Monday, July 09, 2007

The just do it, stupid talk

There have been a lot of inspirational posts in blogland lately.

Alison Kent started a challenge called "Seventy Days of Sweat" to help people push through their novels by September. Diana Peterfreund took up that challenge, and gave herself (and everybody else) a serious bitchslap talk today. Stephanie Tyler wrote about how you make time to write, no matter what.

I totally agree. I'm proud to say that even though I was home with my daughter Thursday and Friday, home for the 4th and home for the weekend--which negates my usual writing hour at lunch on workdays--I wrote every day. I got up an extra hour early to write for two of those days. (Unfortunately this particular strategy didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. Child popped up the second she heard me the first day, wanting to know why the heck I hadn't woken her. I told her why. The second day she let me write for 15 minutes before getting up. {g}) The other days I just told her that I needed some writing time, and she did "homework" while I did writing, and I wrote next to her while she watched TV in the morning. Yes, I CAN do it.

Unfortunately the word count isn't bounding up, but that's because I'm editing this week. I am adding new scenes to replace cut ones, but it's not fast. I'm on page 61 of 87 pages, though, and it should go fast from here, and then I'll get into the new stuff (yay).

I'm not participating in the challenge above just because it doesn't meet with my current goals. However, I am still sticking tight to my own personal challenge. At least 10,000 new words a month, finishing the draft in September. That counts this month too, even in spite of the editing, so I'll really have to push through to get to my 45,000. I do my own form of sweat. :)

I do very firmly believe in the sentiments of the other bloggers. If you want to write, you make time to write. Period. Yes, you may not be able to make as much time as you want to, and different people make different sacrifices that work for them. But you make goals for yourself, and you find the time somehow. If you want it. You know what? I want it.

What'djya eat? Last night it finally cooled off a bit, so we had warm food for the first time in a while. Mouth-watering turkey slices from a pre-cooked deep-fried turkey (OMG, yum. Child said "My tummy likes this so much that it's growling for more!"). I served that with Swedish lingonberries, which are rather like cranberry sauce. We also had peas and twice-baked potatoes (also pre-prepared, not by me. What? It's too hot to really cook.)

7 comments:

  1. Hi Susan,
    I have a feeling that because of your editing the first half now, the second will fly into place with little editing needed. You will sooo meet your Sept. deadline. I'm glad you're finding those lost minutes throughout the day. They do add up, don't they?

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  2. I could actually sign up for that challenge, if it weren't that making official deadlines like this tends to make me balk, not spur me on. *g* (Yeah, I'm weird that way.) My personal goal is 10 K a week, with an absolute minimum of 5 K (so far, I've been able to keep my 10 K goal. Yay!).

    I totally agree with you about making time to write. _No one_ has enough time. Good work in keeping up so well! Go Susan!

    /Sara E.

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  3. Carol:

    They do! Of course I lost yesterday, and hubby wants to go out to eat today...{scrambling for lost words}

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  4. Sara:

    10k a WEEK! Man! (this is why I try really hard not to compare myself to people. 10k a month is a scrape for me!)

    [if it weren't that making official deadlines like this tends to make me balk, not spur me on. *g*]

    Interesting. You rebel, you.

    Hey, you asked for TMT, didn't you? I {cough} forgot about that email...

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  5. Susan,

    Well, but OTOH you seem to get through revisions _much_ faster than I. My first drafts are all over the place... (I tried to plan a little more this time, I really did. Of course, the result was that I ended up writing on an entirely different WIP. *g*)

    >>Hey, you asked for TMT, didn't you? I {cough} forgot about that email... <<

    *g* No problem, I know how it can get at times. I'd still love to read it, but right now all my computer time is taken up with this first draft frenzy. I'll drop you another mail when I emerge on the other side OK? (If you're still up for making me read it, of course. If you'd rather leave it under the bed for now, I totally understand.)

    /Sara E.

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  6. Sara:

    Yeah, actually I think I would rather leave it under the bed (the real reason for my slowness in sending it, probably). Thanks for understanding. :)

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  7. Susan,

    No problem at all! I know sometimes you just have to look ahead instead of back. :)

    /Sara E.

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