With a manageable weekly goal, you’ll be able to strive toward a specific page/word count by the end of that week. The key, though, is to set a realistic goal. Many writers beat themselves up for not meeting a goal that was rather grand and out of their scope to begin with. This isn’t healthy.

Set a goal you know you can meet. Then tack on an additional 10% to that page/word count to give yourself a bit of a challenge, which is always good practice. I can usually write 1,000 – 2,000 words in a single day. For a week, that could be 7,000 – 14,000 words if I write every day and reach those word counts. Incredible, right? And that’s not even tacking on the extra 10% to give myself a push.

In the beginning, it will be difficult to write every day and meet your goal, but if you stick to it and DON’T GIVE UP, it’ll become easier. Believe it or not, eventually your daily/weekly Writing goals will suddenly seem too easy. Yes, really.

If something crops up that makes it impossible for you to write one day, or even a few days in a row, that is okay. I’ll say it again…THAT IS OKAY! Don’t punish yourself for not writing because of other responsibilities. Some days, you may only be able to write a hundred words. If that happens, pat yourself on the back, because although your day was crazy or you were mentally exhausted, you still WROTE.

There’s actually a wonderful challenge called 100 Words for 100 Days, which is exactly how it sounds. You aim to write at least 100 words a day for 100 days. You can share your progress and journey on social media and use the hashtag #100Wordsfor100Days.

Here are some tips for breaking down goals:

1. Breaking Down Goals

Setting monthly goals can help us reach our yearly goal.

Setting weekly goals can help us get to that monthly goal.

Setting daily goals can help us complete our weekly goal.

2. Write a Chapter a Week

For a book with 25 chapters, writing a chapter a week would have you finishing in about 6 months. If you're able to write more some weeks, you'll finish sooner.

Thinking about writing one chapter a week is a lot less daunting than telling yourself you need to finish your book in X amount of time. Remember, manageable goals. Goals that won't stress you out.

Since chapter lengths vary. They can be long (20 pages) or short (5 pages). They can even be longer or shorter depending on the story.

No cheating by having a bunch of tiny chapters, though. Something needs to happen in that chapter. Check out Dan Brown. He's a pro at exciting, short chapters.

TIP: Plotting out the story helps, even a little plotting helps if you’re a pantser. The key is to always know what you need to write next. So, plot out a chapter at a time. You can do this before the start of each new week.

3. Daily Goals

With a weekly goal, you can devise a daily goal, such as to meet a specific word count.

Your daily goal will depend on you and any time constraints you have. I aim for 1,000 words a day. It changes, though, as it should. Some days I write more, some days I write less. Both are fantastic. Any words written should be celebrated.

TIP: Add a treat to help you reach your goal. Something you can look forward to at the end of each day or at the end of the week.

One of my daily treats at the end of a long day is a nice, hot bath. At the end of a hard-working week, I give myself a movie weekend. All that matters is that the prize is rewarding to you.