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Your writing plan

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Are you a writer?
Do you want to be?
Are you writing?
What is your writing plan?

I ask these questions because a lot of people say they want to write, but they don’t think of themselves as a writer.  I get that!  I lived in that spot for a lot of years.  

But I now call myself a writer.
For ONE reason.
Because I’m writing.

Obviously I’m not famous.
I’m not even published very often, but I am writing.  On a regular basis.
That’s what I’ve decided I need in order to call myself a writer.

So how much is enough?
How often?
That’s up to me to decide - and I admit that it can get a little tricky.  Sometimes it feels subjective - so I have learned that I must have some kind of criterion to know if I am in fact writing.

For me, the logic goes something like this…
If I am writing I am a writer.
To be a writer I need to write.
Duh.
And the only qualifier I use is that I need to write REGULARLY.
Consistently…

In order to know whether I’m writing consistently, I need a plan.
Mine is pretty simple: I write every day.  
I have a daily word count goal - or sometimes a page count.
I give myself grace for weekends - or crazy times.

My plan and my goals change from time to time.
I’ve discovered that it works well for me to assess my writing goals on a monthly basis.  
A month is doable for me.

…

I don’t want to nag, but I do want to encourage you.  And I’m probably going to keep saying this same thing over and over again - because I think it is THE thing that makes the most difference.

If you want to be a writer, you need to write.
Regularly. Consistently.
Somewhere, sometime.
It doesn’t have to be a lot, but you need to build the habit.

So make a plan - whether daily, weekly or monthly.
How often will you write?
When will you write?
WHERE will you write?
Will you use pen and paper or keys and screen?
How many words (or pages) will you write?

…

Oh, and there might be one more important thing: declare your plan.
Tell somebody.
Tell us about it here.

Find a place where you can report your progress.



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