A Complete Guide to Reevaluating Your 2017 Goals

You came into 2017 with high hopes.

Maybe you decided Stephen King isn’t the only writer who can mash out a few thousand words every day. If Chuck Palahniuk can hammer out an entire novel in under two months, you reasoned, then surely you’d be able to finish your opus by springtime. Journalists churn out many hundreds of words each day and presumably still see the sun once in awhile.

Admittedly, King’s advice to newcomers is to start by aiming for a thousand words a day, six days per week—while many other longtime pros get by doing less: working from an outline, novelist Colson Whitehead shoots for a thoroughly manageable eight pages a week. Zadie Smith has said just getting to 800 words “feels like a champion day.”

Alas, writing is hard.

Distractions abound, as do other, non-writerly responsibilities. Maybe you need to clear out your inbox before your head’s clear enough to tackle your intro. Or maybe it feels essential to transcribe every word of a research interview you taped before you’re ready to map out a structure. “My apartment in college was never cleaner than during exam week,” veteran reporter Michelle Willard jokes, “and it’s still true: I’ll clean my desk when I want to put off writing a story.”

Whatever resolutions or goals you’ve set for your writing this year, if they’re not working for you, that’s okay. Beating yourself up about it isn’t going to help, so the first step is forgiving yourself. There’s no guilt in being realistic, so long as you’re still writing. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you recalibrate your writing goals for 2017.

It’s okay to start small

Goals are helpful tools for getting writing done. But when they feel depressingly out of reach, they can become crippling and counterproductive. When possible, sometimes it’s wise to ease into your project rather than stress over the eventual scope of the end product.

For instance, a radio journalist covering the news of the day might be obliged to write two versions of the same story: one short, the other longer. By first knocking out a few quick sentences for an announcer to read, the reporter crosses the short version off her to-do list and now has a workable outline from which to build the longer spot.

The same lesson holds true whether you’re drafting a grant application or a novella: your word count will be low before it is high, and sometimes it’s practical to work that to your advantage. Be deliberate about it—make it part of your process—and you’ll surmount one of the greatest obstacles writers face: getting started.

Carve out time to work

Writerly concentration is often fragile. It can crumble with the buzz of a single text message and take several precious minutes to reassemble. If you’re juggling other responsibilities—whether you also have to run meetings this afternoon, or just run laundry—it’s easy to pretend you’ll cram in some writing during brief windows of downtime in between, but that rarely works out.

This is why many writers carve out specific hours to be alone with their work. Some put their phones in airplane mode; a few insist on going offline altogether, instead doing their writing with old-school pen and paper. King has advised against working in a room with a phone, TV, or even so much as an interesting window to look out of; for him, the point of working set hours is “to make sure the muse knows where you’re going to be every day.”

But your routine doesn’t have to be brutal, argues Tim Kreider—a committed writer of the four-to-five-hours-a-day school. Your sessions do, however, have to afford enough empty space for your creativity to breathe:

Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.

If your writing objectives feel difficult to achieve, perhaps part of your revised goal should simply be scheduling a realistic window to work in, and sticking to that.

Keep giving yourself deadlines

Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” But in the end, you’re still aiming to get something finished. That’s where deadlines—even the self-imposed kind—come in handy.

For some writers, it’s the glorious inspiration of last-minute panic that helps shepherd their project across the finish line. For others, the ideal motivation might come from a kind of external pressure—the public declaration, perhaps via social media, that you’ll reach a given milestone by a certain time, for instance. Or the fear of letting someone down. Leveraging that anxiety so it spurs you onward might be all the more reason to let that person know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish, and when.

Phyllis Korkki, a New York Times editor whose book is subtitled “How to Complete Your Creative Project Even If You’re a Lazy, Self-Doubting Procrastinator Like Me,” has remarked that for some folks, making a friendly bet on your ability to hit a deadline, or even hiring a stranger to keep hectoring you through it, might factor into the fix.

Lastly, a deadline can help to enforce your requisite alone-time, lest this ritual feel overly selfish. Consider this entry from the glossary of Jonathan Kern’s Sound Reporting, a seminal guide for anyone writing for the ear:

Crash: To work on a deadline—often an imminent deadline. If you’re crashing, you don’t have time for socializing; phone calls to reporters or editors often begin with the question “Are you crashing?”—and if the answer is yes, the caller apologizes and hangs up.

