http://www.writers-online.co.uk NOVEMBER 2019^63WRITING FOR CHILDREN
- I f you’re doing research for a book, give yourself a
deadline to STOP researching and START writing. If
you find you desperately need to look something up
once you’ve started writing, you can do the odd bit
of research as you go along. - Check out Writing Magazine’s Competition
Guide 2020 for upcoming competition deadlines.
Don’t forget the Picture Book Prize deadline for
submission is 31 October! - Don’t be hard on yourself if you miss a deadline. It
happens because life happens. Just reset the goal
and try again. - Reward yourself when you meet a goal.
- Make sure you allow enough time to recharge and
relax – it’s not only better for your mental health but
also your creativity will flow better. - So the goals don’t stay hidden and forgotten in
a notebook somewhere (we’ve all done this), try
pinning them up somewhere easily visible, such as a
kitchen cupboard door. This will help you be mindful
of your goals.
Top tips for scoring goals
on one piece of writing, or
juggling several?- What is a reasonable goal to set, which
may stretch me, but not stress me? - What do I need to have or do to
achieve these goals? - How can I carve out time to achieve
these goals? - Which goals should I set?
Ultimately, only you can decide your
goals as obviously your writing time
availability and writing interests will
be specific to you. However, if you’re
serious about writing, and carving
out time to write, here are some
suggestions about what you might be
able to achieve:
BY THE END OF OCTOBER:
Getting your name out there. If
you haven’t already, join in the social
media party. Create an account on
Twitter, Instagram or your platform
of choice. Create an author page on
Facebook. Follow children’s fiction
agents and publishers on Twitter.
There is a wealth of information here,
including #askagent, #pbchat (for
picture books), #mgchat (fiction for
ages 8-12), #WednesdayWritingTips,
#FunnyBookChat, #pbparty (for
picture books), #YAchat (for young
adult), #aspiringauthors and #kidlit.
Look at other children’s authors’
websites and look into creating your
own, if you haven’t done so already.
You can do this for free through
content management systems like
Wordpress. If you’re yet to be
published, consider setting up a blog.
Make a list of all your current
ideas and works in progress. This
could include:
- Ideas which you haven’t started
working on. - Stories you’ve started writing but
have become stuck with. - Stories you’ve started writing and are
progressing well with.
Ask yourself what on this list really
fires you up. Is there anything which
really speaks to you at the moment
and you can’t wait to work on?
Although it’s often good to finish off
one project before starting another, if
your current WIP makes you feel like
you’re wading through treacle, either
find what you need to push through
with it or sidestep it for now and try
something else.
Write down the ideal order of
preference for all your ideas. This
isn’t written in stone – it just helps
you prioritise and understand your
current creative passions. Spend time
developing a couple of these ideas to
test them out if needed.4) Hopefully this will result in a clear
focus for November and December.
Can you hammer out an idea? Finish
off that picture book? Write notes for
a potential young fiction series? Can
you write a synopsis? Finish a chapter?
Or finish editing that novel? Can you
plan a list of agents and publishers
to submit to, and know which
order you’re going to do it? What is
achievable for you?5) Be clear about whatever it is you
need to do. Write down your goals.
Give yourself a deadline for where you
want to be by the end of November
and the end of December. Pin these
goals up where you (and other
people!) can’t ignore them.BY THE END OF NOVEMBER:
1) Check on your progress on the
above. Did you find the goals easy to
meet? Did you struggle? Do you need
to adjust or reset your goals for the
end of this month, and consequently,
for the end of December?2) Create some new goals specifically
for November. The danger of only
having long-term goals (eg ‘by the end
of the year’) is that motivation and
application can drift a little. There’s
the problem of, ‘I’ve still got plenty
of time before then.’ Short-term goals
are ideal for keeping focus. Can you
get another chapter written? Can you
research agents and publishers? Write a
cover letter?BY THE END OF DECEMBER:
1) Check on your October and
November goals. Adjust and reset if
necessary, and don’t forget to reward
yourself for the goals you’ve met.2) Decide what you want to achieve
by the end of December, bearing in
mind that celebrations like Christmas,
school holidays and winter illnesses
may slow the writing process down.
Can you finish off a piece of work,even if that’s a website or creating a
Twitter account, or signing up to a
writing course, so you have a real sense
of achieving something by the end of
the year – perhaps something which
has exciting potential to motivate you
as you enter 2020?3) You want to start 2020 with a good
idea of where you’re heading, otherwise
January can drift a little. Make a long-
term wish list for 2020. Where do you
want to be ideally by this time next
year? Don’t worry too much about
creating a time-specific plan at this
stage but try thinking more generally.
Do you want to significantly improve
your craft? Do you want to find an
agent? Do you want to get your book
self-published? Be thinking about what
you need to reach that goal and write
down some thoughts. This will start
preparing you for January and the
exciting year ahead.
By making goals and sticking to
them as best you can, you stand
a better chance of moving your
writing forwards. Stay motivated, stay
organised, stay focused, and you’ll be
surprised what you can achieve.