4 Ways for Writers to Stay Committed to New Year's Resolutions

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

Anyone know what yesterday was?

The second Friday in January is known as “Quitters Day.” 

I know you’re wondering, “Why is that, Beth?” Don’t worry—I’ll tell you. 

In 2019, Strava, a social network for athletes, did extensive research that found “approximately 80% of people who made New Year’s resolutions have tapped out by the second week in January.” They also determined the second Friday in January was the day when people’s motivations begin to decline.

That would be yesterday, January 10, 2025.

Anyone else surprised by how quickly people abandon their New Year’s resolutions? 

Let’s get specific: is your motivation dragging for any writing goals you set for 2025?

There are dozens—maybe even hundreds—of tips to help you keep going when you’ve set a goal. Here are four tips I think are key:

4 Key Tips for Writers to Stay Motivated with New Year's Resolutions

1. Know Your Why. Writers love to ask why. Don’t skip this question when you’re setting any kind of writing goal for yourself. Why, why, why are you doing this? Why did you set that daily word count? Why did you decide to join a writing sprint group? Why are you launching a podcast? Your why should line up with your values—and you do know your values, right? Again, writers love to know their fictional characters’ values to better understand their motivations and choices. How about taking the time to dig into your values? (You can find one example of a list of values here from Brent Brown.)

2. Change Your Mental Attitude. When I say, “Change your mental attitude,” what I mean is, “How are you talking to yourself?” One of the surest paths to defeat is by allowing negative self-talk to thrive. Defeatist thoughts sound like, “Everyone else is doing better at achieving their goals than I am,” or “I missed my word count two days already, so I’ll just bail on the rest of the week.” When my kiddos were younger and struggled with a negative mindset, I used to reach up to their heads, right near their temples, and pretend to turn a knob, as if I was switching virtual radio stations. At the same time, I told them, “Change the channel.” We must be that deliberate sometimes when it comes to shifting our thoughts from negative to positive. 

3. Anchor Your Goal to the Truth. Y’all know I’m a One Word person. I shared my One Word for 2025 back in December. My annual One Word is always anchored to a Bible verse. Whatever writing goal you’ve set, pick a specific, encouraging scripture verse that helps you hold that goal steady. The Truth backs up your why. (See #1.)

4. Buddy Up on Your Goal. This recommendation is backed up by Stravia, the online sports community I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post. People keep people going, whether it’s when we’ve committed to an exercise goal or to a writing goal. Who can join you in your writing journey this year, so you don’t quit?

Do you have any tips that help you keep going when you set a goal? 

TWEETABLE

4 Ways for Writers to Stay Committed to New Year's Resolutions from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, released June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at BETHVOGT.COM.