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Many of you might be contemplating what you want your New Year's resolution to be and how you want to develop and improve your writing practice in the new year. So today, I want to give you five very practical and achievable writing goals that you can confidently set for yourself for the new year, specifically centered around how to strengthen your skills as a writer and storyteller.

Now, a quick spoiler alert: the goals are not going to be things like finish your book, get a book deal, or get your book published, because everyone is on a different pace for these huge achievements, and I don't want you to set a writing goal only to feel disappointed and upset if you're unable to meet it.

Today, I'm going to focus on writing goals I guarantee you can accomplish this year to help improve your practice — because I know there's nothing worse than setting a goal or New Year's resolution that you ultimately can't keep.

1. Read a New Release in Your Genre

I speak with so many authors who are interested in publishing their books but can't name a book that they've read in their genre that has been published in the past five years. I strongly believe that it's very helpful for you to read widely in your genre, and not just classic, canonical works by authors that inspired you decades ago, but by debut authors who are publishing now.

Read books by authors that you're not familiar with yet because, after all, this is the publishing landscape that you're entering — not the publishing of yesteryear or publishing from decades before when all of your favorite books might have been published. It's important for you as an author entering this landscape to understand what is resonating with contemporary readers and get to know what your cohort of other authors publishing in this space to this audience is like.

In general, reading is one of the best ways to improve your own storytelling abilities because seeing what techniques and tactics other authors are using only helps you have a larger arsenal of tools and tactics you can use in your own stories. This isn't about copying, but simply learning how others are doing the craft and how you can take those learnings and spin them in a fresh way in your own work.

2. Change Up Your Writing Routine

The new year presents the perfect opportunity for you to try a totally different approach to your writing practice and see how it potentially works for you, especially if your previous writing routine was falling flat and you weren't as productive as you wanted to be. This is a great chance for you to revamp it and see what happens.

For example, if you typically write for an hour in the early morning, maybe set a writing goal to write at night instead and see what happens, or vice versa. Or you could change up where you write; if you typically write at your home office or at a desk in your home, maybe change it up and write at a coffee shop or a co-working space. Or you could change up the structure of your writing routine. Maybe you typically sit down for an hour to write, but instead, you break that up into two 30-minute sessions.

Changing up your routine, not just in writing but in life in general, can work wonders for your creativity and unlock something in your mind that re-energizes you and gives you inspiration. Plus, you might find that you like this new writing routine way better than your old one. On the flip side, if it doesn't work for you, there's no harm in going back to what your old writing routine was.

3. Exchange Feedback

Reading another writer's work critically and compiling constructive feedback for them can really help you develop your editorial sensibilities and even help you illuminate strategies to use in your own work in progress. In providing someone else feedback, you have to put on your editor cap and figure out why something isn't working for you and offer suggestions on how they might improve it.

I recommend setting a writing goal to either offer to read someone's work in progress or do an exchange where you both critique each other's work. This could be someone from an in-person writing group or someone from an online writing community. I’ve found that many writers are looking for beta readers, so if you are, make it one of your writing goals this year to make those connections.

Now, it's very important that you're not critical about someone's work just for the sake of being critical or just because you set the goal of giving someone critique. You need to be helpful, honest, and thoughtful in your approach and make sure that you are only giving feedback to someone who is explicitly asking for it.

Ideally, you will set up an exchange in which you are also receiving feedback on your writing, which is so critical to developing your work. That said, you might not be at the stage yet where you're ready to receive feedback, and that's totally fine. But if you are at the stage of being ready to receive feedback on your work in progress, absolutely go for it. It is such a critical part of the writing process, no matter how many books you write, and it is essential to developing your own particular craft and understanding areas for your own improvement.

4. Devour Craft Resources

If you want to be a stronger writer in the new year, I recommend putting together some continuing education for yourself regarding your craft. You know how some jobs require that you take continuing education courses? Apply this to your own writing practice.

If you have the inclination to join a writing course or workshop or apply for a retreat or a residency, absolutely go for it. But if you don't have the means or the desire to invest in those types of settings, you can still work to develop your craft simply by consuming free writing resources, of which there are so many online (including, of course, my archive of YouTube content).

5. Tell Someone You’re a Writer

The final writing goal I want you to set for yourself is to tell someone you're a writer. Many authors who are newer in their career really struggle to voice that they are a writer to their friends, family, loved ones, and strangers. So, if you haven't actually presented yourself as a writer externally, make this the year that you do, because I really believe that this declaration is going to boost your confidence in your abilities and capacity as a storyteller. And it's going to help you and those around you take your craft more seriously, which you and they absolutely should.

Remember that if you write, you are a writer. It doesn't matter if you earn zero income from your writing or if you write full-time to much success. It doesn't matter if you write just occasionally or if you write every single day. It doesn't matter if you're published or not. You're still a writer.

I hope this gave you some inspiration and ideas for writing goals you can set and achieve in the new year. Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!

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