Welcome back to the show that never ends. I’m not going to bore you with information about my novel. It’s happening, slowly but surely, and that’s all I’ll say today about it.
Today I think we’ll be a bit reflective. I have a question to ask you, and I want your honest opinion. First, though, a quote. If you pay really close attention, there will be a hint regarding today’s subject matter in the quote.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Benjamin Franklin
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Okay, now you are ready for the reflective question.
Are you making progress as a writer?
No, this is not a trick question. I will assume that when you started your writing journey, that you had a goal or goals in mind. What were they? Did you want writing to just be an outlet for your creative passion? Did you want to be published in a magazine? Did you want to make a living as a freelance writer?
Only you can answer the goals question. So consider those goals you set for yourself and then answer my question: are you making progress as a writer as you move towards your goal?
If you answered yes then how has that progress happened? What have you done to move you along?
If the answer is no then you have some work to do, don’t you? Why are you not making progress? What is holding you back?
If you can answer that question then you can make corrections and start moving forward again. If you can’t answer that question….what is holding you back….then maybe you should chat with a trusted writing friend and get to the bottom of the trouble.
Just a thought!
TIP OF THE DAY
Write down your short-term and long-term goals. Once you have done that, then give yourself a realistic timeline to achieve those goals. I think it is very important that we remain focused on whatever is important to us as writers. It is too easy to get wrapped up in the process and forget about the prize at the end.
THAT’S ALL TODAY
I’m keeping it short today because you all have things to work on. Good luck on your journey my friends, and thank you for always showing me such wonderful support.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
I think my writing has improved over the last couple of years. I don’t have any clients, but I’m working on that. However, since I expanded my business to include editing, things are looking up. Yesterday I started an editing project for someone who is writing her first poetry eBook. It’s an exciting journey for her and I’m proud she reached out to me to be a part of it. Baby steps will turn to leaps and bounds as my confidence grows and word spreads. At least that’s the plan!
Sha, I have no doubt you have a plan, and I know for a fact you work hard….it will happen my friend.
My goals: keep writing everyday, write a book someday, write 100 hubs by December 2014, write some more!
Mari, I love plans like yours. Best wishes my friend.
I definitely think I am daily and learning from all I do write and share. So, I truly hope it shines and shows through on that with my own writing, musings and thoughts now. Thanks Bill and again hope you are enjoying this Thursday so far 🙂
Janine, there is no doubt that you have goals and are working hard towards them. Carry on my friend.
Bill, you post a big question. If I am to be honest, I have to say that I have not met my writing goals yet. But, check this out… I HAVE met my lifestyle goals. I wanted to finish a novel and screenplay that I’ve been writing for the longest time. But, I took a detour into low-key writing opportunities and endeavors that are serving my lifestyle well. It might be time for me to revise my goals. Thank you for the reminder.
Okay I’m new to all this so while you are all out on the track I am still trying to find the locker room.
I am very much in the learning mode at the moment and it does seem that there is much to learn. So some days my short term goal is to stop my brains leaking out of my ears. Putting my fingers in my ears does help, though typing becomes difficult. Word of advice, don’t try typing with your elbows. It doesn’t work.
Short term goals at the moment is to post some Hubs to get a feel for it. I am looking at topics to write in. I have interests in baking, history and archaeology. I did study both patisserie and archaeology and gained qualifications in both so I do have a background in both those areas.
I would like to write fiction at some point. I do have several ideas for stories but I need to get a better understanding of writing fiction before I take that path. Maybe put that down as a long term goal.
Other long term goals are at the moment more open. Bill mentioned in one of his Hubs about diversifying which I have already been thinking about. So writing content is one area I am looking at. And one of our local theatres does courses for aspiring writers. So when I get the short term sorted I will take a look at that.
Nice to see what everyone else is doing. Now all I have to do it find the locker room and make sure I don’t put my shorts on back to front.
Peter, we are going to have a wonderful friendship. I love your sense of humor. Come on over to the States once you are a famous author and we’ll have dinner and laugh our asses off.
I like that you are in the planning stage and thinking about short-term and long-term goals. I think it is vitally important that you do that. You have an interesting background and that is good. My only suggestion at this point is when you start writing article on HP, you settle on a niche and get comfortable with it…become known as the baking writer, or the archaeology writer…your views will increase because of it.
