How to Set Writing Goals You Can Actually Keep

We’re halfway through the year. For a few of you (especially if you’re a member of my writing community), that means you’re probably about half way to the writing goal you set for 2026. But most of you didn’t even set goals, because what’s the point, right? You just started writing and hoped it would add up to something by year’s end.

If that’s you, the start of a new quarter is a good time to pause and ask: What do I actually want for my writing this year?

But here’s the thing. Before you answer that question, I want to invite you to start somewhere else entirely.

Start By Looking Back Honestly

Before you dream up anything new, take a long look at what you have accomplished since January 1.

Not what you meant to do. Not what you should have done. What actually happened.

If you write in Scrivener, go to Project -> Writing History to see how many words you wrote day-by-day, month-by-month. If you don’t use Scrivener, your calendar can tell you almost as much. Which days did you actually write? Which weeks fell apart? Were there months where the momentum disappeared?

This part is uncomfortable on purpose. We can’t set honest goals if we don’t first understand what we are dealing with: surgeries, family emergencies, work deadlines, or sometimes just plain avoidance. Some of you may have started the year with big plans and found they slowly shrank as time went on. Some of you may have surprised yourself with consistency you didn’t expect. Both pieces of information matter.

The point isn’t shame. The point is clarity. You can’t plan forward when you’re avoiding what actually happened in the past.

Dream Before You Do the Math

And here’s where most writers get stuck. They skip straight into planning mode and bypass the dreaming entirely.

Don’t do that.

Set a timer. Give yourself three minutes (honestly, just three) to write down where you’d love to be with your writing by the end of the year. Or by September. Or by next spring. Don’t worry too much about whether it’s realistic. Don’t pull up your calendar yet. Just dream on the page.

This step matters because it’s the only part of the process that comes from you instead of your circumstances. The rest of what we’re about to do is practical. It’s math. And math is usually a little brutal. But first consider the dream. That’s what reminds you why you’re doing this in the first place.

Match Your Goals to Your Actual Life

Now comes the honest work.

Describe your ideal writing week. How many sessions? Which days? How many hours? Get specific.

Now, look at the time you actually have before the end of the year (or whenever your goal is aimed at). Count the weeks. Consider the days. Subtract the ones you know will be disrupted by vacations, family events, or work travel. Then subtract a couple more for the unexpected things that always show up. Get a count of how many hours you can realistically expect to spend writing. 

Then do the math. 

If you’re in first draft mode, divide your word count goal by your available hours and think about whether it feels like something you can do. Five hundred words an hour is doable for most writers. Five thousand an hour is a fantasy. 

If you’re revising (which most of us are most of the time), set hourly goals instead of word count goals. Revision is unpredictable, but the more you do this, the more you’ll get a sense of how long any given revision will take and you can plan accordingly. 

The goal isn’t to be too ambitious. The goal is to be honest (and appropriately ambitious given your life circumstances).

Treat Your Goals as a Push, Not a Permanent Life Change

Speaking of ambition, now’s the time to consider how hard you want to push. 

If you’re currently logging five hours of writing in a week and you want to reach eight, you don’t have to commit to eight hours forever. You’re committing to eight hours for the next six months (or three, or ten). After that, you can decide whether to keep going or pull back.

That framing makes a harder goal much easier to sit with.

It also makes space for tools like the at-home writing retreat. If you’ve been falling short of your weekly hours, a single weekend where you put away the phone, hide somewhere quiet, and write for ten uninterrupted hours can pull you right back on track. You don’t have to maintain that forever. You just need it to be true for a day or two.

You Can Pause But Keep Going

And if you’re partway through this next quarter and your goal isn’t working, you don’t have to abandon it.

You can adjust. You can ask for support. You can decide that this next stretch is going to be smaller than you hoped, and the rest of the year might be bigger. You can pause, regroup, and keep going.

Look Back and Plan Forward

Setting writing goals work best when they’re honest, specific, and held loosely. Look back at what actually happened. Dream about what’s possible. Do the math. Make the commitment. Adjust as you go.

Then sit down at the end of this quarter, and at the end of the year, and do it again. Start by telling yourself the truth about what really happened. That’s where the next round of progress starts.

If you’d like a bit of company while you move toward your goals, the Mindful Writing Community is built around exactly this kind of steady, accountable push. Show up to a few sessions, write alongside other writers, and let the structure carry you when motivation doesn’t. Come take a look. No pressure, just presence.