Thursday, February 21, 2008
To Goal or Not to Goal, That is the Question…
Though I am sure to be met with much chagrin from my pantsing comrades here aboard the boat, I have devised a goal spreadsheet of sort. A kind of time line in which I determine where I should be in my writing and how many pages I want to write a week, then how long total it should take me to write my book and sort of a tentative completion date.
May 25. That’s my completion date.
I see that you’re skeptical. If you think you’re skeptical, let me clue you in on the little conversation I had with myself over this date.
*GM cues the lights and allows her multiple personalities free rein aboard a makeshift stage on deck*
Little bitty voice: Whoooaa… huh? May 25 is really close. That’s, like, before the summer and stuff.
Calming voice: Yes, little panicky voice, that is before the summer and stuff.
Little voice escalating and becoming laced with hysteria: Well, how do you perceive we’re going to manage that?!
Calm voice again: Well, just like everything else happens, you naggy whiner. One bit at a time. It’s all mapped out here.
Little voice, now a loud obnoxious voice: Oh! I see how you are! You think this spreadsheet, with its color coding and pretty mathematical calculations, is going to help you in those moments of writer’s block sure to come?!
Calming voice, with a sigh: Um, no, I realize this is just a spreadsheet, nitpicky pain in my ass. I do know I will have to write the book myself.
*The lights return to normal and GM gives a sheepish shrug.*
I’ll spare you this part. Just imagine the amount of skirmish that would ensue if someone told the pirates on the RWR there would be no more rum. Ever. Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.
For some reason, the idea of a timeline frightens many and that includes me. Somehow, setting such goals/deadlines is more frightening than tackling the herculean task of writing a novel one page at a time with no definitive end in sight. Why is that?
I think it’s because if I miss the deadline, I could feel bad about it and lose momentum. This would jumpstart a downward spiral of declining self-esteem and loss of motivation, resulting in the imminent death of my WIP, perhaps even my writing in general. *panting in drama queen fashion*
I have thought of this, trust me.
However, I’m a procrastinator. If I don’t have deadlines, I’ll put stuff off until I can’t put it off anymore. Therefore, because no one is standing over me, expecting my completed manuscript, it gets set aside. “I’ll do it later,” I say. “I’ll work through that hard scene tomorrow,” I hedge.
Recently I realized that this was making me angry with myself. I’ve found out that I’m now that someone standing over me, expecting my completed manuscript. And the longer I put me off, the worse I feel about it.
Now, that isn’t to say that my date won’t get pushed back again. Originally, I’d set a goal to have my WIP finished by February. However, that was before changing it from a straight-up Regency to a paranormal Regency. I had to adjust. I assume that there may be more adjustments in the future. Vacations, family illnesses, etc. But, a little more accountability never hurt anyone. Or at least an attempt at accountability.
As the captain is so fond to say: this isn’t a rule, it’s more of a guideline.
How about it, wenches and pirates? How do you feel about goals/timelines/deadlines and the like? If you hate them, why?
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27 comments:
Surely you jest. Skirmishes about the top deck when there would be no rum... Nah...
Okay, maybe just a little.
I'm one of those people who if they know they have a deadline in two weeks and it has to be sent in, the damn thing is done in three days and the rest of it is spent on remodeling it. I'm a nitpicker. I don't plan. I don't goal. I don't set myself deadlines. But I need someone deadlining me in order to write. I like pressure.
This was an awesome blog babe! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with several multiple personalities and different voices to go with them. LOL
I am a master procrastinator which means three things. A)I ignore all deadlines and put things off until 30 seconds before. No lie. B)I spend 99% of my time totally angry with and disappointed in myself. C)I rarely get anything done.
I gave myself a deadline of finishing my WIP by 12/31/07. Uh, unless a full novel is suddenly 70 pages, I missed that one. I promised myself I'd lose 20 pounds by Nationals (8/1). I'm bigger than I've been since 2002 and none of my clothes fit.
If I didn't have all of you to answer to, I'd rarely get a blog up every Monday. I guess I need accountability and the threat of pirate wenches kicking my ass. Oh yeah, I have that too. Hmmm...it's not working.
Hm, you too? I figured it was just me writing my blog at midnight on Wednesday morning... Damn, I shouldn't admit that. LOL
Don't feel bad Ter. I'm the Master of Procrastinators myself. We couldn't be pirates if we weren't.
