How to Plan Your Writing Goals for 2026: 5 Simple Steps to Move Your Writing Forward

From Edie: Learn how to plan your writing goals for 2026 with five simple, faith-centered steps to clarify your direction, set realistic goals, and move your writing forward with purpose.

How to Plan Your Writing Goals for 2026: 5 Simple Steps to Move Your Writing Forward

by Lori Hatcher

As the sun peeks over the horizon of a new writing year, do you know where you’re going? 

Maybe you have a contract, so you’ll be working on a book. Or you have a regular commitment to write for a magazine or contribute to a blog or website. Even if you don’t have any formal commitments, we all want to move forward in our writing journeys in 2026. 

You need a plan. 

But to have a plan, you need to know your destination.

Think about the last time you used GPS. To get directions, you had to enter two pieces of information: your current location and your destination.

Current location is easy. We know where we are. But we don’t always know where we’re going. Sometimes all we know is that we want to move forward.

The first question to ask ourselves, then, is, “What does forward look like?”

Here’s where we get to dream a bit. Consider your current location, then peek down the road. If you’ve written a few devotions but have never been published, the next leg of the journey might be to seek publication, either in a church newsletter, on social media, or in a printed or online devotional. If your devotions have been published, you might want to seek a new publishing venue. 

If you’ve written devotions, consider expanding your portfolio by writing in a different genre, maybe a Christian living article or a short story. Do you need more training to do this? Where could you get this training? 

If you’re a fiction writer, picture what might be the next leg of your journey. Are you working on a novel? Maybe consider writing a short story to enter into a contest or offer as a lead magnet to build your platform or mailing list.

A new year is the perfect time to dream of a destination—and then figure out the steps to get you there.

I’ll give you a few examples from my own journey.

One summer I wanted to add to my writing portfolio (and my bank account) by finding new places of publication. That was my destination. To get there, I pulled out my Christian Writers Market Guide and searched for places looking for devotions, Christian living articles, or homeschool-related articles. I set a goal to submit or query three new publications a week. By the end of the summer, I’d added a regular paid gig to my list of freelance writing assignments and had two other pieces accepted.

Another year I plotted a course to do everything I could to be published in two denominational publications. I submitted several pieces to the general submission email on their website, but didn’t receive a response. When I attended Write to Publish conference, I noticed that an editor from the denomination was serving on faculty, so I went to two of his classes. He told the conferees how to submit an article for consideration and shared his direct email address. Bingo. A week after the conference, I queried him and mentioned the conference and his invitation to submit. He accepted two of my articles for publication later that year.

In the spring of 2025, I knew I’d be releasing a book. Launching it well became my destination. Because speaking engagements are one of the best ways to promote a new release, I developed a speaking presentation based on the theme of the book. Then I asked my church if I could organize a women’s ministry event based on the theme. Before and after the event, I shared information and pictures on social media and reached out to women’s ministry groups I’d spoken to in the past. By the end of the year, I had the pleasure of speaking to several women’s ministry groups. 

No matter where you are in your writing journey, you can take steps to reach the next writing destination. Now is a perfect time to plot your course.

5 Simple Steps:

• 1. Ask God to give you wisdom and insight (James 1:5), then ask yourself: Where am I now? Where would I like to be by the end of the year? (Don’t be afraid to dream, but try to keep it realistic.) What steps can I take to draw closer to this destination? (Set a weekly writing goal, get an accountability partner, join a critique group, attend a conference, take an online class, research places of publication)
• 2. Write down your steps.
• 3. List them, in order of difficulty.
• 4. Do the easiest step.
• 5. Do the next step and then the next.

By the end of the year, I can promise you two things: 

• You’ll be further along in your writing journey.
• You’ll be surprised by where the journey has taken you.

A Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” I’ll be praying for you as you set your course toward a new writing destination and then take the first steps toward it in the new year.

Happy writing!

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How to Plan Your Writing Goals for 2026: 5 Simple Steps to Move Your Writing Forward from Lori Hatcher on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Since she was old enough to read a Little Golden Book, Lori Hatcher has been fascinated by words. She’s woven them into seven devotionals with Our Daily Bread Publishing, including her latest, Lord, I Believe: 60 Devotions for Your Troubled Heart. She shares her words in writers workshops around the country and has used them to encourage women’s ministry groups in the United States, Japan, Mexico, and Spain. Connect with her at LoriHatcher.com.