Plan Your 2023 Writing Schedule!

Plan Your 2023 Writing Schedule!

As a new author, there are a few things that I’ve learned over the years of being a writer. Years were separated by “I didn’t write anything” and “I actually got some writing done”. What was the difference between the empty years when I stared at the same blank document for months, and the fruitful years when my document steadily grew longer and longer with content?

The difference was a plan.

If you write books, you might be familiar with the terms plotter and pantser. The former is a notebook hoarder that feverishly pre-writes ideas of scenes in the pages before typing them out in their document. The latter has fingers that never leave the keyboard and their thoughts just fly out from brain to page.

But a plan is for both plotter and pantser (or discovery writer if you will). As the new year approaches, I’m of the mind that everyone needs a planner, whether it’s a tiny, simple pamphlet with 20 pages or the Purposeful Planner beast that I buy to plan my every waking moment. Or at the very least, a piece of paper to organize your thoughts. Sometimes you just need to look at the plan before you mete it out, like a builder with a simple sketch before he goes into the finer points of a blueprint. So, what do you do first?

Plan Your Writing Projects

The very first thing you should do is plan your writing projects.

If you are a blogger, you would plan your blog content.

If you are a novelist, you would plan your future books. As an author, I think about what I can fit on my plate. Don’t be unreasonable and plan to write ten books in one year. Some people can do it, but if you’ve never written that amount of content before, don’t set yourself up for failure. For example, it takes me about six months to write a book from First Draft to Publish. Therefore, I can safely say that I can at maximum write two books to completion this year.

Once you have your project ideas in order (the builder’s sketch), you will need to delve in a little deeper for fine-tuning the details (the builder’s blueprint).

Plan Your Writing Schedule

This is where a planner comes in handy.

Monthly Plan

Let’s say that you decide you want to outline a book that’s been in your head for years. It takes me about two weeks to completely outline and brainstorm, so set a timeline for yourself on the “to-do” side of your monthly planner. Next, you’ll need to give yourself a certain period of time to write the rough draft. For most authors, depending on the length of the book, this takes the most time, anywhere from 1 month to 6 months (or more!). In the margins, I like to write out which chapters I would like to complete by the end of the month.

For example, in January, my “to-do” list margin would look a lot like this:

• Brainstorm/Outline
• First Draft
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5

Daily Plan

In the daily squares, I like to write down the scene(s) that I’m writing that day, and it helps keep me accountable.

You can also do a Pomodoro method of timing yourself for writing sprints to get more done. I try to set aside a few hours a day for writing, but honestly, I think doing writing sprints will be something I do more of this year. You can learn more about the Pomodoro method with writing here.

But remember, even if you only write just a sentence a day, that’s okay.

Have Fun With It

Finally, whether or not you meet your monthly goals, just have fun planning it. Don’t put too much on your plate and back yourself into a corner; use your plans as sign posts in the distance. There were several months this year that I had to move my goals to the next month. But that’s okay! I still knew where I was aiming, and now I have proof that these months are usually when I have the least time for projects (I’m looking at you November and December).

I hope this article helps you! If you’re in the mood for a nice, long video where you can work on your 2023 writing projects, I recommend this video on HeartBreathings where author Sarra Cannon shows you how she plans her writing year.

Happy Writing!

-Tanya