Key takeaway: the person writing on deadline isn’t sorry; the person bothering them is.

Save editing for later

One other consideration worth keeping in mind as you march toward your new goal: writing is one task; editing is another. It’s often easier and more efficient to cull what’s worth keeping from an overlong draft than it is to try to prune out everything but the most scintillating bits as you go along.

The Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan’s initial draft of his iconic work “Like A Rolling Stone” ran to some 10 pages, for instance, before he was able to whittle it down to four verses. Barbara Kingsolver, the Pulitzer nominee and frequenter of bestseller lists, frames this point perhaps even more starkly:

I write a lot of material that I know I’ll throw away. It’s just part of the process. I have to write hundreds of pages before I get to page one.

Whatever your goal, big or small, go easy on yourself—and get started.

Strikethrough and Why It’s so Popular

A very long time before any of us was born, there were no computers, typewriters, or printing presses. Books were written by hand, on pieces of specially treated leather called parchment or vellum. Back in medieval times, books were not only written but also illuminated, embellished by colorful drawings. And the lettering, even though you might not be able to read it easily, is a testament to the skill and patience of the scribes who wrote them.

Just think about the untold hours spent over rather expensive pieces of leather, writing page after page . . . only to make a mistake in the last sentence. Those things happened, of course, and there were a couple of ways scribes dealt with them. Sometimes, they were able to scratch the mistake off the surface of the parchment. But when that wasn’t an option, they sometimes resorted to drawing a line through the mistaken word—and the strikethrough was born.

Today, we understand a strikethrough intuitively as either crossing out something that is wrong or as crossing out items on a list. There’s nothing like crossing out items on a long to-do list, but also nothing like seeing your article studded by words (or even sentences) crossed out by your editor. But these days, the strikethrough has begun to serve yet another purpose.

If you like to spend a lot of time reading articles online, or hanging out on message boards or forums, you’ll notice that there’s usually nothing wrong with the words that have been crossed out with a strikethrough. This is because, today, on the Internet, a strikethrough is a way of saying something without really saying it. For example, a writer might use a strikethrough to indicate her own thoughts on the subject she’s writing about in a quick and annoying funny way. Did you catch that? The strikethrough is becoming the written equivalent of coughing and saying something at the same time, or mumbling something that you might not want to say out loud, but also wouldn’t mind for people to hear. You might also use the strikethrough to discern between official facts and either your opinions or things that are not official but are known by everyone. If you’re a journalist who does this, you might be accused of opinion journalism. You’re not likely to find a respectable media outlet that uses strikethrough in this way, at least not when reporting.

If you do see strikethrough text on the digital pages of a very serious media outlet, it’s possible you’re looking at information that was corrected after the original text was posted online. When this happens, some websites make a note of revisions at the bottom of the article. However, some use the strikethrough to the same effect—to show that they’ve made a mistake. So traditional media might still use the strikethrough in the traditional way, but new and user-generated media might use it for irony, humor, plausible deniability, or commentary.

7 Quotes on Imposter Syndrome That Will Help You Gain Confidence

“They all know. It’s only a matter of time until I’m called out. I’m a fraud.”

How many times has a similar line of thought traipsed seductively through your consciousness? An estimated 70 percent of us will likely experience at some point the feelings of inadequacy and “fakeness” that accompany imposter syndrome.

While people who experience imposter syndrome—feelings of failure and “pretending”—often experience higher rates of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stagnancy, they also tend to be successful, as researcher Valerie Young shows. This is likely because many sufferers are perfectionists and over-achievers who are more likely to put in extra time and effort to counteract any perceived justification for their anxieties.

In fact, many of the most successful people in the world have struggled with imposter syndrome. Though it is critical to understand that feeling like a fraud is not a requisite for success, many accomplished people struggle with it from time to time and achieve amazing things in spite of it. There is hope that you can overcome imposter syndrome.

The Poet

I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’

—Maya Angelou

Despite her own self-doubt, Angelou was a fiercely accomplished person. She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony award, won five Grammys for her spoken recordings, and served on two presidential committees. All this while also charming readers with her honesty, vulnerability, and personal fortitude.

The Executive

Every time I was called on in class, I was sure that I was about to embarrass myself. Every time I took a test, I was sure that it had gone badly. And every time I didn’t embarrass myself — or even excelled — I believed that I had fooled everyone yet again. One day soon, the jig would be up … This phenomenon of capable people being plagued by self-doubt has a name — the impostor syndrome. Both men and women are susceptible to the impostor syndrome, but women tend to experience it more intensely and be more limited by it.

—Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In

Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. In addition to being an accomplished tech executive, in her book Lean In she explores the ways women (and men) can make a welcoming and diverse working environment that encourages women to pursue leadership. She has inspired millions of women to advocate for themselves professionally and push through feelings of inadequacy.

The Comedian

The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I’m a fraud! Oh God, they’re on to me! I’m a fraud!’ . . . just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud.

—Tina Fey

Tina Fey has a host of successful comic ventures to her credit, including the television series 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the fan-favorite film and endlessly quotable Mean Girls, and the hilarious and well-received book Bossypants, among much else. For her, beating imposter syndrome to continued achievement means riding the waves of validation when they come and recognizing that the phases of self-doubt are impermanent.

The Athlete

Every time I go to a game I always have that fear of losing or a sense of failure. You always have that fear of losing but you always have that confidence of winning. You never want to come off the field thinking you could have done more or given more.

—Darren Lockyer

This accomplished sport commentator and a former Australian rugby player, Darren Lockyer, is considered by many to be the best rugby player of all time, with numerous medals and awards, as well as a record winning streak in his pocket. Part of his success was derived from learning to tap into the fear of not doing enough to push him to his limits so he could leave the field with pride.

The Student

So I have to admit that today, even 12 years after graduation [from Harvard], I’m still insecure about my own worthiness. I have to remind myself today, You are here for a reason. Today, I feel much like I did when I came to Harvard Yard as a freshman in 1999 … I felt like there had been some mistake — that I wasn’t smart enough to be in this company and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove I wasn’t just a dumb actress. … Sometimes your insecurities and your inexperience may lead you to embrace other people’s expectations, standards, or values, but you can harness that inexperience to carve out your own path — one that is free of the burden of knowing how things are supposed to be, a path that is defined by its own particular set of reasons.

—Natalie Portman, Harvard Commencement 2015

It seems that Natalie Portman, a multiple Golden Globe winner, Academy Award winner, and Harvard graduate, should have little reason to doubt herself. However, she has spoken openly about her fight against imposter syndrome and how she negotiated the feelings of fraud—accepting that she is striking her own path and doesn’t need to carry the “burden of how things are supposed to be.”

The Novelist

I am not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people.

—John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a prolific American author who wrote the Pulitzer Prize–winning Grapes of Wrath—a classic in the American literary canon. Despite his success with Grapes of Wrath, he fought feelings of inadequacy. His work, in spite of his doubt, serves as a lesson for why you should “fake it until you make it.”

The Musician

It’s helpful to have some arrogance with paranoia . . . If we were all paranoia, we’d never leave the house. If we were all arrogance, no one would want us to leave the house.

—Chris Martin

Chris Martin is the Grammy-winning lead singer of the internationally acclaimed band Coldplay. He has served as frontman throughout the band’s twenty-year career while also being quite outspoken about his self-doubt. Finding balance between his arrogance and his paranoia, or at least appreciating both, allows him to harness the benefits of each when they arise.

Everything You Need to Know on How to Write a Reference Letter

You’ve been asked to write a reference letter—nice! Being asked likely means you’ve come far enough in your career that your endorsement is meaningful. At the very least, it means that someone you know personally values your opinion of them.

Reference letters are a staple of modern communications. At some time or another, almost everybody needs one for things like job applications, internships, college or grad school applications, or even volunteer opportunities. It pays to know how to write them. Fortunately, letters of recommendation follow a standard format.

Before You Write a Reference Letter

There are a few things to consider before you sit down to recommend someone. While it’s flattering to be asked, keep in mind that your endorsement may become part of a personnel file, so it’s important to be sure it’s something you’re willing to stand by for the long term. Also, some companies have policies forbidding employees from granting references. Before you give someone your stamp of approval, be sure your company approves of the practice.

Here’s a tip: You’re doing the reference seeker a solid, so be sure to ask for things that will make the process easier. Have them provide a copy of their resume or a fact sheet so you don’t have to look up things like job titles and employment dates. Information about the position or program the person is applying for will also help.

Turning Down a Reference Letter Request

What should you do if you need to turn down a request for a reference letter? The answer depends on the situation.

