Author Basil S. Walth once said, "If you don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?" These are words well spoken, because whether you're working toward freelancing full-time or selling your novels, you need a roadmap.

Goals are indispensable. They provide direction, long-term vision and short-term motivation. They separate important from irrelevant. Goals also build self-confidence by helping you grow as an individual.

Olympic athletes, successful business people, and (hint…) bestselling writers are goal setters. You aspire to greatness too, don't you? If you do, and you're not already setting goals, now is perfect time to start.

Five Things to Remember When Setting Goals:

1. Write Goals Down

Always jot down your goals-this is powerful. The process of physically seeing your goals helps crystallize them in your mind. This process also better enables you to commit to them.

Interesting Fact: A popular Harvard Business School study once found that only 3% of population records their goals in writing. Another 14% have goals but don't write them down, whereas 83% do not even have clearly defined goals. More interesting is that this 3% earned an astounding ten times that of 83% group!

2. Make Goals Short, Attainable, & Measurable

Set attainable short-term goals that can be measured. This means setting quantifiable goals.

Here are some examples:

- Commit to writing a certain number of words each week - Submit at least two articles a week - Find two new markets each week - Take at least one writing course a year - Attend at least one writer's conference a year

"Most first novels," she said, "are autobiographical."

I never finished that novel. I estimate that I began 3 or 4 more novels. I wrote lots of notes. None got beyond third chapter. (Since then, I've written 2 complete novels.)

All while, I wrote dozens of short stories. Some of these stories formed an inter-connected series, based on my grandfather's tales.

Over years, I wrote in my journal, describing novels I wanted to write. A few months before I began to write my first novel, I wrote the following words--which are, I think, essence of my novel's grandfather-character:

"I could have old man tell a tale when he speaks of love. Bk II is a combination tale, history (impersonal and personal). He reminisces on his youth, . . . on his beloved's death. On Love. On world. Through time. . . ."

Then, next spring, I sat down and wrote a one-page outline for my novel. I wrote each chapter fairly swiftly. After about 6 months,I began to revise. The first version was written in longhand. The second, on a typewriter. Then, a couple more versions on my computer. (See resource links below.)

As I wrote and re-wrote, I wept. No one had told me how emotional I might get while writing a first novel. So I set book aside. After a few months, I returned to manuscript with idea of incorporating some of stories into novel. And voila! I had written my first novel.

So, if you're a writer contemplating writing of your first novel, here are a few suggestions:

--Be prepared to cry. When you do, take a break from writing-- either a couple of days or a couple of weeks. You decide. You might try skipping section that makes you cry. You can get back to it once first draft is completed. Just know that your own reaction to writing is a sign you're onto something authentic and life-altering.