Expectations vs Reality: How to Write More by Writing Less

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In one year, I want to have my book picked up by a big 5 publisher and be working on my second book.

This is a comment I’ve heard from more than one writer on more than one occasion. And while wilder things have happened, I often hear this statement from people who are struggling to find the time to finish the first half of their book.

Goals are important, especially for creatives who are more likely to be driven by their internal muse. But sometimes, our goals can create disillusionment — classic expectations vs reality.

Our dreams can become so grand that as we try to catch up, we fall farther behind. The deeper we get into a project, the more we see the holes in our original plan and don’t know where to go from there.

But often the way forward is to take a step back.

Reset Your Expectations

What you’re doing isn’t working. 

The word count you’re hoping to hit every day becomes one more frustration in the process.

Your protagonist falls apart around page 57, and the more you write, the cloudier they become.

Research and interviews are taking you much longer than you originally anticipated. 

But you set a goal, and you have to stick with it, right?

Wrong.

Maybe you feel like you’re letting yourself or other people down because you’re not hitting the mark.

What’s better: To admit you need to reevaluate your plan or to continue to not meet your original goal?

Chances are you, you need to scale way back.

Cut the word count in half. Give yourself a smaller chunk of the book to work on. 

And as you scale back, add time to the calendar. Give yourself more time to do outside research. Expand your writing time every day.

Time constraints can be a useful tool, but if your issue is not having enough time, give yourself that.

There is no rule saying you have to complete a chapter, section or book in an allotted time (minus an expectation by an editor or publisher). But the more you know your writing habits and how to tweak expectations, the better chance you have of going into a writing project with realistic expectations.

Things will go wrong, and they will both take longer and shorter than you expected them to complete.

Remember this is your project, and the only one who can reset goals and expectations is you.

Allow the Expectations to Change

It’s hard to reset expectations when you’ve decided that this is the way something will be. But the wise writer knows when to push forward and when to step back.

If your page count is a little short one week, it happens. But if your page count has been consistently low for 7 weeks, it’s time to make a change.

Allow yourself and your writing the ability to adapt to new circumstances, while continuing to write forward. A little bit of progress is better than trying to write 5 pages a day and coming up short. You’re in this for the long haul, so give yourself grace when short term roadblocks come up. 

You will regain your momentum. Page counts will increase, and you may very well finish your book ahead of schedule. But give yourself the space to reset and remember, it’s about progress, not perfection, and you’re doing better than you think.