WIP Wednesday - ROWing upstream against the current




Granted we are only 4 days into the new year, but I can already see the need to adjust my goals.  Monday Kait wrote this wonderful post about sustainable change and tweaking your goals as you go along and having regular measurable steps. Then I stumbled upon the 31 Day Better Writing Habits blog. It is co-founder by two authors: Jennifer of Procrastinating Writers and Suzannah of Write It Sideways and liked what they had to say, plus there are daily challenges. Things to think about and work on, so decided to do that as well.

The first change - I decided to quit rowing upstream. Realistically I don't have a whole lot of time to write in the morning on Monday and Thursdays since those are my days to work at the shop. I've been fighting that forever, trying to fit in writing on those days and it just doesn't work. It didn't work during Nano and I just made up for it the next day, which was a struggle keeping up with the word count. Monday night I sat down and stared at a page for 15 minutes and maybe wrote three sentences, so I knew that wasn't going to work. So I'm adjusting my goal to writing 5 days a week and will take myself out of the prize pool for the 90 day writing challenge. And if I do find the time to write on Monday and Thursdays, then that will just be a personal bonus for me.

I need to spend the next week or so reviewing Red Thief and doing some minor editing, plus type up all the pages I've written so far for Red Thief. I just haven't gotten there yet.  I keep writing but not typing. Stupidly, and I'll admit it, in order to get my 50k word count for nano, I used full names for everybody. I have to go through and fix that because it is really bugging me.

In an effort to create better writing habits I'll be journaling the answers to the daily questions and challenges:

Jan 1: What are your worst writing habits of 2010 - "Identify your worst writing habit to be overcome, and devise a game plan stating exactly what you will do to break that habit in 2011

Procrastination and not unplugging. I need to unplug and spend that time writing.

Jan 2: What writing goals are you going to achieve this year - "Go through your list of writing goals and evaluate them on the SMART scale. How do they measure up? And if you’re ready to publicly commit to making that SMART goal happen,comment or blog about it." 

Posted the smart scale in the side bar and I've set down my goals for Row 80.

Jan 3: Productivity and Focus - "Before you go to bed tonight, list one to three things you will focus on during your next writing session. Tomorrow, do nothing else until you have accomplished the items on your list." 

I'll be working on this every night.

Jan 4: How are you going to make time to write from this day forward:
"Begin to face the truth that you do actually have time to write. If you make time, that is. Today, make some time in your day and write." 

Yes Ma'am.

Jan 5: Is the writing space in your home inspiring -
"If you don’t have a dedicated writing space, decide on a spot in which you feel most inspired and comfortable for writing. Create a simple plan for how you will make that space your own, and how you will tailor it to your personal needs."  

We have a very small house. I write at our kitchen table surrounded by home school wall maps and books but it does have a lovely view of the garden. During the summer, I sit out on the patio. Think I'll replace the Eyewitness Great Scientist poster with a Great writers poster and an inspirational saying or too.

Grabbing a paddle and rowing. How about you?



Click here for the blog hop and other participants

6 comments:

  1. Love this post - you are doing great in my opinion.

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  2. Oh my gosh! Same here. I thought that if I only had less than a handful of goals, I could extend my time. Maybe I can, but I was overextended. ;)

    I readjust things where I think I'm doing good. Guess this is a trial by error thing, huh? (lol)

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  3. Great post. Thanks for the link to the Better Writing Habits blog. I think it's a blog I really need to follow!

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  4. This sounds like an awesome blog hop! Going to check it out. Good questions to ask each day and help with motivation.

    I'm trying a couple new tricks to help me stay motivated with my new year goals... curious to see if they help and glad to see that my goals match up with SMART!

    Good luck! I'll check back and see how you are doing!

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  5. Thanks for that link. It's great that you're recognising where you're struggling and adjusted because there's nothing as discouraging as staring at a blank page. It's all about finding what works for you. You're doing great!

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  6. I like the idea of journaling but I never seem to follow through very well! Good luck with your writing this year!

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