Since giving birth five months ago I have been struggling to get my body and my writing habit back in shape. While browsing magazines and the internet for exercise tips, I realized that these can apply to writing as well.

1. Create a reasonable goal

I continue to fail because I set ridiculously impossible goals, like losing five pounds in one week, writing 4,000 words each day, and finishing my novel in three months.  With a lively 5-month-old in the house I need to figure out a goal that I can manage, like writing one page (about 250 words) each day.

2. Design a program to meet that goal

If I want to lose ten pounds, and a half pound to a pound a week is a reasonable goal, then I work backwards from my goal and create a plan or program that I can follow. For example, if I want a rough draft of a book in one year, I figure out what needs to be done in the course of the year (research, drafting, joining a writing group, attending a conference, etc.) and break this down into small, attainable goals.  Also, by staying focused on one project, I am more likely to achieve my goals than by flitting around between different projects without a final goal in mind.

3. Build up slowly

In weight lifting, if I start with too much weight I will hurt myself, and the prospect can also be daunting.  I’m always put off by the advice to write at least an hour each day, because an hour seems like something I can’t manage to find.  But if I start with five minutes each day, I can slowly build my way up to an hour, by adding a few minutes each week until I meet my goal.

4. Be consistent

My usual writing process consists of setting unreasonably high goals (see above), working like a dog for a few days, then giving up in exhaustion.  I would achieve more by doing a small amount each day.  The effects of exercise and a healthy lifestyle are cumulative, as is writing progress.  By writing a little each day and being consistent, eventually I will have a manuscript.

5. Track (and reward) your progress

A couple of years ago when I was training for a 10k race I created a chart to show my progress in miles.  When I started training I could only run about 1/4 mile at a time, but by the end of twelve weeks I was running six miles without stopping.  By looking at my chart each week I could see that I was making progress.  I like to use a word count widget to keep track of my writing, because it shows how many words I have written, how many I want to write, and what percentage of my goal I have met.

9244 / 60000 words. 15% done!

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