Your Dream Needs a Plan

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Once upon a time, Megan sat down to finish her novel.

She had talked about it endlessly with friends and family members at dinner parties, dished about it in the 47 Facebook writing groups she had joined, and before morning coffee had finished brewing in the break room, promised co-workers it would be ready to read by the end of October.

Christmas, latest. Definitely Christmas.

But a strange thing happens on her way to that mountaintop. She hunkers down in her office chair, ready to type...and starts hearing voices.

"The kids need me right now." "Work has been crazy lately. "Once soccer season is over." After I finish going over finances." "Hang on, did anyone start the laundry?"

Nervously, she scans the room to see who is talking.

Her characters are all ready to go. Here epic theme is on standby. The opening scene is locked and loaded. But God help her, she cannot get those voices out of her head and she's 99% certain they are on to something.

She is not lazy or untalented. In fact, she is brimming with inspiration - which, as it turns out, is part of the problem. Ever so silently, inspiration has become her substitute for actually writing. Megan loves imagining the life of a writer. In fact, she dreams of little else. But life is so darned full of stuff that needs to get done, done, done. Work. House chores. And with one kid in soccer, and another suffering the slings and arrows of adolescence, where’s the time to write?

Of course, everybody in her life understands. (They were pretty sure it wouldn't happen, anyway.) We get it, they tell her. "Tomorrow, then," she insists. "Definitely tomorrow." Meanwhile, she means it when she advises her kids to follow their dreams.

Then one evening, her twelve-year-old daughter stares at her, chewing on a granola bar, and mutters between bites: “You can’t keep telling us to follow our dreams unless you’re going to set the example.”

I would like to pretend Megan is a fictional character. But alas, this story is based on real events. The good intentions, the respectable excuses, the wake-up call from Mini-Me. That was this guy in 2010.

Planning: Hope Is Not a Schedule

Let me save you a few years. “I’ll write when I have time” doesn't work. We all know that spare time is where dreams go to die. So stop everything and do this right now.

Put writing in your calendar. Decide what days you're going to write. Two or three sessions each week you know you can actually commit to. Build a realistic schedule that actually fits your real life. You may not nail it perfectly, but an imperfectly-realized schedule is better than no schedule at all.

(P.S. Don't forget to account for the people who will be affected by your disappearance. Vanish for three hours every Saturday without warning and your artistic journey may receive poor reviews at home. Communication and negotiation are key.)

Next, specify exactly what you actually plan to get done. I'm talking daily deliverables - two pages, a scene, thirty minutes of revision. Don't forget to set deadlines. “Someday” is not a date. "Finish Act One by August 31" is.

Now, create your inner sanctum - i.e. a physical writing space. Don't wait for that trip to the cabin. You just need a chair, a surface, and decent lighting. Then assemble your tools - laptop, files, pen, notebook. Printer if you have one.

Above all, respect your own write-life balance. What you are working on matters, but so do health, family, income, and avoiding nervous breakdowns. Forget what you heard about Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson; angst and hangovers are not essential components of creative genius.

Execution: Show Up and Tell the Truth

There, you've got a plan. Now it's time to channel your inner Michael Jordan and "just do it."

Some days, the words will flow like water, leaving you feeling like a frickin' genius. Other days, your brain will feel as dry as the Sahara, making you wonder what the hell you were thinking. In the immortal words of Robert Glesper (featuring the amazing Yebba), "f*ck your feelings." Just keep writing.

Pro tip #1: Audit your performance as you go. Which sessions work best? When is your energy strongest? Does music help? Get to know yourself, your habits, the way you flow best. Discover your strengths, weaknesses, patterns, excuses, and recurring traps. Don't waste time judging yourself. Just learn, adjust and improve as you go.

Pro tip #2: Beta test your work. Invite trusted friends to take a look and let you know if they're picking up what you're putting down. Fresh eyes can spot confusion, boredom, pacing problems, and scenes you cannot because you're deep inside the forest. Terrifying as that may sound, especially if you have never done it before, it is so worth it. And remember what Yebba said.

Don't be afraid to ask that same person to hold you accountable, too. There are few things more valuable than a partner, coach, group periodically asking, “So, did you write anything today?” That question has saved more manuscripts than inspiration ever has.

Finally, learn to be simultaneously demanding and gentle on yourself. Tough enough to work when you don't feel like it while refusing to treat one weak or dry session as evidence that you are doomed. Love yourself as much as you love what you're writing.

Lifestyle Management: Protect the Machine

Never forget, your brain - that part of you that dreams, hopes, and invents - is part of your body. And the body keeps receipts. Energy management is as critical as time management, we writers can forget that sometimes. If you spend your sharpest hours on trivia, doomscrolling, and inconsequential side projects, your writing gets whatever is left.

That means prioritizing sleep. Eating right. Drinking enough water. Getting outside and moving your body. Getting rid of toxic habits that drain your energy, clarity, and enthusiasm. Getting better at managing your emotional highs and lows. Yebba again.

First Action, Then Feelings

Whenever I stop waiting for ideal conditions to appear and put these disciplines into practice, pages appear. Then more pages. And nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, keeps the wheel of motivation turning like what comes next: momentum.

Many of us think that writers are people who feel inspired first and produce second. But as any decent psychologist will tell you, feelings come from action, not the other way around. Passion matters, sure. But discipline is what actually transforms desire into pages.

So if you have been dreaming about getting that thing finished, stop waiting for that "perfect" moment. Build a plan, follow it, and jealously protect your time and energy.

Then do it again tomorrow. That's the only way to become the next Saint-Exupéry.