Photo by Jeriden Villegas on Unsplash
For this month’s Writer’s Exercise, I discussed Ms. Klansky’s strategic plan implementation postings and then challenged people to create their own. Strategic Plans are great to have, especially if audited because you haven’t made a profit three out of five years on your tax documents. Having Plans on hand helps prove an INTENT to make money.
I wanted to do the writing exercise myself to shake things up that have slid because of the pandemic. With a strategic plan in hand, I can focus on my writing.
Mission Statement:
Create entertaining and marketable stories which show healthy relationship choices, present educational items, and challenge people to do better.
Setting Goals:
1. Increase sellable words volume.
2. Get blog up-to-date by December 2022. (Edit: According to a reasonable production amount, goal changed to March 31, 2023)
3. Produce novels regularly, setting up a successful production line by December 2022.
4. Stay healthy.
Developing Strategies (Brainstorming):
1. Increase sellable word volume
- Write Daily – showing up / Butt in Chair (BIC); Daily word goal (worked before for about two months); Daily time goal (never worked). Prime the pump mini-stories to kick-start the day (distracting for me). Control doom scrolling and internet time – so BIC is focused properly. Ritual to set the mood and drop into writing quickly.
- Writing day/”Date Your Writing” – A day set aside for writing or a time set aside specific to writing, like a date which cannot be superseded.
2. Blog up-to-date – Approach by doing one type of blog at a time. Or maybe a year at a time. Keep up on the now and do a couple extra daily. Figure out how much I need to do so I can figure out how to split it up.
3. Produce novels regularly – Focus on getting a series out at a time. Focus on singles because easier to complete. Is series or singles better? Outline – draft – or jump in? I’ve always thought of myself as a planner, but I seem to be working better as a pantser with the blogging. What process? Which stories?
4. Stay Healthy – Movement, Doctor appointments, keep health insurance $$$, and eating. Walk / collect litter every day; yard work, work for post office two or three days a week, buy healthy food to eat at home. Dentist and doctors visits.
Specifying Actions:
1. Increase sellable word volume
- Write daily through one flip of the hourglass.
- Caveats – missing one day a week is allowed.
- Evaluation – Review monthly to see if this habit is still working for me. (Note: It has been working okay for a week now (March 2022)).
2. Get the blogs up to date. – Make December 1 to March 30 “Blog Season” to keep writing skills up during package months and tax season, but acknowledging not having the energy for bigger works.
- During Blog Season – Write at least two blogs a day until caught up. (Edit for evaluation: Fourteen blogs weekly)
- During Novel Season – Do three blogs a week to maintain blog so don’t fall behind
- Evaluation – Make sure reach weekly requirements.
3. Produce novels regularly – Create two genre novels a year while working for post office and doing taxes.
- “Novel Writing Season” – From April 1 to July 30 (novel 1); From August 1 to Nov 30 (novel 2) – four months each.
- Tuesday is “Novel Writing Day” – All day for the novel and only the novel. Flip the hourglass at least three times. (Morning, afternoon, evening) Not allowed to schedule against it, unless moving the Novel Writing Day to another day.
- Word goal per week for novel – 5,000 words for the first three months (65,000), fourth month is editing and cleanup. Aim on novel writing day is half the volume (2,500) and five other days of (500) each.
- Evaluation – Daily counts, but more importantly weekly evaluation on Saturday. (Week counts will be from Sunday to Saturday).
4. Stay Healthy
- Doctor appointments – Make and keep the four recommended doctor appointments: Eye Glasses (done in Feb); Dentist; General Doctor; Woman Doctor. Evaluation: Make one a quarter. Are they complete at the end of the year?
- Daily exercise – On days not working for the post office, do yardwork or collect litter in the neighborhood.
- Caveat forgive during tax season.
- Evaluation: Reassess monthly and see if need to be redirected.
- Healthy food – Plan weekly meals on Monday.
- Overall Evaluation: Keep weight below 200. Happy goal would be 185 by the end of 2022.