When I was growing up, it wasn’t the calendar that structured my life. It was school. August or September felt like the start of the year, May the end. School was great about providing structure in many ways. Your day, semester, and year were mapped out for you. There were teachers who gave assignments, and your job was simply to do as well as you could on the assignment in front of you. The bell rang, you went to the next class. It was pretty simple.
Finding direction as an adult is much harder, and that’s doubly true for writers. No one can tell you what to do next because there is no one path for a writer to take. Each career looks different. Some writers have formal education, others don’t. Some get published as teenagers, others not until their 70s or 80s. When starting a new project, all you have is a blank page, and infinite combinations of words to fill it.
For adults, outside of the bounds of the school year, January is that blank page. It’s a perfect time to set yourself up for success in the next year of your life as a writer, but what does that entail? How can you plan your life as a writer when the writing life has a way of resisting any attempt at a plan?
Writers often identify as “plotters” (those who outline in advance) or “pantsers” (those who write by the seat of their pants). I am an avowed plotter, so I know a thing or two about making a plan. For me, the immense and amorphous task of writing is more manageable when I break it down into concrete parts. Here are some ways to apply that thinking to your writing year ahead:
- Plan at least one project you want to write. This may seem obvious, but if you start the year thinking “I want to end this year with a finished first draft of my screenplay about teenage girls colonizing the moon,” you are more likely to end the year with a finished draft than if you simply think “I want to write this year!” Be specific with your goals. Even if you get halfway through Moon Teens and realize it’s not your story to tell, you will probably accomplish more actual writing than if all you have is that old blank page. You may have a million ideas—most writers do. Just pick one and get started. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Writing begets writing. Once the creative juices are flowing, everything becomes easier.
- Plan your writing process. Setting a goal that you want to write is a necessary first step, but if you don’t think about how you’ll achieve that goal, you may never get anywhere. Identify barriers to your productivity, and brainstorm ways to overcome them. Do you struggle to find time to write? Plan to set your alarm twenty minutes earlier so you can get a bit done every morning, or schedule a week when you can leave town for a writing retreat. Is your home environment not conducive to concentration? Look at your budget so you can afford regular trips to the coffee shop, if that’s your writing happy place. Are you juggling writing with family? Talk to your partner about how you can share childcare duties to give yourself an extra hour or two a week of alone time. Small adjustments applied consistently over time can make a huge difference.
- Plan your content consumption. Take advantage of post-holiday sales to stock up on books. Subscribe to an online magazine whose work you respect. Jot down the names of shows and movies you’ve heard about that interest you. That way, when you have free time, you’re more likely to fill it with something enriching than mindless scrolling.
- Plan your writing calendar. Look ahead for conferences, screenings, workshops, readings, mixers, etc. that you want to attend. Subscribe to the newsletters for organizations of interest in your community so you can learn about events when they come up. Having markers to look forward to throughout your writing year is energizing and motivating. That conference happening in a few months? Perfect deadline to have your script polished and an elevator pitch ready to go.
And lastly, one for the pantsers…
- Plan to break all your plans. Even writers who outline meticulously may realize mid-draft that they need to entirely rethink their plot or protagonist. The same is true when planning your writing year. Life will always find ways to upset your plans, so be flexible. If you start working on one project but a new idea comes along that you can’t stop thinking about, follow that energy and write what feels fresh and undeniable. If work or family obligations get in the way of your writing flow, look for new options to find time to write, but give yourself grace and take a break if you need to. And embrace the opportunities and inspirations that present themselves. The unpredictability of the writing path can make it frustrating but also beautiful.
Now go face that blank page—may your 2025 be filled with words!
Sarah Archer’s debut novel, The Plus One, was published by Putnam in the US and received a starred review from Booklist. It has also been published in the UK, Germany, and Japan, and is currently in development for television. As a screenwriter, she has developed material for MTV Entertainment, Snapchat, and Comedy Central. She is a Black List Screenwriting Lab fellow who has placed in competitions including the Motion Picture Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship and the Tracking Board’s Launch Pad. Her short stories and poetry have been published in numerous literary magazines, and she has spoken and taught on writing to groups in several states and countries. She is also a co-host of the award-winning Charlotte Readers Podcast. You can find her online at saraharcherwrites.com.