It’s April already? Now that the first quarter of the year is in the bag, it’s time to start dialing up the effort. In fact, over the next few months, I plan on writing a lot in terms of books and blog posts. That’s because I am determined to shatter personal records this year.
It all comes down to time management and taking yourself seriously.
You can’t sit around waiting for great things to happen. You need to take action, such as identifying your weaknesses and taking steps to rectify them. It might take a bit of soul searching, but it’s worth every moment if it guides you to make massive positive changes in your life.
Do you want it badly enough to do something about it?
What’s the Writing Plan for April?
I am constantly challenging myself to be better. Whether it’s focusing on not doomscrolling and wasting time or learning more about my craft, there is always a goal or challenge in play. That’s because I would rather grow as a creator than sit stagnant.
These challenges are not just for me, though. You can use them as a guide to create your own or try to follow along as best you can. The idea is to be better today than you were yesterday.
We’re not competing, but more of sharing our successes. And I’d love to hear about yours. Feel free to leave a comment about your goals, challenges, and hurdles you’ve overcome.
So, what can we do to make April a great month for writing?
Time Management Goals
Ever since focusing more on time management, things have been working well. While I still have a bit to go before I can call it a “mastered” technique, just cutting out diversions and time sinks has made a massive difference this year.
My goal is to hit 88% efficiency. What that means is that I am utilizing 88% of a 64-hour work week. That includes my writing clients, school, and being a part-time home health care provider.
I know…it sounds like an awful lot. But in reality, I don’t view a lot of what I do as “work” anyway. Writing is fun and therapeutic for me, and I often would rather write than play games. So, 88% of 64 hours is quite simple.
Why haven’t I done this before if I love writing so much? A big part of that is because of doomscrolling or procrastination. You can love something, but still sidetrack yourself with random things until it’s too late.
This is part of identifying your weaknesses that I mentioned earlier. What used to happen is that I’d take the dog out for a walk and smoke a bit of my cigar while scrolling through social media. Instead of a five to ten-minute potty break, it winds up chewing away 30 minutes or so. Do that several times a day and it adds up quickly.
The goal for April is to cut away all of those wasteful things and focus on what matters most to me. That includes family, which may cause the percentage to drop. But I would rather interact with those I love more than anything.
All Blogs On a Routine Schedule
I’ve been working on getting my four major blogs on a routine schedule for months. I was doing relatively well with WriterSanctuary until Google sucked the wind out of my sails with AI Overviews.
I lost almost 70% of my traffic overnight because of AI-generated answers instead of people actually visiting the sites.
Well, I changed my mentality a bit. I’ll still do what I can to make the Google algorithm and AI Overviews happy. However, I am focusing more on those who follow this blog, as well as the other sites.
Anyway, the idea is to give followers and subscribers regularly published content. Supposedly, regularly published content also helps with SEO, but it’s difficult to see that nowadays.
The plan is to write and publish the pieces a week in advance. That way, I’m not stressing each day to meet a publishing deadline. I have an entire week or so before it’s “due” on the site.
How many posts should you publish each week? That depends on a lot of factors, really. Audience, topics, niche, and time will all play a role in how often you should publish. But if you’re new to blogging, I suggest starting with one per week and working your way up. Find your perfect baseline for what you can consistently handle in a week.
Finishing My Next Book, Fury
I am about a chapter and a half from finishing Fury, the next book in the Witcham series. Currently, the goal is to write at least 30 minutes per day until it’s done, which should be sometime this month.
Now, a half hour might not sound like a lot of time, but keep in mind that I am also balancing a lot of other projects at the moment. And if I am consistent with time management, everything will work out smoothly.
I want to finish Fury before we start the 30-Day Book Challenge in May. I don’t want to leave partially written manuscripts everywhere. I want to get it done, hand it off to first round beta readers, and start planning the sequel to Shadows of Atlantic City in the meantime.
My tentative goal for Fury is about 115,000 words. But I write until the story is told, which means it could be more or less. So, we’ll have to see if I can get Fury done by April 25th. As long as it’s done before May 16th, I’ll be a happy camper.
How do I intend to write for 30 minutes per day? Well, I’ve decided to run writing sprints Monday through Friday on the YouTube channel. I get a lot done during those sprints, and I could use the watch time. Even if no one watches, I am still ultra productive. So, they’re greatly beneficial.
Then, on the weekends, I’ll set an alarm or something to remind me to write for 30 minutes in the book.
YouTube On a Routine Schedule
I love making videos to help people, but I haven’t been the most consistent with uploading. Again, a lot of that falls on wasting too much time or procrastinating. And like the blog content, if I maintain a good flow for time, I can easily get more videos uploaded.
Why the push for video content? Because I make more money on YouTube from ads and sponsorships. This is in addition to being able to reach twice as many people who need help with writing and blogging.
In reality, YouTube is probably the best chance I have of generating enough income to hire help.
The plan is to upload three per week to discuss everything from reviewing writing products to talking about character development and dialogue in a manuscript. I’m also setting aside time to create a free WordPress course that will use video content.
It only takes about two to two and a half hours per video. This is pretty much the only thing that I can’t do during a writing sprint. So, I am confident I’ll have time to make them throughout the week.
The videos for ColoradoPlays should be super easy, though. They are faceless videos with gameplay in the background, talking about topics and reviews. The Crossing Colorado content will be a bit more involved, but I have a few folks willing to help on that front.
