For me, success relies on goals to aspire and work towards. Without goals (short or long term) procrastination halts all progress and excuses are acceptable. But a reasonable goal can effectively show how far you’ve come and how far you must go. Nanowrimo is a 50,000 word goal in one month with excellent tools to help promote success amongst its participants.
My goal is something different and reasonably suited to the factors that affect my writing; work, travel, husband. Although I am a planner, my life is not. Often plans change at the last minute and my time to write is the first thing sacrificed to accommodate changes to my calendar. However, although I might not have access to one of my computers, not a day passes without me giving thought to the stories I’ve devoted my attention to.
The goal: MAKE PROGRESS EVERYDAY!
What is progress? On Monday my goal might be to research a census from 1880 for character names. Tuesday I update my outline to reflect a minor change to chapter four, Wednesday I write 500 words, Thursday I collect images to assist with a description I might not be familiar with, Friday I organize my sloppy handwritten notes, Saturday I sit at my desk and write for one full hour, and on the Lord’s day perhaps I discuss my story with someone for feedback. Be it a small goal or a big goal, everything combined will help me to write and complete a novel.
Of course there will be those days when I don’t have enough time to even scribble a note for myself, but if I am disciplined and maintain steady progress the occasional day will have little to no effect on the outcome of my story. It’s important to note that when you are making steady progress, it’s also easier to make said progress. If you don’t have days in between writing, you’re not trying to figure out where to go from your last sopping point or what were you thinking when you wrote that.
What happens when there’s writer’s block? Do something… Think of a new title, watch a movie that might be a good source of inspiration, write a rant about what has you stuck. If your new goal is to overcome writer’s block, it might be reasonable to totally step away to gain new and fresh perspective on your work.
Goal Number One: Ask yourself what goals you have in mind and what you hope to achieve on a long term and/or short term basis.
Happy writing and God bless.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Break Up
My Nano 2009 novel and I broke-up. Together, my novel and I crossed the word-count finish line on November 31 in dramatic fashion… but then I left it there at the finish line and moved on with my life. But was the finish line I was racing towards a 50,000 word count or a complete novel? Things were very messy between us and did not end well. Whether or not my novel still had more to say, I wasn’t going to listen. I allowed myself to make excuses and quit. I was tired of working through our problems.
No different than a nasty break-up when you decide you just want to be single for a while, I wrote nothing. No novel. No blog. No writing commitment. I wrote nothing more creative than the occasional status update on Facebook or Twitter. But then there was that chance encounter that brought us together again. I was on the commuter train and bored with the scenery, my Blackberry, and my iPod. I fired up my laptop and read through my incomplete draft, abandoned at 50,475 words.
I had convinced myself months ago that because we had broken-up, I could never again have anything to do with my novel. We couldn’t be friends. But as I passed the time on the train, I started to remember all of the things I liked about my novel; an entertaining prologue worthy of publishing, one character I was particularly fond of, and a plot that was slowly revealing its secrets. When I got to the final word written on November 31, I was surprised that I had stopped writing. Dare-I-say it was something I had enjoyed reading?
Since that fateful day that brought us together again a few things have changed. I have since begun extensive research and planning for a new novel that better suits me; less adventure and mystery, more character and drama. I’m not going to write 50,000 words in 31 days. My goal is to write and always be thinking and working towards completing a solid novel.
I feel lonely when I’m not writing and real life is more difficult without having the opportunity to lose myself in writing. I’m taking the time to identify some long term goals, apart from the obvious write & finish a novel, that will help me to become a better and successful writer.
And will I ever finish my Nano 2009 novel?
No different than a nasty break-up when you decide you just want to be single for a while, I wrote nothing. No novel. No blog. No writing commitment. I wrote nothing more creative than the occasional status update on Facebook or Twitter. But then there was that chance encounter that brought us together again. I was on the commuter train and bored with the scenery, my Blackberry, and my iPod. I fired up my laptop and read through my incomplete draft, abandoned at 50,475 words.
I had convinced myself months ago that because we had broken-up, I could never again have anything to do with my novel. We couldn’t be friends. But as I passed the time on the train, I started to remember all of the things I liked about my novel; an entertaining prologue worthy of publishing, one character I was particularly fond of, and a plot that was slowly revealing its secrets. When I got to the final word written on November 31, I was surprised that I had stopped writing. Dare-I-say it was something I had enjoyed reading?
Since that fateful day that brought us together again a few things have changed. I have since begun extensive research and planning for a new novel that better suits me; less adventure and mystery, more character and drama. I’m not going to write 50,000 words in 31 days. My goal is to write and always be thinking and working towards completing a solid novel.
I feel lonely when I’m not writing and real life is more difficult without having the opportunity to lose myself in writing. I’m taking the time to identify some long term goals, apart from the obvious write & finish a novel, that will help me to become a better and successful writer.
And will I ever finish my Nano 2009 novel?
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