We have officially hit the middle of the year. Can you believe it?? I certainly can’t.

It’s got me thinking about the writing goals I set for myself in January, which as I look at them now, feel like I still have a bit of a way to go.

At the beginning of the year, I wrote out a list of goals in the Notes app on my phone with the following: a novel I wanted to outline, a book I wanted to self-publish, and stories I wanted to submit. But then…life happened.

I’m building my business over on Teachers Pay Teachers, editing the manuscript of my current work in progress, and getting sidelined every day with a surprise errand that needs to be run.

So I figured that this was as good a time as any to talk about how my writing goals have been going the first half of the year, my plan to reset in the face of all the goings on, and what it means to recommit in the second half of the year.

Reflecting on the Last Seven Months

In January, I made a writing goal to outline and begin the first draft of my third novel, self-publish my current work in progress, and submit two flash pieces to publications.

Because I am a full-time writer, I felt these weren’t outrageous goals. In fact, with a solid routine and a bit of discipline, these goals seemed achievable.

From January to April, I really sank my teeth into my current work in progress. A writer friend (shout out Ashley Huyge!) introduced me to Scrivener, which was a total game changer. I had an outline for the whole manuscript and started working on the first draft.

I didn’t think it would take me too much time because it was an overhaul rewrite of my first novel. And I figured, while there was a lot of work to do to make it “reader ready”, I was able to take a lot of the old manuscript and repurpose it in the new one.

But then I hit some snags.

Where It Fell Apart

I am currently between three different projects:

1. My fantasy novel that I’m trying to get traditionally published.
2. My current work in progress that is a rewrite of my first novel.
3. The outline of my third novel.

Add to that the TpT store and just general life things. And I fell right off the road.

It’s my own fault. I am self-employed, and while dog-sitting, baby-sitting, and house-sitting, my brain got scattered.

Plus, being between three projects can get a bit overwhelming. I am someone who likes to focus on one thing at a time, so I can give it my all, which means that something inevitably gets pushed to the back.

The thing that got pushed to the back was my third novel to make room for my current WIP. And then that got pushed to the back to make room for my fantasy novel.

The long and short of it is, I mismanaged my time and was unrealistic about how much energy I could give such ambitious goals.

Time for a Reset

Whenever I get overwhelmed by just how much there is to do, I need to take a step back and reassess.

As we are now in full blown summer, and the days will only get filled with more distractions, it is my responsibility to structure my days around my writing goals.

What will that look like? Here’s the plan:

• At my computer for the first round of writing time between ~9am-10am for the first 90 minute writing block.
• Break for lunch and a walk mid-day. ~ 11am-1pm
• Back to writing from ~1pm-3pm.

*Priorities: fantasy novel, current WIP, outline of third novel.

Some days there will be more chunks of time spent writing. Some days I will spend the afternoon with friends or reading books or going to the pool with my husband.

I want to make sure there is enough time to both achieve my goals, while also enjoying the slow, lazy days that comprise summer.

There are still six or so months left in the year. This plan is to ensure that I make progress toward my goals, even if I don’t finish everything by the end of August.

What It Means to Recommit

I never actually gave up on my writing goals for the year.

I’ve actually done a good job of accomplishing a few of the goals I set in January, like publishing my blog posts every week and writing flash pieces for submission. It’s been the longer work that I’ve been struggling with. And I don’t know that struggling is even the right word.

What I’m recommitting to is making sure that I am sitting down every day with my work and making forward progress on my projects.

And I think it’s also time to revise some of my goals.

Instead of self-publishing my current WIP by the end of the year, I think a feasible goal is to finish the first draft and be rewriting the next draft by January. And while I’m taking time between the first draft and the rewrite, use that time to outline my third novel.

Those are goals I can recommit to.

Where Are You with Your Writer Goals for the Year?

Time for a reader check-in.

Where are you with the goals you set out for your writing in January?

If upon reflection you see that you’ve met some snags in your flow, or your writing has come to a halt, now is a great time to reassess, reset, and recommit.

Some ways to get the spark back in your writer life are to:

• Boost your motivation by celebrating small wins
• Get in touch with your “why”
• Restart with small habits
• Find a critique group for accountability
• Revise your goals and deadlines

We’ve Got This

Let’s use this mid-year moment to reflect, reset, and recommit to our goals, but also to celebrate the wins (big and small) that we’ve already met.

It’s okay to revise. It’s okay to start fresh. And it’s okay if realistic means scaling back from the original intention.

No matter what the last six months looked like, you still have a whole six months ahead to make some magic happen.

What are your writer goals for the rest of the year? Let me know in the comments!

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Until next week, friends.