When You Can’t Honestly Recommend the Person

What happens if you’ve been asked to provide a reference for someone you don’t feel comfortable recommending? Let’s say their work ethic or the quality of their work isn’t up to your standards. It’s acceptable to decline politely with a generic response like, “I don’t think I’m the best person to write you a reference.” There’s no need to give specific reasons.

When You Don’t Know the Person Well Enough

Do you really know the person you’ve been asked to recommend? If you don’t know enough about the quality of their work to say glowing things about them, it’s best to turn down the request. Simply say, “I’m sorry. I’m flattered that you asked me for a reference, but I don’t feel I’m familiar enough with you or your work to write one.”

How to Format a Reference Letter

Most letters of recommendation follow a standard business letter format. Although you’ll have to fill in all the blanks, having a template to follow makes the process a bit easier. Here’s what a reference letter should include.

Your contact information and greeting. It’s a good idea to include your title, phone number, and (if you’re not emailing the recommendation directly) your email address. Open your letter with a formal greeting.

An opening paragraph introducing yourself. Tell the recipient who you are, and why you’re qualified to recommend the person you’re writing about. Include things like how long you’ve known or worked with the person, and in what capacity (as a supervisor, advisor, etc.).

Details about the person you’re recommending. Talk about why this person is qualified. What personal attributes make them a good worker or student? What skills do they bring to the table? What accomplishments have you witnessed or been a part of? If you can include a brief example to illustrate the person’s qualifications, all the better.

A closing and signature. Your closing should reiterate why the person has earned your endorsement. If you’re open to being contacted with further questions or for a verbal recommendation, indicate that. Sign off formally.

Reference Letter Sample

Wile E. Coyote has been asked to write a letter of reference for an intern he directly supervised. Here’s an example of the correct format for a hard copy (or pdf attachment) letter of recommendation.

Wile E. Coyote Director of Manufacturing Acme Corporation 1234 Mesa Loop SW Albuquerque, NM 123456 (123) 456-7890 | wile_e_coyote@acmecorp.com

Elmer J. Fudd Fudd Mansion & Yacht, Inc. 5678 Wabbit Season Way Hollywood, CA 90123

Dear Mr. Fudd,

It is my pleasure to to recommend Road Runner for a courier position with your company. Road worked as a courier intern in Acme Corporation’s Albuquerque office from March to July 2017. During this time he was under my direct supervision.

In his brief time with Acme, Road demonstrated exceptional speed and agility as a courier. His deliveries are timely, and he is always polite and professional. His remarkable ability to think on his feet has gotten him through many high-stress situations. He is always calm, even under pressure. He has shown willingness to take calculated risks and go the extra mile.

Although Road is generally quiet, he has a courteous manner and is excellent with customers and colleagues alike—he truly never bothers anyone. I believe he takes great joy in his work, because he always seems as though he’s having fun. I’ve enjoyed having him greet me daily with a cheerful “Meep meep!”

I believe Road would be an asset to any employer. I do not hesitate to give him my wholehearted recommendation. I look forward to closely following his career trajectory. I’m certain he will go far. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Wile E. Coyote

A Note About Email Reference Letters

When you’re sending an email reference letter, it’s not necessary to include your address or the recipient’s contact information. Instead, include a subject header like:

Letter of Reference: Road Runner

Place your contact information below your signature, like this:

Sincerely,

Wile E. Coyote

Director of Manufacturing

Acme Corporation

(123) 456-7890

If you need more inspiration, visit The Balance for samples of different types of reference letters.

8 Great Hanukkah Reads

Hanukkah, if you didn’t already know, is a Jewish holiday that begins on the twenty-fifth of the Jewish month Kislev and lasts for eight days. It’s a winter holiday, and because Jewish months don’t correspond perfectly to the Gregorian calendar months, Hanukkah can fall in November, December, or even stretch into January. This year, it begins at sunset on December 24 and lasts until nightfall on January 1.

Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah), is also called the Jewish festival of lights. On each night of the holiday, a candle is lit in the menorah, a candelabrum that holds nine candles. People observing Hanukkah will pray, eat fried food, play dreidel, and share Hanukkah stories. Those stories are often especially interesting to the children, so any good Hanukkah reading list would have to include children’s books. But there’s plenty to pique the interest of adults as well.

1 There’s No Such Thing as a Chanukah Bush, Sandy Goldstein by Susan Sussman Susan Sussman’s book There’s No Such Thing as a Chanukah Bush, Sandy Goldstein might be a children’s book, but it packs a powerful message about knowing how to respect and enjoy other people’s ways and customs while preserving your own.

