Move Forward with Your Writing By Looking Back

I’ve found the writing path to be the journey of a lifetime. At times it’s fraught with discovery and at others, discouragement. I’ve learned how to avoid some of its pitfalls by spending some time each year gazing back at the way I’ve come.

This time of year, with New Year’s just behind us, my thoughts turn backward as I evaluate the past year and prepare for the next one. I’ve given up New Year’s Resolutions completely and find the freedom from those expectations a major relief.

But I have implemented something else instead. My husband and I spend some time looking at our spiritual markers in the past year. We look at them individually, as a couple, and as a family. I also look at them in regard to my past year as a writer.

This is particularly helpful because the writer’s path is unique for each of us. In the past I’ve had trouble evaluating my progress because I was comparing my journey to someone else’s. To begin the process, I start with some basic questions.

• What were some of my writing highlights of the year? (Not necessarily the most lucrative, but the most rewarding.)
• What were some of my writing setbacks for the year?
• How are some ways I’ve grown during the past year?
• Who has impacted my writing career and in what way?

As I map out these spiritual markers, the path God’s had me on becomes quite clear. And, by knowing where I’ve been, it becomes clearer where to go next.