Plan of Attack: 2012 Writing Plan

Posted by Jennifer Baylor at The Writing Cocoon.  
Filed under "Write1Sub1"

 I've been staring at a blank screen for some time, trying to write this post. The goals for 2012 are not the problem; I know exactly what I would like to accomplish. It is the plan itself that is holding me back. You see, in 2011 I had plenty of writing goals, but I accomplished much less than I had hoped for. Still, I wrote more in 2011 than I have in years, so that is progress. But, how do I make 2012 more productive?



Here are the main goals (and the goals specifically for this challenge):

1. Finish WIP#1 TLCS
2. Finish 1st Draft of WIP#2 DR
3. Participate in W1/S1: 2 times per month

The plan:

Create and Maintain a consistent writing routine. Now, this has been a struggle for me this year. I started with a simple goal to sit at my writing desk once per day, then tried detailed daily schedules. But the detailed daily schedule was too much. Next I tried a more general weekly goal lists with no daily schedule.That worked a little better, but I'm still failing at consistency.

I'm going to experiment with starting my day a little earlier and with some guided meditation, followed by yoga practice. I'm not a morning person, and my logic is that the meditation and yoga will help me focus and wake up, basically get the blood flowing. Then, I want to get in one hour of writing before noon, then two hours of writing later in the afternoon.

Each week, I will make a list of the writing I want to accomplish. I'm not going to put in a word count goal just yet. I'm a fast writer; if I can just get into the routine of writing every day, the word count will come. The goal is to write 5 days per week, Monday through Friday. I'd like to add a sixth day, but I feel I need to work on building the habit, first.

Practice writing skills daily. My writing skills are rusty, and I've been reading whatever I can find on building up my store of writing tools. I've come across much useful material, but about a month ago I found the book I've been looking for: How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills through Practice and Play by Barbara Baig. I'm really enjoying the exercises, tools and tips. This will be my "manual" for building my daily "practice" sessions (writing that won't be included in my daily word count).

Join a writing group and/or find a crit partner. I've toyed with this idea, looked online for local writing groups, but I just haven't found one that inspired me to leave my solitary writing cave and give it a go. It is time to get out there and give them a try. There are two or three in my area. I think it is important that I start getting some of my writing "out there" and receive feedback. I'm just not sure about these local groups - if they will be a good fit for me. I think I'd prefer a crit partner, someone I could exchange writing with on a regular basis. We'll see.

In 2012, if I can create and maintain the above plan, regardless of exact word count produced, I will consider the year successful. However, I don't see any reason why I can't accomplish the specific writing goals if I stick to the plan.

Absolute Write Novel Writing Challenge Blog Chain: 

For more information about the challenge, click here.
For more information about the blog chain, click here.

Participants:
Izz: Post up! Make with teh clickety!
alexshvarstman: http://www.alexshvartsman.com
Aggy B.: http://agcarpenter.blogspot.com/
mhaynes: http://michael-haynes.blogspot.com/
katsincommand: www.dmbonanno.com
Opinionated Ant: http://worddabbler.blogspot.com/

NaNoWriMo - Day 21

I wish I could say I'm wearing super Wrist Bands of Power, but, I'm not. I took a week off the computer - I had to. There was one day where I wrote nine-hundred words, but I couldn't sleep that night because of the resulting wrist pain. I couldn't even stand to use the keyboard long enough to check email, which gave me an unscheduled Internet holiday.  There was actual heat rising from my wrists.

What did I do instead of writing last week? I've done completed some longhand writing. I've read a couple of books. There's even been some research accomplished.

But, the sad truth, for NaNoWriMo anyway, is that I'm very behind in word count. I'm not too down about it. Really. In fact, the time off of the computer, sat on the sofa with a notebook and pen, has given me some time to think through the project. I've been playing with mind-mapping in my notebook - which I think I like.

I've also been thinking about writing more short stories. Several times on this blog I've mentioned wanting to participate in a little something called Write 1/Submit 1, and I'm almost sorry I didn't concentrate more on that as a first challenge rather than a second novel. Which led me to thinking about making a novella out of this year's NaNoWriMo. There are a few contests that take novella length fiction, and I can always make it into a novel later. I know novellas aren't the most popular of formats in modern publishing, but modern publishing is changing every day it seems. A novella just seems like an easier beast to wrangle while working on my first novel and other short story projects.

We'll see.

I'm grappling with whether or not to attempt a NaNo comeback this year. Do I try to accomplish an obscene number of words in the next nine days? Will my wrists fall off? Are these wrist bands actually magical? Will I, won't I?

How about you guys? Anyone having a NaNo meltdown? I know some of you are probably already finished - you bastards (I kid, I kid!). I read somewhere that only 1 in 5 people "win" NaNo. Don't know if that is true, but if you're one of those people, then congrats. It's a great feeling, isn't it? What about the rest of you who are still typing for NaNoWriMo glory? Anyone planning some epic all-nighters?

The Double Clawed Writer- A NaNoWriMo Update

Posted by Jennifer Baylor at The Writing Cocoon.  
Filed under "The Mental Game"

The last three days have been rough, and my body is following my mind in revolting against the challenge. It’s been a real test of my willpower to turn on the computer today.

First, my enthusiasm began to wane. Not my enthusiasm for my novel or the story - quite the opposite - but my enthusiasm for the NaNoWriMo challenge itself. I’m starting to get a feel for the story and the plot; ideas come to me faster than I can type, but I’m experiencing an inner rebellion about the time and word count constraints of NaNo. In short, I’m not feeling it. I don’t want to push through to the prescribed word count, paying no heed to the quality of the words, for the express purpose of arriving at the designated word count goal. I don’t want to prevent myself from going back to the first chapter and rewriting it because chapter four changed everything, simply because editing and rewriting are Na-NO's.

Then, there are my hands. Despite my finding and using these very helpful stretches for my arms and wrists - I’ve been in a considerable amount of pain the last few days.  Saturday I woke up and knew I couldn’t put hand to keyboard. I took some NSAID tablets, gave my forearms a massage and stayed off the computer all day long. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I couldn’t sleep Saturday night because my forearms and wrists ached so much that they kept me awake, tossing and turning.

Sunday I got out the wrist braces and took another day off from the keyboard. I took the computer-free time to do some mind-mapping, brainstorming and note-taking on my story…all with pen and my new notebook dedicated to this novel. I worked on editing my printed WiP1 manuscript. Writing with a pen didn’t feel bad at all…making me ponder the madness of writing out longhand some of my story.

Today, I’m braving the keyboard again. I’ve set a timer to go off every half hour for a stretching and walking break. These braces make typing difficult, but they do alleviate the strain and even the discomfort. Out went the horrible iMac mouse and in I plugged the bamboo tablet. The pen feels more natural in my hand, no pain.

I don’t know how this NaNoWriMo challenge will end this November. I don’t doubt that I’ll finish my draft, but I’m not sure of the time frame of 30 days. I’ll keep forging (I typed "foraging" at first, but that seems to fit, too) ahead. On the upside, some great ideas are coming to me, and the plot is developing. I’m getting the hang of fleshing out the scenes and connecting them to form my story. It isn’t something I can easily describe, other than to say that things are starting to click. I have hope for my WiP1, and I think WiP2 will turn out to be a pretty good first draft, at least, better than WiP1's first draft. Plot holes be damned, full speed ahead! Or, full turtle speed ahead.

How goes it for everyone else? Anyone doing the AW Novel Challenge along with NaNo? Anyone else feeling the heat rising off of their inflamed wrists and tendons?