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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Because It Works
If you guys ate anything like I did over the holiday weekend, you’re probably still in a carb-overload. (I do like me some green bean casserole.) In fact, every time I carbed up, I immediately went into my natural state: reclining on the couch, watching a Twilight movie. I read three books. I sewed some quilt blocks (it’s cold enough to go back to that little project again.) I perused a Jo-Ann’s ad just so I could taunt Deerhunter about it. (Oh, I’ll be coming home with more fabric soon, just wait.)
But the indolence must come to an end. This is the time of year people like to join weight loss plans because they want to get a head start on the New Year. You’d be amazed how much weight you can lose this time of year if you put your mind to it, and don’t do what I did this weekend. It just requires a little planning, a little discipline, and a little faith. Honestly it doesn’t even take a whole lot of any of these three things. I find that once you get started on such a weight loss plan and you see it’s working, it manifests itself: you’re more inspired and you throw yourself into it even more. If at any point you fall off the wagon (so to speak), you still look at how far you’ve come and you’re more willing to dust yourself off and get going again.
Weight Watcher's current motto is: Because it works. And it does. It just requires some modest commitment every day and eventually you'll see the payoff. Writing is the same way. It's hard to see the end when you know you need 400 pages and if you're like me, you delete 5 pages for every 7 you write. Still, it's progress. It's a journey, not a sprint. You need to be going; you don't necessarily have to be going in a straight line. I find once you get the hang of doing it everyday, you're more apt to go in straighter lines anyway, like riding a bicycle.
It’s really like that Newton’s law of motion thing. An object at rest stays at rest; an object in motion stays in motion. You don’t have to be going fast. You just need to be going.
Bo’sun reminded us last week that writing is fun. And that we should stop worrying so much and just do it. Now I’m suggesting we get started sooner than 2012 and start now. We’re going to be surprised by how much we can do in four weeks.
Bo’sun gave us the BIG GOAL for the year. The craft book I read this week—a refresher in the obvious—talked about breaking down your big goal into smaller ones. Like you would with weight loss. You want to lose 100 pounds, but that’s too much and too demoralizing. So you say you want to lose 5% of your weight, and you commit to a plan of exercise, portion control, and more veggies. Smaller goals turn into big goals.
I am all about Bo’sun’s Big Goal, but I need to break it down to a 5% goal right now. Something easy to commit to, something easy to see the change, something that can be turned into a habit. Breaking a bad habit takes 21 days. I’ve got a month before the New Year, to lay the new habits I’ll need to make 2012 the success I want it to be. To make that happen, the first rule of every writer is to write every day. Rain or shine. Muse or museless.
So for my 5%, I’m writing everyday for 30 days. So anyone with me? If you’re not writing anything new, do you want to commit to editing so many pages a day or sending out so many queries or submitting to so many contests?
But the indolence must come to an end. This is the time of year people like to join weight loss plans because they want to get a head start on the New Year. You’d be amazed how much weight you can lose this time of year if you put your mind to it, and don’t do what I did this weekend. It just requires a little planning, a little discipline, and a little faith. Honestly it doesn’t even take a whole lot of any of these three things. I find that once you get started on such a weight loss plan and you see it’s working, it manifests itself: you’re more inspired and you throw yourself into it even more. If at any point you fall off the wagon (so to speak), you still look at how far you’ve come and you’re more willing to dust yourself off and get going again.
Weight Watcher's current motto is: Because it works. And it does. It just requires some modest commitment every day and eventually you'll see the payoff. Writing is the same way. It's hard to see the end when you know you need 400 pages and if you're like me, you delete 5 pages for every 7 you write. Still, it's progress. It's a journey, not a sprint. You need to be going; you don't necessarily have to be going in a straight line. I find once you get the hang of doing it everyday, you're more apt to go in straighter lines anyway, like riding a bicycle.
It’s really like that Newton’s law of motion thing. An object at rest stays at rest; an object in motion stays in motion. You don’t have to be going fast. You just need to be going.
Bo’sun reminded us last week that writing is fun. And that we should stop worrying so much and just do it. Now I’m suggesting we get started sooner than 2012 and start now. We’re going to be surprised by how much we can do in four weeks.
Bo’sun gave us the BIG GOAL for the year. The craft book I read this week—a refresher in the obvious—talked about breaking down your big goal into smaller ones. Like you would with weight loss. You want to lose 100 pounds, but that’s too much and too demoralizing. So you say you want to lose 5% of your weight, and you commit to a plan of exercise, portion control, and more veggies. Smaller goals turn into big goals.
I am all about Bo’sun’s Big Goal, but I need to break it down to a 5% goal right now. Something easy to commit to, something easy to see the change, something that can be turned into a habit. Breaking a bad habit takes 21 days. I’ve got a month before the New Year, to lay the new habits I’ll need to make 2012 the success I want it to be. To make that happen, the first rule of every writer is to write every day. Rain or shine. Muse or museless.
So for my 5%, I’m writing everyday for 30 days. So anyone with me? If you’re not writing anything new, do you want to commit to editing so many pages a day or sending out so many queries or submitting to so many contests?
