Fourth Quarter Writing Goals
What writing tasks do you want to finish by the end of the year?
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This year, I have been making quarterly writing goals.
I’ve found that quarterly goals work better for me than monthly goals as some months are a complete wash for me but I can usually get some chunk of things done over the quarter.
This month marks the start of the fourth quarter, which feels a little more pressing as it’s my last chance to check things off my annual to-do list and the end of the year is the ultimate deadline. But the fourth quarter is also tricky for me because of the various holidays and the fact that my kids have approximately 50% of it off from school.
Keeping both of these things in mind, I reviewed my list of annual goals and created one for things I want to finish before the end of the year.
Here are a few things on my list:
Pitch or submit 5 more times. I had a goal of 20 for the year and am at 15, so this still feels doable.
Submit some holiday/January essay and humor ideas. I had some seasonal ideas last year that I thought of last minute and couldn’t place so I’m trying to start early to see if I can place them this year. (In the next few months, I am sure I will come up with new last-minute ideas I won’t have time to place, but I will just tell myself I’m actually ahead of the game for 2025.)
Substack. I’m planning to do a shorter version of the One Funny Line writing challenge I did last year in January 2025 and then a different humor writing challenge in April for National Humor Month. (If you are going to want in on these, you can opt-in to receive emails for that section here.) By the end of the year, I want to have the basics of the challenges together. I’ve got a few other to-do items for Substack I want to check off too.
Check off one “other” writing to-do thing. I’ve got a few other things on my to-do list I’ve been meaning to get to all year (a micro-memoir piece, a short e-guide, and setting up some writing-related merch) and my goal is to finish one of these by the end of the year. Is this a bit of a cop-out to not say which one? Maybe. But I’ve found goal-setting works better for me if I have a bit of flexibility.
What about you? What is something on your writing to-do list by the end of the year? It can be short or long! Feel free to share it in the comments.
Thanks for reading Humor Me, a newsletter featuring funny stuff and writing tips. In case you’re new here — I’m a humor writer and freelancer whose work has appeared in New Yorker Shouts, McSweeney’s, Real Simple, and more. I’m the author of a humorous advice book for introverted parents that would make a great gift for the new or expecting parent in your life. Find out more about me at julievick.com.
This is awesome. It's like paying taxes quarterly so you're not overwhelmed come April 15. I recently had an idea I'm obsessing about for an action comedy screenplay so I'm adding that to my list. So much comedy so little time. 😉 Looking forward to your humor challenge.
Finally publish my debut novel. I’m in the editing stage now and will have a physical book by Dec ‘24. Nearly there!