Need Help With Your Writing Discipline?

This week my radar's been tuned to the discipline of writing and, therefore, I found several good places for help.

1.  Margie Lawson's Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors (class notes packet @ $22/each) found here: http://www.margielawson.com/lecture-packets/defeat-self-defeating-behaviors.  I plan to invest in myself by purchasing it later this month.  From a recent recommendation on this ML course, it sounds a lot like the premises within FLYLady.net, so I'm on board.

2.  A wonderful blog by Rachel Aaron (sometimes "RA") about how she increased her daily writing from 2K to 10K, here is that link: http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html.  A quick synopsis of her three-point process is to (a) prewrite, freehand, just for five minutes what you plan to write on today; (b) track your time investment and see what time of day/locales make for higher daily WC; and (c) enthusiasm--if your scene bores you, your readers will be bored too, so don't waste your time on it--write the scene you (and then your readers) love.

3.  I see another post by Rachel Aaron re editing for people who hate editing (which I have yet to read but based on the above article, I'm betting it's just great).  Her link is here:  http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2012/02/editing-for-people-who-hate-editing.html.

4.  Again, I've only read about this and have not participated, but there is a Twitter following re #1k1hr which seems to be a daily writing deadline that I will check out.

5.  Another not-yet-investigated avenue is a Yahoo! group that writes one hundred WC for one hundred days or you have to start over if you miss a day.  The link I wrote down doesn't work, so here's another link:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/100WordsChallenge/.  From one posting I read about this procedure, you get a certificate in the mail for each one-hundred-day period you successfully complete.  Again, writing discipline.  I need more of that.

Of course, I'm a big NaNo proponent and it fulfills the Rachel Aaron "triangle" approach noted above in item #2.  Per NaNo, I can outline before November, prepare for my novel, just not write it until Day 1.  That's RA's point (a).  Within Nano, we track our time.  More loosely than RA's point (b), but we at least know we did fifty thousand words in thirty days--therefore, Rachel's spreadsheet idea is a good one for monitoring productivity.  Plus, NaNo participation is fully enthused with the energy of a massive amount of authors gathered together.  Not exactly RA's point (c) which is more on an individual basis, but enthusiasm makes NaNo ROCK, so why not use this element on our other projects?

Now I just need to translate that to the other months of the year.

With my freelance work, I keep daily records so I know how many hours each project took to complete.  Having worked decades with time-keeping attorneys, it comes instinctively to me.  Yet, I had not applied it to my novel creating.  Duh!

I love Rachel's honesty and humor and self-deprecating insight.  These were quite simple revelations, yet so elegant.  So wise.  I've noted in my own postings how my light-bulb moments seem so obvious--and yet, that is where they are hidden most times.

Thanks for sharing, Rachel!

Denise Barker, author
Good Ole Boys, a love story
Professional Freelance Copy Editor

The New Math, by Denise

I recently gave up a day job and gained thirty-two hours plus some transit time.  Which I have allocated to about forty-five hours of weekly To Do items.  Yeah, I know.  The math does not work.

However, I am not numbers-challenged.  I am dream-driven and madly pursing them this month.  Amid NaNoWriMo.  Along with my copyediting jobs (love to read and get paid for it!).  Doing some belated spring-cleaning, step-by-step.  Making progress.  Not as much as I would like to see, but it still makes a smile overtake my face when I pass by one spot that is organized or glimpse a cabinet, knowing behind that door is less clutter and more useful "stuff."

Last night I went through two Banker's boxes of paper I had saved.  I tossed a bunch of old receipts, filed the others, but really, I was mining for the gold--pictures that prompt a novel in me, wisdom that could be the theme for my next book, goal-setting tips because I'm always reaching higher, humorous quotes to guarantee me at least one hearty belly laugh.  We all need more belly laughs.

One thing I realized about my boxes.  They are all To Do items awaiting action.  Instead of throwing in another great article about one single Bible verse that I want to add to my latest volume in my collection of favorites, I should really just stop and type it in a Word doc labeled so.  Back it up weekly.  Voila.  Handled once.  Less stuff in a box for me to review later.  And a quick fix.

I know.  Not enough time in the day to do all our tasks perfectly.  Sometimes it is added to the box(es) marked "Later."  Still, me and my systems are improving.  And it puts my mind in that alert-warning spot where it now looks how to streamline my old processes.

Works for me.

Today, I've got NaNo (of course, this IS November), two copyediting projects to spend some hours on, a few loads of laundry, my Final Edit of my debut novel--twenty-five pages or so for the next nine days would do it--and homemade spaghetti to tackle.

I don't make all my deadlines, but I like having them.  They motivate me.  What motivates you?

No Speeding Required, Just Consistency

I am hard on myself.  I am a perfectionist.  I have multiple To Do lists that I want to check off each item as completed.

My life is already full of deadlines.  Some set by me.  Goal-oriented deadlines.  Self-determined publication deadlines for my (near) future indie-publishing novels.  Some set by others.  Deadlines related to my freelance copyediting job.  Deadlines surrounding my day job.  Today I found myself dictating a clothes washing mandate.  Setting the timer for thirty minutes.  Which is no big deal.  Not really.  But I had all day.  Why was I pushing myself?  Why was I interrupting my train of thought (whether reading or writing) with a harsh, monotonous, irritating tone every half hour?

Granted, self-direction and self-motivation are great tools for an entrepreneur or author to have.  Just not too much of it.

I am also blessed with determination, consistency, stick-to-itiveness (yes, that is the way Webster’s spells it—I am a freelance copy editor and, by habit, check these things).  Some call me stubborn for embodying such tenacity of spirit.  If “stubborn” is what gets me to beloved bestselling author status, much less any of my other goals, so be it!

So, for today, each time you set a time limit on yourself, ask:  Is this really necessary?  At all?  Or at that interval?  Is it making my day easier or harder?  Is it getting me closer to my dream goal or just weighing me down?  Because it may not be a task that you need to accomplish.  Not today or any day.  Your time could be wiser spent doing other things.  And enjoying it more. 

One more thing.  We all run at different speeds.  My speed is not yours and vice versa.  Be happy with your own speed.    

Sometimes it doesn't feel like we are much in charge of our lives.  However, the decisions are truly ours.

So, decide.  It is your life after all.