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29 comments:
Eeee gads. More homework! Okay...some little goals. Increment goals... I'll spend an hour everyday on updating my website. No, I don't like that one... I'll catch up on the blogs I have to do in Dec... eh.
I want a goal that fills me with excitement! There's got to be something...
Okay, I'll edit 5 pages everyday on some older MSS I want to get my agent to look at. And I'll write 5 new pages on a few things I want to finish, while listening to some of my favorite soundtracks...
And I'm taking my b-day off. Completely.
It's true that if you write a little each day you will get somewhere.
But that somewhere may not be where you want to be!
To achieve the massive goal of writing a novel that people want to read, I would recommend a 'Divide and Conquer' strategy which works well in other fields. You have to split the task into smaller tasks.
Helli proposes invoking Newton's law of motion, recognising that once you get moving you will keep moving until some obstacle deflects you. This is fine if you have a brilliant plot to pursue. But a waste of time if you're writing garbage.
No my friends. Learn to divide and conquer. My proposed strategy:
1) First you must have great ideas worth writing about. If you don't then concentrate your time on getting some.
2) Next you must structure your ideas into a recognisable plot .... only needs to be skeletal at this stage.
3) Split the plot into smaller segments, preferably sequential in time.
4) Select a segment, preferably the earliest in time.
5) Get writing following Helli's approach, but concentrating on one small segment at a time.
If no obstacles or tempting diversions arise, then you will finish it .... guaranteed!
Can you tell that I'm a theoretician? *grin*
I'm in! I love this Hellie, such a great idea, and I need the push. I'm doing a major round of revisions right now, which is really re-writing about 1/3 of my scenes (head, meet desk). So I commit to 30 minutes a day, rain or shine. It doesn't sound like much, and most days I'll be able to go longer.
My work schedule is about to go crazy. Starting next week, I have to be in Baltimore 3 days a week, which is a two hour drive, each way. It's going to suck. My temptation, when doing that much driving, is to just not write at all. But that's not the answer. So my goal is to write at least 30 minutes each morning, before I get in the car, and then I can use the drive time to dwell on my new scenes and changes.
I'm with Chance - goals need to fill us with excitement! This one does for me. yipee :)
Okay, I’ll edit 5 pages everyday on some older MSS I want to get my agent to look at. And I’ll write 5 new pages on a few things I want to finish, while listening to some of my favorite soundtracks…
And I’m taking my b-day off. Completely.
Any of the goals you listed would have been worthy! No worries. Promotion is just as tedious (if not more so) than the writing. But yes, you should pick a goal you're more excited about in order to keep with it. Like it's more fun to lose 10 pounds so you can wear a new flattering red dress than it is to go to a class reunion. (Or it would be for me.)
And definitely take your b-day off.
There was a quote I saw on Facebook about eating during the holidays and weight gain--and it said, "It doesn't matter what you eat from Thanksgiving to Christmas. What matters is what you eat from Christmas to Thanksgiving." Same would be with writing, right? Taking off a few days of the year to spend with family and friends isn't something bad, but it's what you're doing the other 11 months of the year--that's what you should be watching out for. :)
Quantam, you make a good point. No use writing just whatever if you want to actually make a novel with any sort of rhyme or reason! I'll try to keep it on the low down from the other pirates, but your plan looks a bit like an OUTLINE, but we'll call most of this as a pre-planning stage, which is also writing time. Sometimes writers just have to write scenes they see in their head to figure out character or subplots or whatever. Then you can do a sketch on paper--or your head--to figure out the beginning and the end and probably some key points in between, like you said.
Once you have a road map, that's probably the time to actually pull out of the driveway, otherwise you might run out of gas at an inopportune moment!
Mind you, some writers do write without a pre-plan--it just requires more re-writing when the time comes. I do second your advice, but we both know that there is no wrong way to eat an elephant.
(My Mountain Dew hasn't kicked in yet. I apologize.)
I’m in! I love this Hellie, such a great idea, and I need the push. I’m doing a major round of revisions right now, which is really re-writing about 1/3 of my scenes (head, meet desk). So I commit to 30 minutes a day, rain or shine. It doesn’t sound like much, and most days I’ll be able to go longer.
It's making the commitment and sitting there for 30 minutes to write--that's the biggest hurdle. You and I know that once you actually do it, you'll probably go longer (as most of us do, rather like exercise, et al.) But it's the initial SIT DOWN AND WRITE that kills us.
I'm loving this. And Q's list all works as "writing" as Hellie points out. The suggestion to "flesh" out the story, so to speak, is an excellent one. And exactly what I've been doing. I'm cooking up a new short story (15K) and have been making notes and coming up with scenes. My goal is to crank out this story in December so that works perfectly with this blog. Huzzah!
Now if the damn plot bunnies would stop trying to push this thing over 15K, I'd be golden. LOL! And I'm taking my birthday off too!
My goal is to crank out this story in December so that works perfectly with this blog. Huzzah!
Woot-woot!! Go, Bo'sun, it's your birthday! Go, Bo'sun, it's your birthday...