Preparation for May’s 30-Day Book Challenge
Starting in May, I am hosting a 30-day writing challenge for anyone who wants to be involved. Essentially, we’re taking an image and writing a story based on what is seen. It’s a practice for inspiration from imagery. And I’d like as many people to join as possible.
I’m still working on the details, but essentially, we’ll have a sign-up form for those who want to participate, sharing their online writing pages. This includes Wattpad, Inkitt, AO3, or even Medium and Vocal accounts. The idea is to help promote authors, especially the newer ones.
I want this to go off without a hitch, so I am spending some time this month working out the details.
In my case, I am buying a pre-made book cover, outlining the story, and then writing the entire 75,000-word manuscript in 30 days. And I’m doing all of this without the use of generative AI.
The challenge is going to be live throughout the entire month, showing that authors can write a book in 30 days without “artificial intelligence.”
I’ll market the challenge across everything as we get closer to May 16th. So, keep an eye out on the blog, YouTube channel, and social media if you’d like to join.
Creating Challenge Priorities for Yourself
When you have a lot on your plate in terms of goals and challenges, it’s best that you create priorities. Life happens, and you want to make sure the most important things are taken care of first and foremost.
That is especially true for me, as chaos is always heavy in this house. So, I need to make sure the important things are addressed.
In reality, I have 3 absolute things that need to be done throughout any given week. These are non-negotiable. They are:
- Taking care of my clients (they pay the mortgage)
- Taking care of my wife as a home health care provider (a bit of extra income)
- Maintaining a 4.0 as an undergrad (education boosts opportunity)
Everything else is an indulgence, really.
When all is said and done, my ultimate writing challenge is focusing on time management. The better I utilize my available time, the more likely I can address all of the above.
So, during April, my non-absolute priorities are as follows:
- Time efficiency at 88%
- Finishing Fury
- Preparing for 30-Day book challenge
- Getting the YouTube channels consistent
- Publishing regular blog posts
You have to create priorities according to the things you’d like to accomplish. What is the most important thing to you right now? Make a list of those things and think hard about your own writing goals and where you’d like to see yourself in 10 years.
What’s Holding You Back?
One of the biggest hangups I see from a lot of writers is self-doubt. They often don’t think they are good enough to put themselves out there with books or blog posts. Impostor syndrome is a terrible and debilitating problem.
Think of this, though: I started this blog with very little knowledge of SEO, AP Style English, or how to put together a novel. I was quite the novice back in the day. So, what did I do to become a successful freelancer and published author?
I practiced constantly by creating this blog and writing about all of the things I’ve learned over the years. Am I an expert at writing novels? No. But that isn’t going to stop me from learning, growing, and practicing as a self-published author.
We all start from the ground level. How quickly you move up depends on how much you want to. Sitting around and wishing for it to happen isn’t going to turn you into a writing sensation. Effort, determination, and perseverance are what it takes to be successful.
As a writer, the only thing holding you back is you. There are so many free outlets to practice online, and all it takes is those first few steps to start writing anything to your heart’s content.
Don’t let your thoughts of “not being good enough” stop you from building momentum for yourself. We were all not good enough at one point, but we became better over time.
Creating Your Own Writing Challenge for the Month
What if the above challenges don’t appeal to you? That’s fine, they were mostly there to remind me of what I want to accomplish in April. So, what kind of writing challenges do you want to create for yourself?
First of all, make sure the challenge is something you’re capable of completing. The idea is to push yourself to succeed, not make it virtually impossible while setting yourself up for failure.
You also don’t want to make a challenge too easy; otherwise, it’s not really a “challenge.”
So, what are some ideas for an April writing challenge for yourself? Let’s take a look at a few ideas.
10 Writing Challenge Ideas
Not all writing challenges have to center around actual writing. Sometimes, even setting things up to be a future improvement can be challenging enough for some folks.
For instance, time management is my number one priority, and it’s a difficult thing for me to master. So, let’s look at some ideas to see if we can get you started.
- Don’t have a blog yet? Build one.
- Published one blog post last week? Publish two this week.
- Haven’t set up a Wattpad, Inkitt, or AO3 account yet? Create one.
- How many words did you write last month? Write one more word this month.
- Haven’t started that novel idea yet? Write chapter one.
- Keep track of the time you spend learning to write. Spend more time each week.
- Want to take a writing course? Invest in yourself and sign up for one.
- Have you tried weekly writing prompts from Reedsy? Why not?
- Need help with motivation? Join a writing community.
- Track how many words you can write today. Write more tomorrow.
The whole point of a challenge is to push yourself to accomplish something. Whether it’s taking those first steps as a blogger or starting that first chapter in a book, it all depends on what you want out of your writing.
Don’t be afraid of what could happen. Be excited. You never know when you’ll come across a few people who love your work, and then it snowballs into something unexpected.
Did you know I have a book on Amazon about freelance writing? It’s the story of how I got started using content mills like Textbroker and became the success that I am today.
Get Your Copy of A Freelancer’s Tale Today!
Let’s Make April Magical!
While it may look like I have a lot of plans for the month, don’t forget that I have priorities. Does that mean I’ll be upset or down on myself if I don’t meet all of my challenges? Absolutely not. As I said, life happens, and as long as I am putting in maximum effort with the time I have available, that’s all that matters in the end.
So, let’s not be too hard on ourselves should things fall through, but let’s still swing for the fences. In my case, hitting 88% for time efficiency would be the equivalent of a home run.
What is your ultimate goal for April?
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