Grant Writing 101: Timelines

You’ve got an idea, you’ve got working title, maybe you’ve even got a beta reader, or a mentor lined up. You’ve got your budget planned out (and know how many days/weeks or hours your project will take)…but what about that pesky timeline question?

In other disciplines, the timeline is easier – rehearsals, and walk-throughs, and meetings with collaborators. But it’s a bit harder with writers. Often times, we just…write. 

But to ensure your grant application is the strongest it can be, I’d suggest answering the timeline question with a sentence about how many hours per week you’ll be working, and include the number of weeks you’ll be working for.

Example: For this project, I will be working for 5 hours/day for 5 days a week for 42 weeks.

Next, break down your project into weekly or monthly sections, and then drill down to what you’ll be doing for each of those windows. Do you need to spend a few weeks doing research? Do you need to spend some time doing an edit of what you’ve already written? Do you need to focus on character development? Structure? Narrative voice? Dialogue? Plot? Tension (*raises hand*)? Working with your mentor or beta reader (include how many hours and the timeline, and make sure it’s included in their letter of support!)? Reviewing everything you’ve written? I love doing this because it provides a road map for what I really need to do to finish a project (even if the grant’s unsuccessful!)

Once you have all the elements you need to explore, breakdown how long each task will take. The key here is being realistic. Is it really possible to spend two days at five hours a day doing a substantive edit on 100,000 words? Probably not. Remember, your jury is made up of peers who are also writers. If your timeline is unrealistic, they’re going to know.

Remember, a jury is reading up to a hundred of these at a time, so the easier it is for a jury member to read this section the better. I like to break it all down in point form.

Note: People often ask if they have to quit their jobs when they get grants, and I cannot stress this enough: YOU DO NOT! The max you can get from a Canada Council grant (currently) is $25,000, which is a great sum of cash to write, but also not worth quitting a job over, because after the grant, you’ll still need to work. Create a schedule and a timeline that works around your work. Maybe this means scaling back work for a little bit (or maybe not!), or maybe it means working in the mornings, or on weekends, or using some vacation time to write. The arts councils do not expect you to stop everything to write (unless of course you can/want to, and then, ENJOY!)