Plan Your Year: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #52

The most successful nonfiction writers know the value of planning. Whether you are writing a blog post, an essay, an article, or a book, planning is necessary. But you must plan your writing career as well.

To become a successful writer, you need a one-year plan as well as three- and five-year plans. You want to take a long-term or big-picture approach to creating successful authorship. This process is no different than that used by a start-up company; entrepreneuers look to the future and create success markers.

Today’s prompt asks you to do just that. But think outside the box…and outside just writing and publishing. It takes more—such as personal growth—to create a successful career as a writer.

How to Complete Nonfiction Writing Prompt #52

To complete this writing prompt, follow these three steps:

1. Decide what you wan to accomplish in the next 12 months.

Think big and broad…beyond writing a book.

• What will you write?
• What will you publish?
• What will you launch?
• What type of impact will you create?

2. Break your goals down into three-month increments.

It’s important to “chunk” your year-long goals into smaller, more do-able pieces. These become part of your plan but you work on each little piece to help you get to the bigger whole.

What will you accomplish in each quarter of the year? What tasks will get you closer to completing your goal by this time next year?

3. Plan for your own personal growth.

Focusing on your  personal development gives you the ability to achieve your goals faster and more efficiently.

Sometimes we need to grow to help ourselves accomplish our goals. And these personal growth goals can mean the difference between success and failure when it comes to goal achievement.

So answer these questions and use you answers to create goals that are for you…to reach your potential.

• What will you learn this year?
• What skills will you master?
• How will you change or move closer to becoming your best self?
• Who do you need to become to 10x your success?

4. Look at each goal and determine what three things might stop you from achieving it.

What would stop you from starting or completing that goal?

Now brainstorm three ways to approach that challenge so it does not stop you from succeeding. In other words, prepare for the challenges ahead so they become opportunities to succeed…anyway.

5. Build a longer-term plan for goal achievement.

At this stage of your planning process, you can rinse and repeat to create a longer-term plan. Go through the same four-step exercise to create a three-year goal and a five-year goal plan. You can even plan for 10 years into the future.

Big-picture planning increases your chances of success.

6. Read your goals daily and visualize them as complete.

Millions of people use visualization to help them overcome self-doubt, prepare to achieve their desires, and succeed.

As you read your goals and then visualize your success, allow yourself to feel what that will be like. Imagine it using all five senses. Or even journal about it.

I like to write out a vision statement starting 12 months into the future and looking back—as if it were December 31 and I am recounting—and reliving—my successes. Try that! See how it works for you.