In our last IFW post, we offered you five tips and tricks from our bloggers to help you kick off a great writing year! Today, we bring you five more actionable techniques to incorporate into your writing plan this year. 
This excellent technique comes from instructor Kristin Wolden Nitz and can mean the difference between completing your writing project or watching it languish in work-in-progress purgatory.
“Here’s something to think about. The muse can be trained. When challenging circumstances intervene, even those of us who usually have more time and energy to plow into our stories can learn how to work in these short, productive sprints. Here are a few things to think about if you find yourself in such a situation:
- Commit to a word count or a time amount. You’ll quickly know which goal that you’ll respond to best.
- While sometimes it’s necessary to squeeze in that 15-minute session into random holes in your day, consistency does matter. Try to have a standing meeting with your characters before breakfast, during lunch, or after dinner.
- Instead of listening to the radio or a podcast, spend time thinking about your upcoming scenes while taking care of various chores. Whenever my friend sat down, the scenes often unrolled like a movie because she’d spent so much time meditating on her story.
If you do decide to try this approach, don’t expect too much from yourself in those first few sessions. But it won’t take long before some of that muscle memory from those timed essay exams back in high school or college will come back to you. You may only emerge with what Anne Lamott classically described as ‘the shitty first draft’ but keep two important things in mind:
- A blank page cannot be edited.
- No writing is wasted. You will always learn things about your characters.”
This one gets us more often than we care to admit. Combine this with “training your muse” and watch your productivity soar!
“One study, in particular, pointed out that even if you think that the quick inbox check or Instagram peek isn’t harming your productivity to a dramatic level, those micro-distractions add up.
You might peek at your phone, only to see a text thread you know you will need to reply to later with your dinner plans, or a reminder from your partner about that party you have to go to later that you’re dreading, and just those small reminders hanging over your head will impact your mood, which will impact—you guessed it—your work and productivity.”
Instructor Victoria Sherrow is back with another tip for using accountability to reach your writing goals.
“How about collaborating with one or more ‘writing buddies’? You can agree to write at certain times each week and then check in afterward, by phone or email, to share your progress. Some groups have Zoom writing sessions where everyone logs in and then instead of chatting, everyone writes for a designated period of time.”
Instructor Susan Ludwig offers some tough love, but in a way that takes the pressure off each submission. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming…
“Face it, your submission will probably not be accepted. Yes, it is most certainly terrific and a manuscript you endlessly revised, one you thought about constantly, and then finally sent out to the perfect market. You got a “No, thank you” email a few weeks or months later, or maybe you never heard anything back at all. Most magazines publish just 1% of the unsolicited work sent to them—often less—and receive hundreds of postal and electronic submissions each month. With book publishers that percentage is even less.
Your story or article may not be accepted for dozens of reasons: the editor may have been looking for a specific topic when he received your work; he may have a backlog of manuscripts and is not interested in looking at anything right now; or in some cases he may not have read past the cover letter, which summarized a manuscript he either had no interest in or already had something similar in his files. The submission may not have been the type of piece the publisher publishes or (don’t let this happen) the manuscript or article—or the letter itself—had spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.
Submit your best, error-free work, realizing that the reasons for its rejection are otherwise beyond your control. By not accepting your manuscript, the editor is simply indicating that your manuscript or article is not something she can use at this time. Once you vow not to take a rejection personally, it makes submitting a breeze.”
Our final tip might be the most important one when setting goals. Don’t compare and despair. Bestselling author Jamie K. Schmidt shares what to do instead.
“Here are three other things to keep in mind when you’re planning your writing goals:
- Your goals should be personal. Don’t be influenced by other writers’ milestones or output. Your process is unique to you. Do what’s right for you at this stage in your career.
- Keep to a maximum of three goals to avoid being overwhelmed.
- You may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what went right and what went wrong the last time you set writing goals. Did you achieve them? Why or why not? Use what you learn in helping you to plan for this year’s success.”
It’s a BONUS tip, because who doesn’t like a little extra helping of encouragement? This bonus is here to keep you going no matter what. 
“What motivates you? What helps you keep writing despite the challenges, setbacks, and disappointments? Think about why you have writing goals. Do you see yourself building a new career, holding your published book in your hands, reading at a bookstore, being interviewed, signing autographs, speaking at conferences, winning a writing award, or receiving messages from appreciative readers? Keep those images in mind as you stick with your writing plans and make your goals a reality. Most of all, enjoy your writing and the satisfaction that comes from expressing your own special voice.”
If you’ve read this far, we know you are serious about your writing and reaching your goals. Bookmark this post and come back any time you need a little motivation because it’s never too late to reach for your writing goals.
You’ve got this!
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