Good luck my new friend.
I must admit I think we would get along famously.
I have been thinking about the baking. It would be more of an interest to people and appeal to a wider audience. There is a huge and growing interest in baking this side of the pond, and I believe on your side as well. One in three people in the UK now bake their own bread. What’s more they are interested in things other then the plain white loaf, so there is lots of scope there.
I bought an excellent book called Will Write For Food which covers things like food blogs, restaurant reviews and recipe books. It is giving me some excellent help.
Thanks for your reply Bill, nice to know I am heading in the right direction.
Peter, I think that is a wise direction. As we move more and more towards self-sufficiency (as a viable alternative to starving in today’s economy) I think we will see an increase in the number of people interested in that type of article.
I have been reading a fantastic book lately that is helping me get more focused on my goals. The book is The One Thing. I think every writer should read it if they really want to improve their craft.
Thanks for the recommendation, Donna. I’ll see if I can find it.
Believe it or not, I had goals when I started writing. But they turned out to be not what I really wanted, or didn’t work out as I had planned. I think I allowed those experiences to become discouragements, and now–although I love to write–I don’t bother moving forward.
Good luck deciphering that mind-spew.
Lizzy, it worries me greatly that I understood it perfectly. 🙂
Interesting question, Bill
I think I am making progress but the editing part is that still stinks…gotta work on that 🙂
Ruchira, you and me both. 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Hello Bil.
Short and sweet heart to heart talk. Honestly, I’m not where i planned to be, though my progress is slower then expected, it is being made…
( Well the last one , ” then maybe you…” — just not making much progress yet )
Good night my friend
The word ‘Bil ‘ doesn’t even exist; you will ,please forgive my “honest mistake, ” Thanks Bill, my friend William D.Holland ( aka billybuc )
Michael my friend, you can call me Bil any old time. We are friends after all.
Have a wonderful weekend and thank you as always.
Good subject for a post as I think many people do get off track or discouraged from writing goals… I try very hard to stay on track but of course some days/weeks are better than others. Hugs for the weekend to you and Bev!
Thanks for the visit this weekend, Christy! I know I’m constantly adjusting my goals according to what is working. Thanks for the hug…one coming back at you.
I have just conceived of a new goal..i am going to query a few agents. I can’t take the marketing end of it and need to get back to writing – period!
Now..to achieve that goal is a whole other story…lol
Hugs, Bill-bro and have a great wkend!xx
Sis, I think that’s a wise move. I really do. You have a great niche and you write in it well…who knows, right? Hugs coming at you, Sis!
Yes… if I think of where I was 2 years ago and how far I’ve come. But I had so many unrealistic expectations (still do a few!), so that’s what I need to work on even more this year. Patience and persistence for my passion! Hey, that sounds quite cool, hehe. Hope you’re having a great start to the week. We have one more holiday this week and then hopefully we can get back to some sense of normality again!
Mel, it’s all progress, even if our expectations are unrealistic. How else are we going to learn?
Enjoy that holiday and then have a great and productive week.
Oh my goodness, where should I start? First, no, I have not met my goals. The reasons:
1. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I quickly realized I had no earthly idea whatsoever.
2. I had no idea how competitive writing is. I thought my grammatical skills were good. Editors on one particular content sight seemed to think otherwise. I no longer write for them at all.
3. I thought I could write for a few content sites, start a blog, and pop a few Adsense ads on there and meet my monetary goals (very low monetary goals) fairly quickly. Boy, was I wrong!
Why do I keep trying? Because though I have not met my goals, I’m learning more and more every day and one of these days, I’m going to get it right. 🙂
Tina, thank you for sharing those thoughts. I think most of us are surprised when we first start out, and reality quickly overcomes illusion. It seems so simple until a couple months blow by and nobody is impressed with us. LOL I understand completely.
Exactly.
That’s a very good question Bill…when I thought about it…I’m not sure if my writing has improved as much as my technical knowledge like SEO and graphics. It so much work just to get to out that writing on the blog!
I’ll be happy to have improved anywhere truly!
Great point, Kelly! There is a ton to learn that really has nothing to do with writing per se. Hemingway never had to worry about this SEO shit. 🙂
I am thinking about my goals and may have to realign my vision. Thanks for the coaching.
it’s always my pleasure, Dianna. Thank you for your loyalty.