Writing Goals: 2021 [Part 3] — Where Do You Want To Go As A Writer?
By: Scott Myers
Tags: Creative Writing, Writing, Productivity, Fiction, Screenwriting

10-part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.

This series of daily posts, starting yesterday and going through next Friday (M-F), is not about resolutions which we make on December 31 and break by January 30… or sooner. This is not about wish lists and ephemeral fantasies. This is about each of us committing ourselves to ply the craft of writing day after day, to tell stories only we can tell, and to end up with a tangible product in our hand — a completed manuscript. Then start on another story…

Writing is hard. It just is. It’s a lonely occupation, far too often we get lost along the way, we have to fight off constant Inner Voices of Negativity, and the competition is stupid insane. In the face of that I guess what I’m hoping for in this effort is to enlist the entirety of the burgeoning GITS community to create a sum greater than the parts, a spirit of I Can Do That which grows and grows, and pours out into each of our little creative cups, feeding our souls and fueling our persistence.

Hence, 10 posts. First and foremost, I believe the best way to identify simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely writing goals is to do a thorough job of self-examination, which is what we are doing this week, buttressed by some good, old-fashioned inspiration, which is what is on the docket for next week. But there’s also this: Each day I’m here bellowing at you is an opportunity. You may not be with us on Day 1. You may not catch up to us by Day 5. Perhaps it may take you until Day 10. But make no mistake: This is a Herald’s Call. The only way you are going to become a writer is by being a writer. And the best way to be a writer is to make goals… and meet the hell out of them.

If you missed the Day 1 post — Looking Back — you can read that here.

Part 2 — Assessing Where You Are — here.

Today: Where Do You Want To Go As A Writer?

We direct our self-reflection toward the Future. Not just 2021, but beyond. Five years from now. Ten years. Twenty. We consider the question: Where do you want to go as a writer?

Of course, we can’t know the answer. Indeed we can’t even assume we’ll make any money in the creative arts. As I wrote in this Business of Screenwriting column is: “Movies don’t owe anybody a living.” Swap out any kind of writing for ‘movies,’ it’s the same thing.

But while we must keep our feet firmly planted on the ground, understanding the odds against financial success, there is no good reason why we can’t put our head in the clouds, indeed poke above them to catch a glimpse of our possible bright future. In fact, it’s important to envision what a successful career in the entertainment field would look like because when you break into the business, one of the earliest conversations you will have with your agents and/or manager is around this question: What do you want to do?

During this part of your reflection process, if your mind wanders off into images of a home in the Hollywood Hills, a new sports car, walking the red carpet at a movie premiere, Spielberg on the phone to ask you to salvage a troubled script, your Academy Award acceptance speech, I have no problem with that. We all deserve and need fantasies such as those to kick-start our motivation from time to time.

But the focus here is specific: You and your writing. Where do you want to be with it in a decade or longer? What would be the most fulfilling use of your creativity as a writer?

Again if you haven’t joined in with our collective ruminations in this series of posts yet, now is a perfect opportunity. First off, there’s zero negativity involved in this mental exercise today, rather it’s all about a positive sense of your future (i.e., fun stuff). Second whether you subscribe to the theory of creative visualization or not, having a specific image of yourself as a writer in the future at least provides you with a point of focus for your efforts in the present.

Here are some questions you may ask yourself:

Do you want just to write movies?

Do you want just to write TV?

Do you want to write both?

Do you want to write and direct?

Do you want to write and produce?

Do you want to bounce between writing big commercial movies and character-driven indie films?

Do you want to write screenplays and novels?

Do you want to carve out a niche writing specific types of movies or write across multiple genres?

I’m sure you have other questions to add to the list. Whatever you ask yourself, the important thing is to project into the future and imagine where you want your writing to take you. Stop by Comments, won’t you, and share your thoughts.

Tomorrow, we focus on practical matters. Remember what we’re trying to do here is be S.M.A.R.T. about our choices when it comes to Writing Goals: 2021.

S = Smart

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Relevant

T = Time Based

After spending time with our head in the clouds, tomorrow we focus on keeping our feet on the ground.

As far as my current writing project — The Protagonist’s Journey: Character Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling — I have completely changed my writing schedule from evening to morning. I get up and do not turn on any social media, email, etc. First thing, read a poem. Reflect on it. Free write in my journal for 15 minutes. Meditation. Open up my laptop and write for 90–120 minutes. Only then do I engage the outside world.

Oh, yeah. I write every day. But that hasn’t ever changed.

How about you? What’s your writing schedule?

Come back tomorrow for Part 4 of this series: Practical Matters.