I have decided that I'm going to develop (and try to stick to) some sort of schedule. It may not work, because my days tend to be all over the place, ending at all odd hours, but it may help me to stay on track a LITTle more, and feel a lot more productive!
And ain't no shame in that ;)
My new goal is to write at the very minimum 1000 words per day. I've decided that I will try to achieve this goal every weekday between 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and every weekend between 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
And of course the best way to stick to something is to TELL people about it, because once everyone knows, it makes it harder to not do it, because now other people have expectations of you too.
Wish me luck! Day 1 starts TODAY.
Time to share. Do you have some sort of writing schedule or daily writing goal that you currently adhere to? If not, do you have one in mind that you plan to implement SOON?
24 comments:
I'm horrible with schedules. I tried the whole schedule thing but the second I put a qualifier on my writing, I freeze up, stare at the screen for endless hours and wonder what the hell I'm supposed to do with myself. So no, I have no schedule.
All I know is I need to finish draft one by August 23rd because I'm going away for two weeks and want to be gone when people start reading my book.
GOOD LUCK
When you're in the flow of a project, 1000 is actually quite easy. I'm so busy at the moment I can't committ to a schedule like I used to, BUT, as long as I write something everyday I feel alright. Good luck, Karen.
Good luck with your schedule. I find it hard to keep to something like that - real life work and unpredictable commuting seem to expand into hours that I hoped may have been clear. But I can definitely see how it would be lovely to have such a schedule. I think things would get done a lot quicker!
Good luck with your new goals! I don't set anything like that. I wouldn't follow it, and then I would feel bad because I didnt' meet my goals. Plus, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. I might not write anything for a week, but then get that itch and sit down and write 5K in a few hours. Everyone's different though, best of luck to you!
~JD
Good luck! I find when I do blocks of time, like ten minutes of non stop writing I can get a good 300+ words done. So two hours should be enough time to get at least 100 words done.
Keep us updated on your progress.
I do 1000 a day. Sometimes that's all my WIP, sometimes it's other projects, idea sheets, or whatever. So long as I get the 1k, I don't stress much about what or when. Though I do my best to have it be my WIP. :)
I can't do that but I know many writers who do. I just write and if a lot come out good, and if not, oh well the next day they usually do.
I don't set a wordcount, because sometimes getting a critical paragraph just right can take some time. But I do work off a weekly itinerary, listing my writing goals for the week. It helps keep me on track.
Good luck with your schedule.
I don't schedule my writing. My life is all over the place too and I just do what I can when I can. When I'm first drafting I don't have any difficulty getting the story down - it's much slower when I'm revising or editing.
Hope this works for you :)
I suck so hard at any kind of regular schedule - being a freelance writer, I just go with whatever job pops up, and then fit my MS in the day somewhere around it, lol. But I do tend to write around 1K a day on the MS, so it works out :D Good luck!!
Good luck! That's a great goal. I don't really have a schedule. I do most of my writing late at night when everyone else is in bed. I try to write ten pages a week. I try to do two pages a day, but if I'm short some days I can make it up on others. Saturday is my biggest day for making up the pages.
I'm gonna hold you to it! Good luck!!
Congratulations and good luck on your new schedule! I seem to always be trying out new ones. Sometimes I stay on schedule, most times real life gets in the way. Just don't beat yourself up about it. The most important thing is to keep on keeping on!
Melissa - I know what you mean - I've tried putting one in place before--but now, I'm actually going to stick to it (I hope)! Good luck with finishing yours too!
Karen - You're very right. I'm not quite there yet, but I hope that forcing myself to write everyday will inspire me and it will become easier.
Jayne - Exactly, everyone is different and you need to do what works best for you.
Justine - 5K in a few hours is amazing! I think you've already hit the nail on the head. Don't change a thing!
Erinn - I hope so! I'm worried about TRYIng to write for 2 hours and not coming up with anything at all.
Mesmerix - I'm so glad it works for you - you're giving me lots of hope :D
Terri - Once those words are coming out, it doesn't matter when they do!
Joanne - That's a really great idea too, and it sounds like it keeps you right on track :)
Jemi - It is very hard to schedule writing in, but I'm beginning to worry that if I don't, this story will only live in my head.
Zoe - I understand where you are coming from - I'm so glad it works out for you though!
Angie - I'm going to try to do extra on the weekends too, but I'm starting small for now - I may just end up getting way too ambitious and accomplishing nothing!
Elana - Ahhh, the pressure is on! But I really will try to stick to it this time! :)
Mary Anne - Thank you for the encouragement - I have to work on not beating myself up when things don't go as I planned.
I used to sit at the computer religiously every morning at 10 a.m. and not leave the desk until 2 p.m. Then, I would do it again in the evening at 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. I got some great work done during those times.
Alas, school let out and schedules got thrown out the window. Now, I write whenever I get a spare moment, sadly praying until the weather turns colder again so I can re-form my schedule! Wait--did I just wish summer away? What am I doing? I live in Canada for god sakes!
Good luck. I hope you find a schedule you can keep.
I don't have a schedule. I have priorities. I keep a notepad on my desk where I list the things I must get done that day. I star the ones most urgent, then I mark them off as I get them accomplished.
Nathalie - WOW, how did you do it? That's amazing - at least you know it CAN be done, right? Nonono, don't wish summer away - not yet ;), but I hear what you're saying. The warm weather does have a habit of throwing things off balance.
Helen - That's very useful - that way you accomplish something important everyday :)
Good for you. I need a writing schedule because I feel like my days are disappearing. This morning, I wrote two blog posts and applied for a job. After that I was too spent to write or edit.
I had word count goals with my draft but not on my revision. I'm trying to just go and not notice the word count this time around to see which works better.
That's awesome! Hope you meet your goal. I should have one, but during the summer, with kids home it's a lot harder. I plan on forcing myself to start something new though, then the waiting on the other stuff won't be so hard.
Theresa - I know exactly what you mean - that's why I decided to do this. The days were just passing me by, and I felt like I was getting nothing done.
Holly - That's a good plan! Find out which works best for you.
Lisa - Thanks - I know. Summer is harder to focus - there's just so much going on! I hope everything works out :)
Schedules just don't seem to agree with me, but I wish you luck with yours. 1000 words a day sounds awesome!
Amanda - Thank you so much! I'm usually just like you, so we'll see how this goes :)
Thanks everyone for all of your kind wishes - I truly hope I can stick to this new schedule as best I can.
I promise to keep you all updated on my progress :)
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