It’s so easy to procrastinate when you’re a writer, to say ‘I’ll do that tomorrow’, or ‘I just don’t feel creative right now’. And the days slip by, and you start to feel that maybe you’re not going to produce anything ever.

Someone who gives me the biggest kick to get moving and write is Marg McAlister with her tip sheets on writing. This week, she sent a great tip sheet about setting writing goals and times. It’s so simple, but sometimes you need someone to point out basic things. Now I have set myself goals – all written down - for each week starting from now, including how much time a day I will spend writing, and what I hope to achieve in the week.

And it’s amazing how much you can get done just by getting organised. This week, I set myself the goal of writing two scenes for my new kids book about the life of a guide dog, finishing a short story for a competition, and researching possible magazine markets. And already, I’ve done one scene for the new book – and I am happy with it! – and put a lot of work into the short story.

My goal now is to keep these goals! I’ve got so many projects to do, and a business to run at the same time!

If you’re feeling stuck and getting nowhere, do what I did. Set yourself goals. Write them down and prioritise them. Then tick them off when you’ve completed them. You’ll feel so much better.

The other challenge I set myself was to find a way of writing about a mundaine subject in an exciting way. That’s such a good writing exercise in itself and a good way to hone your writing skills. Nothing is boring when you’re playing with words and images.   

I’ve been in a bit of a hole lately in terms of my fiction writing. I just can’t think of any ideas for stories. And I’m playing that waiting game that all writers play – I’ve sent off two fiction pieces to magazines and am waiting with my fingers and toes crossed for a reply, an acknowledgement of my hard work and abilities as a writer.

But not hearing back from the magazines is no reflection on the quality of my work. There’s no point having a sulk refusing to keep churning out stuff because “nobody buys it”.   

I just came across a great blog post from Angela Booth. It made me realise one very important thing:

I need to add to my inventory of writing, to extend my goals, and not to sit and wait for pats on the back.

So it’s fingers to the keyboard! Time to diversify, create e-books for kids that are fun and easy to read. Oh, and easy to access. Print media is not the only way to go and it’s time I experienced a bit of the future.

Oh, and another thing that this blog reminded me of – apart from practising writing – is to keep reading. When ideas are slow to come, read in the genre you write in. Get ideas that way. It’s a gem!