The trick is getting those words on paper. It’s not a first
draft until it’s out of your head and on to the page. Unfortunately shaking
your head over a blank piece of paper doesn’t work. (Yes, I have tried it and
got nuttin but a few pebbles, an old commercial jingle and a few scattered
thoughts)
You have to write or type those words onto the page one by
one, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph until an entire page is
filled. Then another and another until The End.
The only way to do that is to make time to write. Daily word
count goals can be great motivators. So are those great “You should be writing!”
memes and posters. Encouraging us to find those little spaces of time to carve
out a few words, even on the days we think it’s impossible.
A scheduled block of time to sit down and write is the best
option. Yet sometimes there are distractions (Facbook… damn you Candy Crush) or
interruptions (Mommmm can you…(insert item/ food/ thing to get or look at here).
It is up to us to
make sure that first draft gets all the attention it needs by taking the time
for a few words
You’ll be surprised how many words you can pop out that way.
Or, waiting for your order in a restaurant, I usually get at least a page out
of that. The point is even if there aren’t blocks of time to write, we can get
that first draft out of our head and onto paper if we grab a pen during those pauses
in life.
Just as you can’t wait for inspiration to show up you have
to club it. You can’t wait for the perfect time to sit and write. You have to
grab it when it appears, even if its one word at a time.
Update Goals for Round 3 Week 2:
1. 1000 words a day on novel
1k a day did not happen. Still there was writing done every
day. The second chapter of Outlaw Born is nearly finished.
2. Finish out this class to the next exam
The text for this section is a lot longer than I expected. I
was also assigned to visit a local historic attraction and write a report about
the business side of it. I am scheduled to do that next week. Yay! I wuve
museums. See School
3. Fill two more boxes of stuff to leave my abode.
This one was nailed. Two more boxes of things no longer
welcome in my house are waiting by the door to be evicted on our next trip into
town.
New Goals for Week 3 ROW80
1. Write on Outlaw Born every day and finish chapter 2
2. Get to that exam this week
3. Two more boxes of stuff to be evicted
How do you steal time to write? Do you have a favorite You should be writing
poster or motto?
Making use of every spare moment and using it wisely is key. I carry a notebook in my purse and jot notes down when they come to me.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your writing goals this week. It can't be easy when you're preparing for a move. Although you could mine the experience for plot ideas, I suppose.
Anyway, I hope you have a good week! :-)
I used to carry my smallest drop spindle and some prepared wool with me wherever I went, so I could whip that little baby out and get a few yards spun while standing in line, or waiting for the doctor to call me in, or for the show to start, or whatever. I don't carry my spinning anymore, but I do have my smartphone with me all the time now. I have no excuse not to pull it out and write in spare moments. I don't know hwy I don't do that ....
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your successes last week. WTG
ReplyDeleteIt's Bubble Worlds for me. I do not care to relay - or learn - how many hours it has consumed.
Keep on plugging . . . and a big CONGRATS for continuing to write in the midst of moving. That is not always easy.
Have a great week. TTFN