Past Due

So, as many of you know, I had a tentative writing goal of finishing my first draft by July 31.

I did not succeed.

My next goal is for September 15, 2011. At that time, I desperately want that first draft complete. While it is true I have a third goal, a goal that absolutely MUST be met, set for December 31 of this year, it would be nice if I could make it by September 15.

Only problem? That's a little more than a month away and I am not even half-way through the first draft. I know I can do it, if I set my mind to it, but it won't be easy. Because of that fear of failure and the difficulty I am facing, I have a request of all of you who are kind enough to be reading this.

Can you give me your support?

I need you to needle me a bit, push me to get this work done. Even now, the current chapter I'm working on (oh, the depressing facts; it's Chapter 4) lies open on my computer. I just haven't written anything in it today. Or yesterday. Or the day before that. If I have any hope of meeting my next deadline, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

 

Writing quote of the day:

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." William James

Happy writing all and thanks for all your help!

The Sweet Smell of Success!

 So, I did it. I turned off the internet and wrote over 3000 words yesterday and today. And it felt GOOOOOOOD!

I'm so happy to have done it! I accomplished what I set out to do. Okay, so only two days are done and there are twenty-eight left (it's so depressing when I say that), but I did it for two days! I am officially 6000 words richer than I was just yesterday when I posted on this blog. So, no matter what happens in the future, I have still come out the better for this exercise.

And let me tell you, to successfully finish something important is the biggest high ever. I feel like I could run a marathon right now. I'm skipping, I'm twirling, I'm happier than I've felt since I was knee-deep in my book two months ago and loving it.

I have to say, I think this idea rates among the best I've ever made. Even if I don't finish the book by the end of the month (which I still am going to try to do), this has made me love my work again, and that is no small fete!

The challenge feels exhilarating, to say the least! So my (unasked for) advice of the day is: if you're having an attack of the doldrums, can't seem to discover that inner spark that you had just a little while ago, challenge yourself with the almost impossible and watch yourself blossom with success. It worked for me (so far).

I've come up with a work strategy to help me write every day. I start by setting up an area on a desk of some sort for my laptop to sit on with the notebooks I've made outlining my idea nearby, preferably open. I have to pull up a comfortable chair with some sort of pillow to keep me nice and relaxed. Then, I play light classical music in the background, to help me think and drown out the distractions of the world around me (they say classical music improves your brain function, and after much experimentation of my own, I believe it). After that, I shut off the internet and pull up my book on the computer. While I work, the urge to pull the internet back up to look up some fact or do some research on some moment in the book overtakes me at least once or twice. But I persevere and refuse to allow the treacherous heart to lead me unto temptation.

I'm sorry if I sound all braggy. But I'm just so excited! Do you know how many personal goals I've set and failed? And, so far, I've done what I set out to do on this one, and the success has me feeling like I could fly!

Well, thanks to all my readers for tuning in for another installment. Sorry it came so late in the day, but I wanted to get my 3000 words done for the day first.

Here's some questions for all my readers: Have you ever set a challenging goal for yourself and found yourself exhilarated by the work? Have you ever set a challenging goal for yourself and failed miserably? Did that make you feel depressed (it has me)? What kind of challenge would you relish in your life right now?

Here's a video that had me dying laughing the first time I watched it. I could NOT get over this chair! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

And, to finish, the writing quote of the day:

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.  ~Baltasar Gracián

Writers Write...Right?

 

I haven't written for another day (except in my blog). It's like my life suddenly picked up again. My entire life was this book for a long time, and nothing interfered. Now, suddenly, a life is knocking on my door and intruding in my writing time. Stupid life.

But, seriously, I haven't written anything in my book for two days. Mostly because I haven't had time, but also because I'm procrastinating...again. It's hard work, the words aren't flowing the way they used to, and the internet is a powerful distraction.

However, I really don't want to end up like this:

So, writers write, right? Why am I not writing? I know I'm a writer, the last ten years have told me that, but what about right now? Don't I want to get this work finished? Well, yes, but I'm not sure where to go next in what I've written, even with the stupid outline. What should Yelina say or do to prove she's an evil stepmother (which she really isn't, but she seems like one at first)? I don't want to be too cliche. Although, to be honest, my style in writing is to start with the cliche, make it look cliche, then twist it around to almost the exact opposite of cliche. So, should I go with my instincts and start with the cliche, where I have her yelling and giving my character really evil, plotting looks in the beginning? And then twist it all around later when Yelina turns out to be the only person who tries to save the main character, as the not-so-evil stepmother (that was my original intention)? But if I start with the cliche, won't people stop reading?

Should I care if people stop reading?

Being a writer, I'm supposed to write for me first, and readers second. That's because there is absolutely no way to please everybody in the world, as we all have different tastes, but I can certainly please me and my tastes. But it's so hard to do in practice, sometimes. How do you shut off the back of your mind, where it describes how badly this is going to flop, no one will want to publish it, and people are going to hate you? Especially when you're a natural born people-pleaser like me. 

Why can't I take the attitude so many others have? That it doesn't matter what they think, I'm going to do what I love and they can go be unhappy somewhere else.

Despite all, I think I'll go with my planned plot and make Yelina look truly evil at first, then twist her character a full 180 degrees after the extreme circumstances hit. Does that sound good, or does it seem stupid to you? Would YOU read past the cliche and find out what happens next?

I can and will write this book. The question is WHEN. So, I have decided to set a goal time for finishing the first draft. The first goal time is going to be extreme, to try to push me to do it soon and not put it off til the last minute. Then, I'm going to have a second and third goal time that the first draft of the first book HAS to be done by, no exception.

First Goal: End of July 2011 (Possible, but difficult)

Second Goal: September 15, 2011

Third And Final Goal: December 31, 2011

I really want to be done by the end of this month. To make that, I have to write no less than 2,667 words a day, every day, this month (assuming this is a typical 80,000 word novel). To do that, I will probably have to turn off the internet at 6:00PM, at least, every day and have my book open to write in for the time period after that.

I guess I'm going to attempt my own version of NaNoWriMo. For those of you not in the know (which is no shame, because I never knew of it before last year), that stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it is held every year from November 1st to November 30th. Check it out here. It is completely free and my computer plus Google says it is also virus-free.

Well, I hope you guys are rooting for me! Let's see if we can't cut through the procrastination and worry and get this writing show on the road!

Goal: 3,000 words a day for the next 30 days

Goal: Complete novel by end of July 2011

Goal: Shut down Internet every day at 6PM, and DON'T reopen it

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all of you taking the time to read my blog! Here's hoping I can meet my goals!