March Goal Review 2009

Here we are in the middle of March already! Wow!

So...remember those goals you wrote down back in January? The ones where you decided what days you'd write and how much you'd write and how much you wanted to finish in 2009 (whew!)?


Photo by aarongeller

How's that going for you? Have you stuck with it? Did writing on schedule become a habit? Or has it flat-lined like the annual health regimen we all seem to start in January?

Not sure?

Well, get out your calendar. Take a look back and scan how often you wrote. Do you see a pattern? Does every Tuesday and Thursday have something written on it? Or are there days (or weeks, gulp!) with NOTHING? Scary!

What works about your writing schedule? What doesn't? Now that you've had a few months to review, is there anything you'd like to change about your writing goals?

If you've stayed on track and are finding the set schedule useful, fantastic! If the system just doesn't seem to be working for you, why not? Have you found your own way to stay on track?

Writing down your goals and setting a schedule is meant to help you accomplish more. That's all. Yes, you might feel pressure when you look at your calendar and realize you haven't written in three weeks, but that's the whole point. You don't want to get so far off track that you accomplish nothing. Pressure is part of life. No, it's not fun, but it serves a purpose.

Time flies by--cliched, but true. Do you want to wake up on December 31, 2009 and realize another year passed you by and you're still not closer to fulfilling your dreams?

Me neither.

It might be a little painful. It might not feel good every minute. But if writing is important to you, recommit to your schedule, or make a new one you will commit to.

Thanks for stopping by.

And...

Get Motivated! It's Monday!

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Procrastination. Don't Do It.

Procrastinate? Me? Never... Ha! Ha!


I could bore you to tears with the list of ridiculous things I do when I'm avoiding my laptop. Let's just say I've been known to fill in cupboard scratches with a wax crayon, I've vacuumed the baseboards, and I've even re-organized the fridge. Scary.

Yes, I know all about procrastination. If I've been away from my story a few days, weeks, or months, it feels as if it will take the jaws of life to get me writing again. When I avoid writing, I know I've been too far away from it. And that, my friends, breeds procrastination.


Remember back to a time when you were so engrossed in a story you were writing, time seemed to slip away. The story was so good, so compelling, you couldn't stand to be away from it. But time moved on, and you had a wedding to attend or some other distraction, and when you returned to write, what happened? Fear clutched in your heart and the doubts began to swirl. Was the story really as good as you thought? Where had you left off? Would you be able to get back into it? Maybe the plot wasn't the masterpiece you'd been so certain of?


Did you dive right back into the story? Yes? Good for you!


No? Me neither. Time away from your story can be deadly.


That's why it's so important to adhere to a regular writing schedule. The calendar doesn't lie. Whether I feel like it or not, I write. I tell myself it doesn't have to be any good; I can always fix it later. And, what do you know? I usually get right back into the story. Once again, the story is a masterpiece...


I lose NO days of writing to procrastination. (However, I do lose a few here or there due to other circumstances!)


Hey--maybe we should make that our mantra?


I LOSE NO WRITING DAYS TO PROCRASTINATION!!


I might even shake my fist in the air while shouting it. That might scare the cat. Hmm...


Join me on Friday. We'll be making a list (and checking it twice) of ways we can beat procrastination.


And...


Write Already! It's Wednesday!

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Biting Off More Than We Can Chew

Friday! Friday! I love Friday!

Sorry, had to let that out.

Okay, today's topic: Biting off more than we can chew.


How's the new writing schedule treating you? Are you finding the time to meet your weekly goals? How does it feel? Are you struggling to fit writing in, or are you finding the goals you set to be manageable?


When I started setting weekly writing goals, I was positive I'd set the bar too high. No way I could write that much in a week! But after a month of consistent writing, I realized I'd set the bar way too low. My pages were flying out much faster than they ever had in the past. (Don't throw up. I have days when the pages won't come. Next month, I'll tell you my sure-fire ways to get through those days.)


Pages flying out? How? Why? How is that possible? Do I have magic writing potion?

Nope.

Writing consistently is just like exercising consistently--they both get easier the more you do them. You don't waste time trying to remember where you were going with that scene you started three weeks ago because you write regularly and already finished that scene. You don't have to pump yourself up to write because writing isn't a special event--it's part of your life.


But maybe you had high hopes a few weeks ago and you decided to go for it and push yourself to write more. And now reality has reared its ugly head and you know your goals are impossible. Writing feels like another chore. When something feels like a chore, it's only a matter of time before you drop it out of your life.


Wait--there's hope. What, specifically, about your new writing schedule feels impossible? Did you anticipate having more energy in the evenings to write, but you realize that you're exhausted by seven? Maybe your goal should be to write a few pages each Saturday. Or is the problem not time related at all? Maybe you sit down to write and nothing comes. Or it takes you twice as long to get a few pages out than you thought it would.


If it takes you longer than you thought it would, don't give up. Just cut your page goals in half. And keep at it, you might be surprised in a few months that you're writing faster. You can always increase your goal page counts later.


If you sit down to write and nothing comes, you've got a bigger problem. And you've come to the right place. The month of February will be devoted to delving into why we write. I'll share plenty of tricks and tips to get your writing mojo back and to kick up your excitement for writing.


Thank you very much for joining me on this journey. I'd love to hear any of your tips, struggles, goals, etc...


Enjoy your weekend!

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