Systems, Not Goals

The Problem

You have big plans. You’ve visualized a stunning career as an author, but you’re still just yourself. How do you begin to fill in the vision?

The Forces Involved

Goals have a limited amount of usefulness.

Small, concrete goals are excellent tools. They give you direction: “I need to finish this story by this date.” That’s achievable, with clear action steps and clear outcomes.

But once you’ve checked off the goal, what next?

Larger goals are necessarily more vague. “Become a published author” has a nice ring to it, and with some work you can break it down into smaller, more concrete steps: write a book, edit it, format it, get a cover, publish it. But taken as a whole, it’s daunting, and just as likely to put you off from the task. And once you actually finish your first book and publish it, then what?

Therefore:

The Solution

Don’t set big, vague goals. Instead, build small, concrete, interlocking systems. In this sense, “systems” are processes that produce predictable results.

Instead of setting a goal of becoming a published author, become a writer who regularly produces publishable stories. Every pattern in this book is a little system that interlocks with other systems to begin that process of transforming yourself into a writer who regularly writes publishable stories.

Your writing habit is a system that produces words.

Story structures like The Dent are systems for organizing words into entertaining stories.

A writer’s group is a system for encouraging and being encouraged by other writers, building each other up to become better writers.

An important part of building your writing system will be educating yourself about writing. Make space in your schedule to read other books about the craft, especially about those aspect of writing that you know you need to improve.

Next Steps

• Pick a pattern from this book to apply to your writing habit this week.
• Find and read another book about a specific aspect of your writing that you need to improve.