Writing Progress in Q2, 2026: What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why

At the start of January, I set out my writing goals for 2026, and wrote about how these were going at the end of Q1. We’re now halfway through the year … so here’s what’s been happening.

The 2026 goals I set in January (and slightly modified since!) are:

• Big Fiction Project: Finish My Rom Com Novel and Send Out to Agents
• Other Fiction Projects: Short Stories, Reaper, and a Writing Streak
• Non-Fiction: Aliventures Blog, Newsletter … and More

What have I tweaked since then? 

The novel I originally drafted as a romantic comedy is more of a contemporary romance (there are some lighthearted bits, but it’s not funny enough to fall into rom com). 

I’ve ditched the writing streak! It was a super easy one (write something every day), but I find that writing streaks aren’t really working for me at the redrafting/editing stages of projects.

Q2 Progress on Big Fiction Project

In June, I finished Draft 3 of the contemporary fantasy novel and started Draft 4. It was possibly a bigger reworking than Draft 1 → Draft 2: I mentioned in the last goals update that I realised the structure was off, and that “contemporary romance” was a better description for the genre.

I’m broadly happy with progress – I’d always like to be going faster, but we had a particularly busy June, so the last few weeks have been slow.

What Worked (And Why)

A lot of the things from last quarter continue to work well for me, including:

• Using the writing hours and momentum writing retreats in Writers’ Cafe – it’s really helpful to have this time set aside on my calendar, especially during busy seasons.
• Using Claude AI for some brainstorming – often I don’t like the ideas it comes up with, but this in itself is useful as it helps me clarify what I do want.

What Didn’t Work (And What I’m Trying Next)

While there weren’t any big disruptions this quarter, things are consistently busier than I’d like. (I suspect that’s the case for a lot of writers!) It was hard to make my writing as much of a priority as I wanted.

In Q3, I’m trying time blocking more of my day: not just having writing hours on my calendar, but thinking through my day as a whole. 

That includes time blocking for the work tasks I’m tackling (e.g. feedback to my coaching clients, writing blog posts, getting to grips with Instagram) and also making sure I’ve thought through when my writing is fitting in during the day.

Q3 is always a challenging quarter in terms of work and writing as my kids are off school for late July through till early September, and we’re taking various trips … so I also want to be realistic about what I can do when!

Q2 Progress on Other Fiction Projects

The other fiction projects I planned to tackle this year were:

Self-Publishing Reaper

I finally made progress on this one! I’ve finished the proofread/format (and made a few tiny edits), and I’ve been working on a short synopsis to send to my cover designer, plus a blurb to use on Amazon. Still some way to go, and I want to do some thinking about launching and marketing, but I’m hoping I’ll be ready to launch it early in Q4.

Writing Four Short Stories

I’m ditching this goal! If inspiration strikes in Q4, maybe I’ll write a short story or two … but for now, it’s off the list.

Maintaining a (Very Easy) Writing Streak

I’d planned to spend at least 5 minutes a day doing something relating to my fiction in Q2. I did manage this most days (and most of the time, it was 15–60 minutes) … but I didn’t track it in a spreadsheet, just in my planner.

What Worked (And Why?)

With Reaper, I guess I finally got fed up of having this project still hanging around. I’m keen to have it finished!

What Didn’t Work (And What I’m Trying Next)

Having a daily writing goal can feel pressured – and frustrating when I inevitably miss a day! So instead, I’m just tracking whether or not I’ve worked on fiction each day.

The short stories goal sounded good at the start of the year, but it’s just not where my energy and focus is. I’m letting it go!

Q2 Progress on Non-Fiction

As in Q1, most weeks, I managed to publish (or update & republish) a blog post and send out a newsletter.

I’m continuing to do short-form non-fiction on Instagram and LinkedIn, and I’ve even started making some short videos. Do come and follow me on those platforms, if you like.

What Worked (and Why)?

Previously, I’ve had a plan for what I’m writing each week on the Aliventures blog and in the newsletter. This quarter, I went with the flow much more – writing about what was most on my mind, or what linked in well with other resources I was creating, like the free workshops.

What Didn’t Work (And What I’m Trying Next)

I mentioned above about time blocking my workday: it’s easy for me to skip things like my blog posts on busy weeks, and I’ve not been posting as consistently on social media as I want. I’m hoping the time blocking will be helpful with this – if nothing else, I’ve realised I quite often plan more tasks into my workday than actually fit into the limited hours I have available!

How did your first half of 2026 go? If you’re not making the progress you want, come along to my free workshop on Tuesday 14th July: 

Four Roadblocks Holding You Back from Writing Your Novel.

(If you’ve already missed it by the time you read this post, drop me an email at ali@aliventures.com and I’ll send you the recording.)

In the workshop, we’ll be tackling the most common roadblocks that hold writers back – both in life and in writing. Spending an hour at the workshop could get you to the finish line of your novel months faster.