2 Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman If you can’t celebrate Hanukkah because there are some nasty goblins messing around your village synagogue, this books and its main character will give you a good idea of how to outwit them. If, in a more realistic scenario, you’re looking for a fun and witty Hanukkah story with great illustrations, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins should be on the very top of your list.

3 Dreidels on the Brain by Joel ben Izzy In Joel ben Izzy’s book Dreidels on the Brain, we meet Joel, a twelve-year-old boy who wants one simple thing for Hanukkah—a miracle. It’s a coming-of-age story set during the eight days of Hanukkah, written with plenty of humor and warmth. Plus, you get a miracle that involves a bus, and buses aren’t usually too miraculous.

4 The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket A latke is a type of potato pancake that’s usually eaten for Hanukkah. Latkes don’t usually run around and explain what Hanukkah is about to candy canes and pine trees, but that’s exactly what the latke from Lemony Snicket’s The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story does.

5 The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Isaac Bashevis Singer Besides winning a Nobel Prize in Literature and being a very prominent figure in the Yiddish literary movement, Isaac Bashevis Singer also wrote stories for a young audience. The Hanukkah stories he wrote for The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, while aimed at younger readers, are the kind of stories that transcend age and religious barriers.

6 What Is Chanukah? by Sholem Aleichem From the pen of the Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, a.k.a. Sholem Aleichem, the man who wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof was based, comes a very recently translated short story, What Is Chanukah?. Written with the humor Aleichem is celebrated for, the story is set at a Hanukkah party where our narrator is doing his best to figure out whether anyone knows anything about the holiday they’re celebrating.

7 While the Candles Burn: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Barbara Diamond Goldin While the Candles Burn is a collection of stories, some written by Barbara Diamond Goldin, and some coming from sources as varied as Afghani Jews, Holocaust survivors, and kids from mixed Arab and Jewish schools in Israel. Another kids’ book on the list that should be read by adults as well.

8 Seasons of Our Joy: A Modern Guide to the Jewish Holidays by Arthur Waskow

Arthur Waskow’s Seasons of Our Joy isn’t about Hanukkah alone—it’s about all Jewish holidays and observances. It’s not as much a book of stories as it is a handbook of Jewish holidays, their origins, and how they are celebrated, but it’s a very good book to turn to if knowledge is what you’re looking for.

Neil Gaiman’s 5 Must-see Tips on Perfecting Your Writing

There are many celebrated writers in this world, but few ever reach the rockstar-level status of dark fantasy author Neil Gaiman.

Fans stand in line for hours at his book signings, only to faint when they finally meet him (or ask him to sign their body so they can get his signature tattooed).

His beloved novels and comics—Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, Good Omens, and The Sandman (to name a few)—have gained cult followings and been adapted for the big screen and television.

His 2012 “Make Good Art” commencement address inspired all of us to break the rules and make mistakes, making it clear that after decades of aspiring writers asking him for advice, Gaiman has a quite a bit of inspiration and wisdom to share.

So whether you’re hunting for magic, or just practical tips, we’ve gathered together some of Gaiman’s best advice on writing. Enjoy!

1Don’t Wait on Inspiration

If you’re only going to write when you’re inspired, you may be a fairly decent poet, but you will never be a novelist — because you’re going to have to make your word count today, and those words aren’t going to wait for you, whether you’re inspired or not.

Writer’s block can be a frustrating and even terrifying experience. Gaiman’s advice is twofold. First, work on multiple projects simultaneously, so when one project stalls you can switch over to another. (Now you know why his publishing record is so prolific.)

Second, keep writing even when the inspiration has dried up and you’re convinced that every word you’re putting down is terrible. Your experience of “inspiration” is subjective.

Looking back at your work, you won’t be able to tell the difference between “which bits were the gifts of the Gods and dripped from your fingers like magical words and which bits were the nightmare things you just barely created and got down on paper somehow.”

2Find Your Unique Voice

Tell your story. Don’t try and tell the stories that other people can tell. Because [as a] starting writer, you always start out with other people’s voices—you’ve been reading other people for years… But, as quickly as you can, start telling the stories that only you can tell—because there will always be better writers than you, there will always be smarter writers than you… but you are the only you.

