2023 Writing Goals – ADHD Writer Edition

THE GOALS BBY

1. Schedule time to write/read, and make it a priority to keep to them
   • It may seem obvious, but in order to write, you need to make sure you’re sitting down and doing it. Working a traditional 8-5 job, that can sometimes be easier said than done. For me, keeping a physical daily planner makes sure that I am writing out things I need and want to do every day. Blocking out chunks of time in that planner to dedicate to words means that I can guarantee to g et at LEAST that much done in a week. Anything else is just icing on the cake.
2. Read 10 books this year
   • Now I know what you might be thinking. Ten? Ten books? Less than a book a month? What sort of writer are you?! And I’ll tell you: The kind that often makes unattainable goals because big numbers are impressive. Maybe in six months I’ll be able to look back at this number and laugh, or adjust it. But for now yes, ten books. Less than one a month. And that’s okay.
3. Write more nonsense
   • I have this habit, as I think a lot of writers do, of wanting and needing everything to be perfect. You only have so many books in you before you die, so how DARE you waste it on something less than perfect or publishable. But honestly, that’s kept me from writing in general so often. And maybe it says more about me, but perfectionism is constraining and painful. Sometimes, I want to write fan fiction about my World of Warcraft character. And I shouldn’t have to feel badly for it.
4. Share more things I’ve written
   • This ties into the idea of writing nonsense. Too often, I fear letting other people see what I write unless I think it is absolutely without flaw. Which means I have 2 decades of writing sitting in binders on my shelf that no one but me has ever seen. And yeah, some of it should stay that way. Some of it though, even if it isn’t the best thing I’ve ever written, is okay enough though.
5. Incentivize keeping to these goals!
   • A big part of making goals and keeping to them for me is that I have no idea how to…Keep to them. I’ll get distracted, or not care about holding myself to them if all I have to do it is my own disappointment. Because dang if the little voice in my head isn’t used to disappointing themselves. In a book I was reading about the process of writing and publishing, one of the contributors mentioned that they pay themselves for every piece they submit to a contest, or some form of publishing. While I don’t think I’m confident enough to send things out that regularly, I LOVE the idea. So, any time I do one of these things like sharing a piece of writing, or finishing a book, I’m going to put a few dollars in a jar to be used just for bookish things. New pens? A new Paperback? A class? The idea of using money that I have set aside to DO writing things that got put aside FROM writing things is so exciting.