Again, my Mountain Dew is malfunctioning and I've got like 90+ emails and irate people and folders that are multiplying like death dust bunnies. It's too early on Monday to run away isn't it? DAMNIT.
Okay, sorry, sorry--HUZZAH to the Bo'sun for a new story idea and a PLAN! Here's to fulfilling your short story goal and submitting it in the new year!
That's one good thing about having worked on Friday. I'm not behind at all. Though my party RSVP cards are coming in by the stacks!
I'd say something spiteful about your lack of behindness (though mine is due to twitting around as well as being gone), but your mention of the party makes me realize you won't be singing long. *LOL* Pollyanna will probably die before noon.
Actually, the party is going much better this year. I've decided to skip the money dude and use the charge card freely. LOL! Made my life so much simpler. Though I do need to take care of those requisitions today.
Numbers are looking great. Now I have to hope we have enough room!
Always easier to get forgiveness than permission. *LOL*
I have permission. It all has to be paid and the big guy's name is on the card I'm using. It's his party after all. The other dude is just a stick in the mud who doesn't like parties. He's probably happier not being involved. So really, I'm saving us both the hassle.
*LOL* You're thumbing your nose at the penny-pincher aren't you? *LOL* But yes, I'm sure he's just as happy as you are he's no longer involved.
My only goal right now is to finish these &^%$& articles on divorce. If I'm not too depressed by all the divorce info running through my head, I hope to be writing again next week. But first I have to catch up on reviews, blogs, reading, sleep, and laundry--not necessarily in that order.
I'm having Greek yogurt for lunch. That's a good start on that 5% and on overcoming the guilt of having eaten cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole with praline topping, and cheesecake with my Thanksgiving turkey.
Wow, Janga, that does sound like an upbeat topic to write on! *LOL* Yeesh.
http://www.divorcerate.org/
Holy cow--there's a 74% divorce for 3rd marriages! I love the reasoning--childlessness leads to divorce because people are lonely. Okay, so that's smart to divorce yourself from the ONE bit of company you had. Genius. Adopt! Yeesh! Foster. Something!
Oh, and Huzzah on the good lean protein (and calcium), double whammy of the weight loss front! And your sides sound delicious and worth it! Thanksgiving is only one day a year, after all!
Being childless does not lead to loneliness. Those people are twits. Not having kids simply cuts out a major complication of divorce and makes it easier to make the call. Duh!
I think some divorce happens--and I don't know because I've neither been married, divorced, nor in a relationship that lasted beyond a L&O TV series--because people discover they're not happy all the time. Which of course no one ever is. But then they think they're unhappy because of this person and if they just get rid of them, they'll be happier. Like I hate my hair, so if I cut it all off, I'll think I look younger and prettier. And then you realize you didn't hate your hair--you hated that you let yourself go and you're blaming your hair...or something like that.
But then I think the other half of divorces are totally deserved, so I don't know. I guess statistics are just that: statistics. You can make whatever you want of them. Right?
I love this too! I'm in as well. I want to finish revisions on this book by the end of January. I'm giving myself two months to finish it up. And while I'm revising, I'm thinking of my next book. I already know which hero I want and I think I know his girl. So, I'm going to do lots of research about that. I need to find all I can about sex trafficking in the early 1800s. Good fun.
Most divorces could be avoided. Before the wedding day.
My GH entry has arrived in the RWA offices! I actually made a deadline by five full days. This never happens!! LOL!
Someone should have told that to Kim Kardashian. Both times. I hear Britney Spears is hoping for third time lucky!
Huzzah on the right-on-time entry! Now here's hoping for a finalist placement!
I love this too! I’m in as well. I want to finish revisions on this book by the end of January. I’m giving myself two months to finish it up. And while I’m revising, I’m thinking of my next book. I already know which hero I want and I think I know his girl. So, I’m going to do lots of research about that. I need to find all I can about sex trafficking in the early 1800s. Good fun.
I almost missed this! Sorry, Marn!!
Awesome on the revisions and the "stewing" of the new book idea. Good two-fer mentality. You won't get bored with the old stuff because you'll also have new stuff to play with and vise versa!! It's like a reward either way. *LOL*
Goal: Finish novel one. Finish novel two. Make them pretty before NaNo next year.
Also, write lots of fan fiction.
I'm going to write 5k a week. Every week. That's my ultimate goal.
*clapping* Yeah, Sin, I love stated goals! I know you can do it! I know you can do 5K a week in your sleep--mostly because I know you're secretly a Cullen and don't actually need sleep, but whatevah.
Okay, I wrote 5 new pages. I think they sorta suck, but they move the story forward and that is what I need to get to at the present... Now, 5 pages of editing...
Okay! That was actually fun! I didn't realize how much pre-editing I'd done over the years so it isn't so bad and I am excited at the idea of getting A Caribbean Spell ready for my agent to see...
I'm in!
Yeah for being in! *pauses* That doesn't sound quite right, does it? Hmm. Well, I'm still glad you're participating! It'd be awesome to see A Caribbean Spell on the shelves! :)
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