It’s easy to waste time comparing yourself to others and wallowing in imposter syndrome, but the truth is that you are actually your own greatest asset. Don’t get stuck in imitation mode—you will only hold yourself back.

Do your own unique thing, whatever that is. Gaiman always says: “There’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.”

3Don’t Obsess Over Your First Draft

For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important.

One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonizing over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed. …

For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.

Writing your first draft can be intimidating, terrifying, and often embarrassing. You may feel like there’s a gulf between where your writing is and where you want it to be.

This is all normal. The key is finding a way to press on despite your insecurities.

Gaiman writes his first drafts by hand because there’s less pressure—what he’s written isn’t “real” until he’s typed it up. Whatever you have to do to trick yourself into writing, do it.

4Make Mistakes

Any perfectionists in the room? The lure of playing it safe and the fear of falling short make a powerful and paralyzing cocktail.

Gaiman shares that the willingness to let go, take chances, and make mistakes is of the utmost importance. Why?

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

…Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

5Be Kind to Yourself

Writing is a skill and learning to write well doesn’t happen overnight, yet we beat ourselves up when our writing isn’t of the same caliber as our favorite authors.

We forget our heroes weren’t always writing bestsellers. Gaiman himself has had the frightening experience of unearthing a story he wrote at age twenty and realizing just how awful it was.

When asked how to get past loathing your own work, Gaiman answered this way:

Write more. And remember that everyone who writes anything good wrote a lot of bad stuff first. You are learning, be kind to yourself, just as you would be kind to anyone learning to do something hard, like juggling or ballroom dancing or surgery.

Learn from your mistakes, and get better, and one day you’ll write something you won’t loathe. (Also, it’s fine to dislike something you’ve written. But don’t dislike yourself for having made it.)

Commas After Introductory Phrases

What Is an Introductory Phrase?

An introductory phrase is like a clause, but it doesn’t have its own subject and verb; it relies on the subject and verb in the main clause. It sets the stage for the main part of the sentence. When you use an introductory phrase in your writing, you’re signaling to the reader that the central message of the sentence is yet to come.

Introductory clause: After the meeting was over, the staff was exhausted. Introductory phrase: While getting ready for bed, Susan heard a knock at the door.

There are several types of introductory phrases, including prepositional phrases and appositive phrases. Sometimes a comma is necessary after an introductory phrase. Other times, the comma is optional, and there are also times when a comma should not be used. It is important to note that a comma should always be used if the sentence could be misinterpreted otherwise.

When to Use Commas After Introductory Prepositional Phrases

When an introductory prepositional phrase is very short (less than four words), the comma is usually optional. But if the phrase is longer than four words, use a comma. Consider the below examples of sentences containing properly placed and omitted commas:

Short prepositional phrase:

Before the movie starts let’s get some popcorn.

Before the movie starts, let’s get some popcorn.

Longer phrase:

After riding his bike around the neighborhood twice, Rob was sweating profusely.

When your introductory phrase actually contains two prepositional phrases, it’s best to use a comma. In the examples below, the introductory phrase contains two prepositional phrases: “during the production” and “of the film.”

During the production of the film the director nearly quit.

During the production of the film, the director nearly quit.

When to Use Commas After Restrictive Appositive Phrases

When the introductory phrase is a restrictive appositive phrase, don’t use a comma to separate it from the main clause. An appositive phrase is a phrase that renames the subject of the sentence. For example, the highlighted phrase in the sentence below is an appositive phrase because it renames the subject:

Kate, an only child, demands a lot of attention.

There are two types of appositive phrases: restrictive and nonrestrictive. A restrictive appositive phrase is one that is necessary to the meaning of the sentence. A nonrestrictive appositive phrase isn’t necessary but simply adds information to the sentence. The example appositive phrase above is nonrestrictive because the sentence still makes sense without the phrase; it just doesn’t include as much information. The sentence below, however, contains a restrictive appositive:

The opera singer Maria Callas had myopia.

In this case, the appositive is restrictive because it is necessary for the reader to know which opera singer had myopia. Sometimes, a restrictive appositive phrase acts as an introductory phrase. In these instances, don’t use a comma to separate the phrase from the subject that it renames.

The award-winning teacher, Mrs. Becky Armstrong, was honored at graduation for her impact on students’ lives.

The award-winning teacher Mrs. Becky Armstrong was honored at graduation for her impact on students’ lives.

The rules regarding commas after introductory phrases are complex, but with practice, applying them will become instinctual.