by Suzanne Lieurance
A big writing goal can be exciting right up until you start thinking about everything it will require.
Write the novel. Build the audience. Create the website. Find an agent. Learn marketing. Publish the book.
Suddenly the dream that energized you feels enormous.
That’s when many writers make a mistake: they assume a bigger dream requires a bigger action right now.
Expansion Doesn’t Require a Leap
Bold creative expansion is about increasing what’s possible, not making your life unmanageable.
You don’t have to write the entire book this month because you’ve decided to take the book seriously.
You don’t have to build an audience of ten thousand readers because you’ve decided you want a larger platform.
You simply need an action that belongs to the bigger direction.
The Problem With All-or-Nothing Thinking
All-or-nothing thinking makes ordinary progress feel insignificant.
If you can’t write 2,000 words, why bother with 300?
If you can’t devote a whole weekend to your manuscript, why bother with thirty minutes?
If you aren’t ready to submit to twenty agents, why send one query?
But books and careers aren’t built all at once. They’re built through accumulated actions.
Make the Goal Bigger and the Step Smaller
This sounds contradictory, but it works.
Let the vision be large. Make today’s step small enough to complete.
You might spend twenty minutes researching your book’s subject. Draft one scene. Write one query letter. Contact one potential podcast host. Update one page of your website.
Small doesn’t mean unimportant when the action is pointed in the right direction.
Finishing Changes the Equation
This is also where the ability to finish becomes powerful. Our pillar page How to Become a Writer Who Finishes explores why follow-through matters so much.
A writer who consistently completes small steps doesn’t need heroic bursts of motivation. Progress becomes something you can trust.
Measure Direction, Not Drama
At the end of the day, ask yourself: Did something I did today move me toward the writing life I want?
That question is far more useful than asking whether you did enough.
Expansion doesn’t need to look dramatic from the outside. Often it looks like a writer quietly making better choices day after day.
Your Next Step
Choose one big writing goal you’re tempted to postpone because it feels overwhelming.
Now identify the smallest meaningful action connected to it.
Do that action today.
Keep the dream big. Make the next step manageable.
Further Reading
- Our August Writing Challenge: Bold Creative Expansion
- What Would Your Writing Life Look Like If You Let Yourself Want More?
- How to Become a Writer Who Finishes (Pillar Page)
- 7-Day Writer’s Manifestation Kickstart
Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over 40 published books and a transformational Law of Attraction coach for writers who are ready to stop waiting to feel like the real thing. At Write by the Sea, she guides writers through the identity shift that changes everything — not just the writing, but the whole life built around it. She is the publisher of Manifesting Monthly magazine and the host of Monday Morning Manifestors.
Subscribe to The Morning Nudge to get a FREE, short email every weekday morning with writing tips and other resources for writers. You’ll also get a free e-book, You Are Already a Writer – Now It’s Time to Start Living Like One.