I set goals but only because I love to break them. NOT! But I do set goals. And I do always break them. Hellion's Haven was supposed to be finished with revisions...um-yeah months ago. After chastising myself across the stormy seas, I've given myself two weeks to sail into port. Two weeks starting today. Oh that was yesterday. Well darn. Ok, so I have thirteen days left and I haven't made it past page 2. Only 398 more pages to go.
I know I can work to an external deadline (a novella in 8 days? Check!) but I have more difficulty when the deadline is self-imposed. I'm not a very good boss of myself. And I can't color-code anything. Pantsers-R-Us is where I go to shop for my XL bottoms. And Terrio, since my husband decided to retire early, I am now able to keep my extra twenty pounds and not go the National. *g*
Oh, Maggie, if only 20 was the only extra I had. LOL! We're really going to miss you but be prepared, you're not getting out of it next year.
Renee - you go girl. You're on a roll. BTW - Captain is going to love that title...
I set realistic goals for myself.
Sorry I won't say much my brain's not working today, though it's a good question if it works many days.
I figured out how much I could jam pack into a month (Started the beginning of UD and couldn't stop for a month and hit 40K... so divide that by four...that's how much I can do if I really really sit down and try. And there are no excuses I give myself, other than I'm a lameass that can't get it done. if I don't accomplish my goal. but I didn't know all this till I finished my first book and made it through two drafts on that book. when UD came around I could give myself a deadline... an over exaggerated one... I said April... well I'm done six weeks ahead of schedule cause I pushed myself.
I don't wait till last minute to do anything. I'm a get it done and outta the way kinda gal.
I'm sick, it's my excuse... I'm not preaching... what I should say is some of us work at different paces... some are better on the crunch some aren't... I'm not, cause i screw up more things if I rush when I'm fast approaching a deadline. That's just stress I cannot handle.
So, our blog is misnamed, huh? We should be Yo Ho a Procrastinator's Life For Me? LOL!!!
Sin - I wish I was such a nitpicker! I am like Ter, hold everything until the last second and then fluster about in panicked fashion. :(
Ter - I completely am with you. In some things I'm fine about it (it worked fine in college, after all). But, don't be disappointed with yourself! 70 pages is only 300 or so from "The End" and 70 pages closer than you were at the beginning.
Renee! You're planning to write a 400 page book in 13 days! Yikes! Good luck and keep us posted!
Maggie - Self-imposed deadlines are definitely not the same as external ones. I think the only way to make the self-imposed ones feel more external is to tell people about them. Peer pressure has never been so positive!
Tiff- your writing regime is awe-inspiring and is one of the things that told me that I could do something similar. Though, you are a little more firm with yourself than I think I can be, I have taken a page from your book.
Mine is that I know I can write about 5 pages a day, if I get a chance to write. And I know that if I can just get to the computer 4 days out of the week, that's 20 pages a week.
Who knows if this will work, but it feels realistic.
There definitely is a difference between reachable and unrealistic goals. The unrealistic ones just make me feel bad about myself. :(
Marn - hon - Renee is *revising* a 400 page book in 13 days. LOL! If she could write one in 13 days she'd have to write another book to tell us how to write a book in 13 days!
Oh sheesh. I just reread that. Sorry Renee. :( It snowed here last night after being 70 on Monday, so my sinuses are causing my face to feel like it's going to explode.
Don't mind me. Good luck with your revisions!
That would be a good book. Though, probably short... "Sit thyself in thy chair and write without stopping to eat, drink, sleep, or speak with any other person. Hope you finish in two weeks. The End."
I think I'm a little like Maggie in that external deadlines are always way more effective than internal deadlines. But I'm absolutely more like Terri in that I always wait until the last minute - A character trait I'm working very diligently on in all areas of my life! LOL
When it comes to my writing, though, and just about everything in my life that I consider fun or my time, I am very forgiving and almost never set timelines or deadlines. I had a real problem with too many "shoulds" in my life at one time and so now I think I've gone all the way in the opposite direction and try not give myself any "shoulds"! I have to find a happy medium. My whole life these days is about finding balance!
