes your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Being a writer means you’re sitting down for most of the day creating worlds and characters for your readers to enjoy. It also means that you’re probably not moving as much as you should be during the day and not taking mental breaks every couple of hours to keep you going. I am very much so guilty of this myself.

Jot out a couple of things that you’re going to do for your physical, mental or spiritual well-being during the month of November. You cannot write properly if you do not take care of yourself first.

You also need to consider meals during NanoWrimo––this would also fall under the health category. How will you be eating throughout NanoWrimo? If you’re ordering Uber Eats every single day, write that down. If you’re meal prepping on Sundays so you don’t have to think about it throughout the week, write that down. Write down whatever works for you in terms of making sure you’re properly fueling your body throughout the month of November.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

The second category is meant for your support system. This includes your relationships like your family, friends, and writer’s group. How are you going to nurture those relationships during the month of November? And how will you let those relationships nurture you? Are you going to set aside one night a week to spend with your family doing something other than writing? Will you attend a weekly writer’s group so you can be surrounded by others participating in NanoWrimo?

Writing may be a solitary act, but it takes a village behind the scenes supporting you. In order to accomplish our big goals, we need to be willing to accept support from others. Do not neglect your support system during NanoWrimo and you’ll find that they help fuel you throughout the month.

WRITING

The third category is writing. A lot of you may be surprised at how low this is on the list, but taking care of your health and your support system will help clear any distractions for your writing. This category is where you’ll write down your actual writing goals. This could include your daily word count, what time you’ll be writing during your day, what section you’re going to write in your story––anything you need it to be in order for you to get your actual writing done.

Figure out what needs to happen in this category for you. What works for others might not work for you, so dig deep and be honest with yourself here.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The fourth category is accountability. This category is what is going to keep you honest during the month of November. For me, my accountability is posting regularly on social media so people know that I’m getting my goals done. It could be something as simple as you checking off that you wrote for the day and sharing that with your friends.

The important thing here is to hold yourself accountable in some way.

FUN

This is the category where you are going to blow off steam. List out your hobbies and what you enjoy doing in your spare time. I know that I like to read and watch movies, so I’ll need to carve out time to do a little bit of that every single day. Maybe you like to hang out with your friends or take a bubble bath. Whatever will let you wind down from being super productive during the day should go here.

Set Your Own Goals

Now it’s time to set your own goals. Go ahead and brainstorm using the five categories listed above and use them as a guide for your own NanoWrimo goals.