by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com
When you see other writers posting about their daily word counts or announcing their latest book deals, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind some invisible timeline. But there’s no universal schedule for writing success, and trying to catch up to some imaginary standard is a fast track to burnout (I’ve been there).
Your Life Circumstances Are Valid Writing Constraints
Maybe you’re caring for aging parents, managing a demanding day job, or raising kids who need your attention. Perhaps you’re dealing with health issues, financial stress, or any of the countless challenges that make up real life. These aren’t excuses for not writing enough; they’re the actual conditions under which you’re creating. Writing around caregiving responsibilities or squeezing in pages between work meetings doesn’t make you less of a writer. It makes you someone who writes despite having a full, complicated life.
Start From Where You Actually Are Today
Forget about where you think you should be in your writing journey. Maybe you haven’t touched your manuscript in six months, or you’ve been planning to start that novel for three years. That’s your starting point, not a deficit to overcome. Instead of setting ambitious goals to make up for lost time, choose something manageable for your current reality. Write one paragraph this week. Open your document and read the last page you wrote. Send one query letter this month. Small actions from where you actually are beat grand plans that ignore your real circumstances.
Set Goals That Account for Your Real Schedule
If you can realistically write for twenty minutes twice a week, don’t set a goal of writing daily. If you’re in a particularly busy season with work or family, maybe your writing goal is simply to think about your characters during your commute. Goals that fit your actual life create momentum and success. Goals that ignore your constraints create guilt and frustration when you inevitably can’t meet them. There’s no prize for setting the most ambitious targets, only for making consistent progress within your means.
Reject the Myth of Constant Productivity
Social media shows us highlights, not the full picture of other writers’ lives. That author posting daily word counts might not mention their three-week writing drought last month. The writer celebrating a book deal probably won’t share their years of rejections or the family support that made their schedule possible. Comparing your behind-the-scenes reality to someone else’s public victories creates unnecessary pressure to produce at levels that might not be sustainable for your situation.
Celebrate Progress That Fits Your Life
Maybe this year you managed to finish a short story between caring for a sick family member. Or you finally figured out your protagonist’s motivation during stolen moments at lunch breaks. Perhaps you wrote three chapters while dealing with a job transition, or you completed your first draft over two years of weekend mornings. These achievements deserve recognition, not comparison to faster timelines. Progress is progress, regardless of pace.
Your writing journey doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s. The goal isn’t to catch up—it’s to keep moving forward from wherever you happen to be standing today, at whatever pace your life allows.
What’s one small writing step you can take from exactly where you are right now?
Set goals that fit your reality, not some imaginary timeline. Progress is progress: Share on X