Tomorrow a new month starts, and it would be easy to jump straight into September with a fresh list of goals.
Before you do that, take a little time to look back at August.
Not to judge how much you accomplished. Not to count all the things you meant to do but didn’t. And not to decide whether the month was a success or a failure.
Instead, use the end of the month to learn something about yourself as a writer.
A monthly writing review can show you patterns that are hard to see when you’re in the middle of the work. Once you see those patterns, you can make better choices about what comes next.
Don’t Measure the Month Only by Output
Word counts, finished chapters, submissions, and completed projects are useful measures. But they don’t tell you everything.
Suppose you didn’t finish as much as you planned this month, but you finally figured out why you’ve been struggling to write in the afternoons. That’s useful information.
Maybe you discovered that a project you’ve been forcing yourself to finish no longer interests you. Maybe you found a better way to outline. Maybe you stopped waiting for a long block of free time and learned that twenty focused minutes can move a project forward.
Those discoveries matter because they help you create a writing life that works for you instead of one that only looks productive on paper.
Notice What Made Writing Easier
Think about the days when writing went well. What was different?
- Did you write earlier than usual?
- Did you know exactly what you planned to work on before you sat down?
- Did you turn off your phone or close your email?
- Did you work on one project instead of bouncing between several?
- Did you stop the session while you still knew what came next?
You’re looking for conditions you can repeat. You may find even more ideas on my pillar page, Productivity for Writers, where I bring together practical ways to reduce friction and make it easier to keep writing.
Pay Attention to What Kept Getting in Your Way
Now look at the other side of the month.
Where did you keep getting stuck?
Perhaps you spent too much time revising work that wasn’t finished. Maybe you kept changing projects. Maybe you waited until you felt inspired. Or perhaps you made your writing sessions so ambitious that you avoided starting them at all.
Don’t use these patterns as evidence that you’re doing something wrong. Use them as information.
If the same obstacle appeared several times during the month, that’s probably the place where one small change could make September much easier.
Look for Evidence That You’re Growing
Growth isn’t always dramatic.
Sometimes it looks like returning to a project more quickly after a difficult day. Sometimes it’s recognizing a weak scene before someone else points it out. Sometimes it’s being willing to cut a paragraph you once loved because you can now see that the piece is stronger without it.
You may also notice that you’re thinking differently about yourself as a writer. You’re making decisions faster. You’re trusting your judgment a little more. You’re staying with the work when it gets difficult.
Those changes are easy to overlook because there isn’t always a finished product attached to them. But they’re part of becoming a stronger writer.
Decide What You’ll Carry Into September
You don’t need a long list of new rules for the new month.
Choose one thing from August that worked and keep doing it. Choose one thing that didn’t work and make a simple adjustment. Then choose one lesson about yourself as a writer that you don’t want to forget.
That’s enough.
August’s challenge was about bold creative expansion – allowing yourself to think bigger about what you might create. If you participated, take a moment to revisit the August Writing Challenge and notice what changed for you during the month.
Then move into September with that information instead of starting from zero.
You don’t need to begin the new month as a different writer. You can begin it as a more aware one.
Your End-of-Month Writing Review
Before today ends, answer these three questions:
- What worked in my writing life this month?
- What repeatedly made writing harder than it needed to be?
- What is one thing I want to carry forward into September?
Keep your answers somewhere you can see them this week. They aren’t a report card on August. They’re directions for what comes next.
And for more writing tips every weekday morning, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.
