Create A Writing Plan
February 6, 2007 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Several days ago, Lisa Gates, writing coach and creator of Design Your Writing Life, commented about creating a writing plan. I asked her for more information and she responded with this:
Thanks for the invitation to blab, Anne, and I think you probably do have a plan…I just may not have phrased things very well.
If you are a “declared” writer (I don’t mean famous or even published here) it is important to acknowledge that you are in business for yourself. As an entrepreneur, then, how would your business plan look? What are the elements? In this model, we typically flesh out things like vision, mission, objectives, strategies and plans. (I know those odious screaming banshee words are hideous to many writers, including me).
So if your mission is to build a thriving copywriting business, one of your objectives might be to generate $25,000 in 2007 writing copy for websites.
To achieve that objective, one of your plans might be to identify 10 potential web-based resources for articles on your area of expertise. Another objective might be to generate a subscription-based newsletter via your website.
The overall point here is that some of the opportunities we sieze as credible and worthy can often be big fat distractions in disguise. But if we can hold up these opportunities to the light and scrutiny of our plan, we’ll be better able to distinguish whether it’s a good use of our energy and talent or not. Will it feed the plan or keep me hungry?
I came to this through my own stupid mistakes, but also in working with coaching clients who are not writers. We work so much in the beginning to discover core values, and work toward truing up our values with our actions. So if we are writers with a vision and a plan (core values + commitments) and we find ourselves running a dog grooming business…hmmm…we’ve just gone astray of our whole big idea.
This was incredibly hard work for me as I love to fly by the seat of my pants, put the cart before the horse, etc. But to honor the fact that I value my marriage, my son, my health, etc., I had to come up with a plan that served my writing life and my WHOLE life as well.
What are your thoughts?
My thoughts are I agree entirely… which is why I brought this comment forward to make it a blog entry… Thanks Lisa; wise words indeed!
Write well and often
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We also have to remember that a plan is a roadmap and not a prison; we have to be ready to modify it when necessary.
Anne,
Thanks so much for your generosity. I feel like I’m a kid and somebody’s just knocked on the door and said, “Can you come out and play?”
Lisa
Anne, thanks for sharing Lisa’s words with us! What a great wake-up call. I like the planning, which is the step we often forget. Terrific brain dump! I hope she comes back with more.
Geez, I should improvise more often…
I wrote another one yesterday you all might like about using basic acting skills to get at your character’s authentic voice. Love to have your thoughts on that.
Gratitude,
Lisa
http://intrinsiclifedesign.squarespace.com/scaffolding/2007/2/5/5-acting-tips-to-nix-the-writerly-voice-and-find-your-characters-voice.html
Hmmm . . . creating a mission statement . . . I’d never thought about doing that before. I’d accepted them as part of business, but not for my personal business of writing.
If you develop a mission statement or define the type of client you want let us know.
Fail to plan….plan to fail. I know that is an old adage but I like Devon’s description of planning better.
You can’t get anywhere by sitting on the porch.