Monday, November 16, 2009

It's About Time


Today, I wrote a writing plan.


Somehow that just doesn't communicate the complexity of the thing, or the difficulty. Allocating dates and times to tasks a half-year in advance is not easy. There are so many variables, so many unknowns.


Now that it's done, my plan looks good and it just might work. Unfortunately, I can't pass on any how-to tips because I honestly don't know what I did or how I did it. It was like walking up a black-iced hill in old cowboy boots--which I've done, by the way, and barely lived to tell about it.


There was precious little I could find on the Internet to give a bird's-eye view and help me find a place to put my feet. 


There's plenty on setting goals, of course, but whatever there is on outlining professional freelance writing goals is well hidden. Setting these goals demands a deft touch because of the unique nature of freelance writing. The spectrum is broad and, if you're anything like me, you're trying to move forward in ten areas at once, each of which has its own particular rhythm and requirements. And unreliability.


Writing-World.com offers a series of general articles on the business of writing, which includes a handful on writing plans. If you're wrestling the same octopus, you might find something helpful there.


Finally having a plan written down, even for just the next few months, certainly eases my mind. I'm relaxing now after a hard day of climbing ropes. There's enough time to start checking off boxes.


Tomorrow.

No comments: