Believe it or not, we are headed toward Q4 — the last quarter of the year. How quickly the months have passed!
So how do writers deal with those annual goals when suddenly faced with October, November, and December? These final months can be the busiest and most stressful of the entire year. Who has time to write?
This is the time to give ourselves grace, but also to find a bit of time for reflection. What goals did we meet during quarters 1-3? Which articles were accepted? Which books completed? What was published during the year?
Celebrate! Then jot down what worked. Did you write with the chunky method or was the timed method more doable? Did you find new inspiration for a reprint? Remember how it felt to record your successes.
Determine how you can repeat that discipline for Q4. Choose only one project. One article to finish and submit. One blog post each month that keeps your followers engaged. One more chapter of that memoir you want to share with the world. One more poem crafted and submitted.
Editors and publishers may not respond during Q4. They also have busy schedules during the holidays. But by completing one submission in Q4, you’re at the front of the queue when the calendar flips over to January.
So give yourself a bit of grace, yet work to accomplish one goal during Q4. Just one. Then start thinking about your next list of annual goals for the new year.
Above all, keep writing. Your words matter.
Shameless Promotion: My successes this year included Sustain Us, oh Lord: Finding Strength When Life is Hard and the e-book: Abiding in the Secret Place: An In-depth Study of Psalm 91. Both are short reads for your Q4.
©2025 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
Image Attribution: hudsoncrafted / Pixabay
Q4 for Diana and me, now living in Colorado, involves the anticipation of driving into the mountains to see the color. In a little over a week we will be in Allenspark for a church retreat. Allenspark is a recreational community just south of Estes Park. While the retreat is about church related meetings and good things to eat, it is also about sitting back and soaking up the wonders of that environment. As for my writing, I will take the opportunity to think about human creativity: what nurtures it and why it is still important in an era that seems to be dominated by AI thinking and a government that focuses on control and more money for the rich.
A focus on creativity in the mountains – sounds like heaven!
Great advise as you always give
Thanks, Zeta. I appreciate the comment.
I think I used the “hit and miss” method, although I’m submitting more reprints.
My goal for the quarter is a book signing at Sheldon, IA.