For Whom the Bell Trolls: as of Tuesday night, I've written 42,110 words!
I'm going to spill THE SECRET.
No, it has nothing to do with the book, though in a sense it has to do with the attitude that the book inspires.
--and no, I've never read THE SECRET.
It's all about positive attitude and hard work. This is my secret to sitting down and cranking out the words. And yes, it's simple to say and far harder to do and I have an slight advantage over those people who put in an eight to ten hour day at the day job. This is my job.
I'm not a writer who can write a consistent amount of words (for example, 100 words per day for a 100 days). I need my down time with my family in the evenings and on the weekend. Since April, I've treated writing as a job--a Monday-Friday type of job. As soon as I walk my kidlet to school, I get myself settled and I pop open my goals group chat room. And I write until I hit my goal for the day, 3000 words. Most of the days, I manage to write more. And today, I wrote 4000 words.
On the hour and the half hour, I speed write for twenty minutes with a ten minute break. I don't edit my work. I don't check for a better verb. I write the linear story. Sometimes I have to add notes to myself. NEEDS MOTIVATION TO GET BOOK. but I simply get the story out. Sometimes I play alone, but sometimes I have someone or three to play with. And it's far more fun playing with others. I like to try to get the high count (my competitive nature coming out) and I usually manage to write 3000+ words in roughly three hours. I need the breaks to walk around, check the pool, feed the fish, go to the bathroom, get more water, etc. I also use that time to think about my next scene.
I had to do this challenge because school is out on May 25th, and though my kidlet will be attending a few camps, I won't have the quiet time to write. I know this and adjusted my goals, BUT I will have time to edit. That was why I finished one story and within a few days I started writing another story.
And the perk--I'll have two rough drafts to edit over the summer.
So, peeps, until Friday. . .
Write on!
I admire you so much. I should be doing my revising instead of blogs and email first thing.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding, Edie! *SNORT* I've been trying to emulate your work ethic! :-)
ReplyDeleteI allow myself blog time, email, Farmville, etc first thing in the morning, but after I take my kidlet to school then it's time to work . . . except on the writing sprint breaks!
So far, this method works for me!
Great job on getting some writing done! I'm also worried about getting stuff done once the kidlets are out of school. i like your speedwriting idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lydia. I'm enjoying this speed writing, but by the end of the day, I'm a total wet noodle! I need to reach THE END and then I'll take a nice ten day break before I jump in the pool again to edit the material, write queries and synopses.
ReplyDeleteOr you could get up early and write before your kid gets out of bed. That's always worked for me.
ReplyDeleteBUT . . . different strokes. ;)
I've gotten out of the habit of doing that, Susan, but it's a good plan.
ReplyDeleteThis summer, the kidlet is doing various camps for a week and then has a week in between with nothing, which is why I planned to have two stories to edit: Faerie and Troll. :-P
I find that it's easier to edit with interruptions than just write.