Congratulations to Linda Arroz, August winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your September goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win an iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Please post Goals for September 13. The first Write On! Meeting on Blog Talk Radio will be September 15 at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern.

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Chrissy, July winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your August goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win an iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Tammy, June winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your July goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win an iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Andrea Helaine, May winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your June goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win an iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Jocelyn Hughes, April winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your May goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win a FREE iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Laurie Dinnerstein, March winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your April goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win a FREE iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Monica Warden, February winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your March goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win a FREE iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Congratulations to Shawn Weisser, January winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your February goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win a FREE iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Post goals in the comment section below. Thanks!

Goals are an essential component of productivity. It’s important to know what you are striving for if you want to achieve it. Goal-setting is not just an activity for the beginning of the year; it’s a year-round necessity. Goals should to be looked at daily, and revised and restated weekly, monthly‚ whatever it takes to get to your personal finish line.

Setting Goals:;
- Set a personal goal, as well as a professional one, especially when you are setting your annual goals. Yes, articles, short stories, pages, outlines, etc., are important. But so is self-improvement. You are more likely to achieve your writing goals if certain things in your personal life are in order. If your desk is a mess, then organizing it should be on the top of your goal-list.

- Look at your goals every day. It’s easy to neglect your goals when you do not bother to look at them. Conversely, if you look at your goals frequently, they stay in your mind, and you are much more likely to accomplish them. Post your goals in a place you go to frequently: the bathroom mirror, the fridge, your computer “wallpaper.” I know one person who puts her goals as the wallpaper on her cell phone. That way, whenever she goes to make a call, she has to look at them.

- Set realistic goals. It’s okay to overshoot and to even change them if your project goes in another direction. If you want to write an hour a day, but you think 30 minutes is more doable, then that’s the goal you should set. When you are under less pressure, you are more likely to sit down and write.

Accomplishing Goals:
- Join a writers support group or have a goal-buddy. Set weekly or monthly check-in times. Accountability is a key motivational element in getting your goals done. If your buddy and/or the people in your writers group make their goals, you certainly will want to. There’s a huge incentive in feeling if your friends and peers can make their goals, so can you!

- Set a plan. Break down your project into doable parts, and put deadlines in your calendar. If you are writing a book, set due dates for the outline, each chapter, and rewrites. If you are trying to sell your book, novel, or screenplay, come up with a number of queries to send every week to agents and publishers—and stick to it. If you cheat on your goals, you are only cheating yourself—and prolonging your potential success.

- Make writing-time a priority. If you cancel a doctor’s appointment—or hair appointment—without notice, what happens? You get charged. If you cancel writing-time because something else comes up, you are only neglecting yourself. There are exceptions: sick child, day job, emergency. Yet, for the most part, writers tend to forgo their personal projects for other priorities. You can start penalizing yourself for missing your goals—have a money jar and pay yourself for missed writing-time. Or better yet, just sit down and write!

Celebrate Wins:
The biggest win is finishing your passion-project, whether it’s an essay to submit to a magazine, a book proposal, or full-length manuscript. But there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a fancy meal out, a new DVD, or that sweater you have been eyeing for weeks. Set goals, accomplish them, reward yourself. The biggest reward is the pride in accomplishment! Congratulations in advance!

This article was originally posted on Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s website: Sharing with Writers and Readers.

Debra Eckerling will be teaching Basics and Beyond: Goal-Setting & Productivity on Saturday, January 30, at The Writers Store in Los Angeles. For details and to register, go to http://www.writersstore.com/product.php?products_id=4440.

Congratulations to Stephanie Olivieri, December winner of an iScript, for posting goals on Write On! Online. Post your January goals and be entered in the monthly drawing to win a FREE iScript. (An iScript is a professionally recorded audio version of a screenplay or novel read by professional readers, similar to an audiobook.)

Due to a conflict at the bookstore, our January meeting will be on the third Wednesday of the month: January 20, 2010. That gives you an extra week to get a jump on the goals for the year.

Just post goals in the comment section below or on the Write On! Facebook Fan Page Discussion. Thanks!