by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

As I lay in bed on New Year’s Eve with the first fingers of dawn creeping over the windowsills, my brain scrolled through the many plans I had started mapping out for 2022. I admit, in those early hours, they felt exciting, yet a little daunting. 

I wanted to deepen my relationships with the Lord and with family and friends, lose weight, write more, strengthen my social media presence, declutter my house…the lists continued, awakening me as I wondered how I’d achieve everything. 

2022 hadn’t even started, yet I was looking toward the end already. Talk about overwhelming. I needed to slow the scrolling in my head, take a deep breath, and find my focus. 

I do not believe in making resolutions. Instead, I claim One Word for the year. I also use the My Brilliant Writing Planner to map out a values-based plan for what I hope to achieve. That includes all areas of my life—faith, family, friendships, health, work, etc. 

However, it’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of it all when you’re focusing on the entire picture. 

Over twenty-five years ago, a former pastor asked me, “how do you eat an elephant?” At my shrug, he smiled and said, “one bite at a time.” Now I realize he was paraphrasing Desmond Tutu’s quote, “There is only one way to eat an elephant, a bite at a time.”

For example, the idea of writing a 90,000-word novel can seem daunting to a beginning writer. By breaking it down into bite-sized pieces or smaller goals, though, it can feel more manageable. 

Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals

So, how do you create those bite-sized pieces? 

Personally, I prefer beginning with making S.M.A.R.T. goals:

• S-Specific
  • Is your goal specific?  
  • Make sure your goal is specific and tangible such as wanting to write a 90,000-word novel this year. 
• M-Measurable
  • How will you measure the output of your goal or how you’ll know if you’ve achieved your goal? 
  • For writing, a great way is to determine the number of writing sessions you have each week or each month, then track your word count per writing session. You can see at a glance if you’re on track or if you need to re-evaluate your goal. 
• A-Attainable
  • Is this goal attainable or achievable?
  • Remember—goals need to fit within your lifestyle and abilities. Is this a goal you can achieve by the desired timeframe, or do you need to stretch it out to make it more attainable?

• R-Realistic
  • Is this goal realistic?
  • Have you considered the time and energy it will take to achieve your goal? Is this realistic for the goal itself and for your lifestyle? 
• T-Timely
  • Is your goal timely?
  • Creating starting and ending deadlines for your goals will give you milestones to strive to achieve. By giving yourself a deadline, you’re able to track your progress and maintain your commitment. 
  • Writing a 90,000-word novel is timely as long as you’re created a writing timeline that works best for you. 

Once I establish my S.M.A.R.T. goals for the year, I like to plot out my stories, which helps me to stay on track throughout the year. 

Creating Story Goals

Before I begin plotting, I get to know my characters by using Susan May Warren’s The Story Equation, or the SEQ. This approach to character development helps me to understand my characters from the inside out. That way, I can figure out their external story goals based on their internal motivations and I know how to move them through the story. 

I am a chapter-by-chapter plotter, keeping in mind the necessary story structure needed to bring the character from the moment they step on the page to their happily ever afters. Plotting chapter by chapter provides me with the roadmap I need to lay out the story in my head. 

Creating Writing Session Goals

Once I’ve gotten to know my characters and plotted out their stories, I determine how many writing sessions I need to achieve my goal. Since I write category romance novels that top out at 55,000 words, I generally write sixteen-chapter books. Each chapter has two scenes, most generally a POV scene from my hero and my heroine. I need approximately thirty-two writing sessions to complete the story. I write one scene per day, five days a week, which gives me about six weeks to complete the first draft if I don’t write on the weekends. In addition to growing my writing career, I also work and care for my family. So for my schedule and limited writing time, this process works well for me. 

When it’s time to write, I skim the previous day’s scene so I can refresh my brain with where I left the story. Then I have a better understanding of how I want to move forward.

Managing the Elephant

Even though I’ve simplified this process for the sake of this blog post, it’s what has worked for the last nine novels I’ve written. Eating the elephant does feel daunting, but if you stop focusing on the whole animal and break it down into bite-sized pieces, you’ll be able to persevere with your SMART goals and manage the elephant. Remember to celebrate once you reach your deadline because you accomplished something wonderful. 

How about you? How do you take manageable bites to eat the elephant?

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His Road to Redemption

A veteran in need of a fresh start will get more than he bargained for…

Veteran Micah Holland’s scars go deeper than anyone knows. An inheritance from his mentor could be a new beginning—if he shares the inherited goat farm with fiercely independent Paige Watson. Now the only way they can keep the farm is to work together. But first Micah must prove he’s a changed man to keep his dream and the woman he’s falling for.

Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Cynthia Ruchti of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Her latest book, His Road to Redemption, releases in January 2022. She is the content manager for Novel Academy, powered by My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for over thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys quality family time and being creative with words, photos, fibers, and papers. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.com.