The "died in the wool" organizer in me loves timelines, lists, schedules and routines (and I use them all the time), but then I try not to stress or adhere too closely to them. LOL If that makes any sense whatsoever... I just realized how schizophrenic that sounds. I'm really not that schizo! It's all about that balance I was referring to earlier and forgiving myself for not being perfect.
Irish - that's funny that you call them *shoulds*. I call them *have tos*. I get it from that movie Parenthood. When Steve Martin's character is fighting with his wife and he has to go coach a little league game. When she asks, "Do you have to?" his answer is, "My whole life is have to." That's exactly how I feel ALL THE TIME! LOL!
I need that balance of which you speak. Do they sell that somewhere?
I haven't thought about setting a deadline, although I know me, and I don't think it would make a difference. I can't get past the first page. I'll be the first author in history to publish while living in a nursing home.
I admire you if you can make it happen:)Great blog Marnee.
I wish they sold it somewhere, Terri! If they did I'd buy a lot of it and pass it out as Bday and Xmas gifts! LOL
Irish - I completely understand the feeling of being pulled every which way. LOL!
I should stress here that goal setting only works for me if I'm very forgiving when I fail a bit. Then I say, "it's ok, Marn, tomorrow is another day to get back on track." I sound like I'm part of some 12 step program, but there it is. At least I hope at the end of this I'll just have more pages than I started with.
Ter - I love Parenthood! So much truth in all that.
Lisa - I hope I can accomplish that too. Here's hoping. And that's enough nursing home talk. Unless you're planning a VERY early retirement. Because you're dedicated for the GH this year, aren't you?
My shrink recomended the use of "I want to" in stead of "I have to" or "I should".
It does change the way of thinking, at least for me, allthough I fall into the should-trap way to easily.
(I should=chore=unpleasant)
Nope no GH for me this year, maybe next year.
That's how I was last year, Lisa. That was the first year I sat down and tried anything and obviously didn't get very far. LOL! Actually, I got about a third of the book written only to realize it was no good and started over.
Still not sure if I should bother this year but having that goal might be the only dang thing that gets my butt in the chair!
You'll knock 'em out next year!
Marnee Jo, it's a standing joke around here that when the preacher's words hit too close to home "he's stopped preachin' and gone to meddlin'." Your blog made me squirm as guiltily as a preacher's home truths do. :)
I'm exceptionally skilled at setting deadlines for myself. It is meeting them that is the problem. The one I am working toward now has been changed four times now. I don't have a problem with word counts either. I have written about 135,000 words; I just can't find the 80,000 worth keeping. I just keep writing and cutting, writing and cutting . . .
Brilliant! Okay, I know I should do this...but I hate not completing things. *LOL* Maybe I should start small. A page a day or something. Do you think small goals are as worthwhile as big one (i.e. finishing by May)?
Hellion LOVES your title, Renee. Terri knows me so well.
Janga - In no way was I attempting to stir up anyone's guilty reflexes today. My motivation for this blog was strictly to invoke the peer pressure response. (ie, if I tell people, maybe that'll help me meet my goals.) And go you with meeting word count. I have to say though, having just read what you write around here, I suspect that MOST of the 135K would be worth keeping in my book.... :)
Hellion - I think one page at a time is a fine goal. There are 365 days a year, so by this time next year you'll have a book. Though, I bet that I couldn't just write one most days. You know, you get going and before you know it you've gone on for at least 2.
Marnee was there a challenge in your words? A book written in two weeks? Is it possible? Hmmmm...I do like a good challenge, but first I have to get these revisions done.
Thanks Captain. Sorry it isn't about a female pirate. A Scottish border warrior will have to do. Her name is well deserved.
Irish, I love to use timelines and all that stuff but for the life of me I can't seem to remember where I put them. I suffer from the "have to". I have to feed the kids, do the laundry, the dishes, clean the bathroom. I guess it's part of the schizophrenic psychotic life of a homeschool family.
Oh, Marnee, I knew you were not intending to make me feel guilty. It's just that shame over my indolent nature and the ghosts of my hardworking forebears combine to make my guilt easily stirred. LOL!
Renee - a book in two weeks sounds like sheer insanity. :) I wonder if that is possible. Probably, if all one did was sit and write. I think it would be grueling though....
Janga - LOL about the easily invoked guilt! I have been working on cutting myself some slack. Guilt feels so paralyzing. I'm such a work in progress that it makes sense my WIP isn't perfect either. :)
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