Thinking about 2026 writing goals? Free for you!

What are your 2026 writing goals?

Several writer contacts of mine are already talking about their goals for 2026. And even though I’m supposed to be ‘heads down’ on my gothic during November, their ideas for next year prompted me to start imagining my own objectives.

Of course, I needed a place to capture my ideas--but that was easier said than done.

You see, during my many years of corporate life, with structured processes and systems to identify, plan, and track objectives, I got into goal crafting in a big (aka complex) way.

In my writerly life, however, I want to keep it simple. I mean, I get it: Goal-setting plays a pivotal role in our writing growth. But at the same time, I don’t want to get overwhelmed with super strategies, transformational milestones, or scorecards. Instead, I want to set my direction efficiently and effectively, but dedicate my precious time to creative writing.

So, I did some reading and put together good ideas from more brilliant folks to develop a very simple template for my use. It allows me to organize my early random thoughts and jot down my steps and note how I will hold myself accountable. Maybe when my ideas mature, I’ll want a more comprehensive tool, but at this stage, keeping it simple is perfect. If you’re a writer, you might want a simple template, too, and that's why I'm making this available to you for free:

JHJones_Writing Goals 2026 Simple Form.pdf

Download PDF • 42KB

If you’re thinking about writing goals, too, I’d love to hear from you, or if you have an idea to improve the simple form, please let me know: Aim for the comments button and share your thoughts!