Write five new pages a day.
Send out three queries a week.
Draft a proposal by the end of September.
Research six agents by the end of the month.

These are all good SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. But sometimes our SMART goals can be too much of a struggle.

When?

When you get two rejections in the mail on the same day.
When the one agent you’ve always wanted to work with decides to retire.
When your last article receives a lot of nasty ‘letter to the editor’ replies.
When your publisher pulls your book from the publication schedule and cancels your contract.
When your agent says “I don’t want to represent you anymore.”

At times a writer can feel small. Really small. And ordinary, short-term goals will feel like a mountain to climb. Fortunately, there’s a solution.

When you feel small, start small.

Instead of five pages write one. If that’s too much, write a paragraph.
Draft a query with no expectation of sending it out. Or just address an envelope and put a stamp on it.
Write your proposal idea down in one sentence.
Research one agent a month.

The key is to continue to move forward. Baby steps are okay and they’ll get you through the slump. In time you’ll see your efforts build. That paragraph will become a page then two pages and more.

You’ll feel big again in no time.