WEEK IN REVIEW
Since I have expressed how hard it is for me to finish any writing project I start, I figured I might have need of a little thing called 'accountability.' Maybe proclaiming what I'm doing as I write a work of fiction, in this case my current YA fantasy novella, will hold my feet to the fire and get me to feel obligated to write it. As much as I hate obligatory anything, this might just work to get me to finish a WiP for once!
So, if I become transparent about what I'm doing every week, and what I plan on doing for each upcoming week, this could get me motivated to write. I need to try and see if this will work.
I'm writing a novella with a projected final word count of around 25,000 words and I have set myself a due date for it. That, too, is something I wasn't doing before and may have contributed to my problem. The self-imposed due date for the completed 1st draft is October 20th. So, I'll just report on how well I'm doing each week on nibbling away at this goal, if you don't mind.
Past Writing
During the week last week, I managed to write up to 7,240 words of my novella, titled Pink Knight, clearing the 1st Act and starting Act 2. I even wrote 1,400 words on Thursday night. And, writing at night is really helping me a lot. I can actually get some done! I'm going to keep doing that. Maybe I found my perfect writing time. No surprise it's late at night as I am an incurable night owl.
Past Reading
I read a few novellas during the week, as well, namely The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, #0.4) by Sara J. Maas, Weighted by Ciara Knight, and Two Ravens and One Crow (Iron Druid Chronicles, #4.5) by Kevin Hearne. All stories were great and that's a feat in and of itself.
I'm loving the Throne of Glass prequel novellas and can't wait to read the first novel. Weighted was a review request by fellow blogger, Ciara Knight, and I love the Iron Druid Chroncles series. I hated the fourth installment, but I still intend to read future books. This novella was good and very funny. Atticus, the main character, didn't annoy me like he did in Book 4 and Oberon was his usual silly self.
This Week
I plan to write every night for the rest of this week, with hopefully around 3,600 words completed. It's not a huge word count, but I never set myself up for big word counts since I have the tendency to not make them. So, I intend to write less so I can actually accomplish this. I'm also going to be reading Sulan by Camille Picott, a review copy I received from her for her Sulan book tour, which I'll be hosting for two days later this month on my book review blog.
That's it for me. I'm kind of liking this feature and I might just keep it up on a weekly basis. It makes me feel organized, if anything.
I like this post! It's inspiring to read about other people's goals. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your word count this week. I should set a goal as well. It's too easy for me to say, "Oh, I'm so tired tonight. I'll write tomorrow night."--but when I feel like this every night, then I have a problem. If I gave myself a goal, maybe it would be harder for me to decide not to write. It's worth a try!
@Dana: Thanks! I think you should set a goal, too, since it's too easy to keep putting off your writing when you're not feeling up to it. That's one of those things that sabotage's achieving a goal real fast. Good luck with your own writing. ;)
DeleteI find it helpful to post goals to make oneself more accountable. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your goals!
@Cherie: Thank you! At least it will force me to actually write and I can't have a finished MS without writing it. :)
DeleteI think it's wonderful that you're setting goals for yourself and putting them on the blog. It may help you stay accountable. All that matters is that you find a way to help yourself, so however many ways you try, just keep at it and you'll succeed in the end! :-D
ReplyDelete@Lexa: Thank you! I know something will have to work, so I'm doing what I probably should have been doing all along. Thanks for your comment. :)
DeleteGoals are important, and there's nothing more motivating than public accountability! Once upon a time, I used to tweet daily wordcount updates, but then it occurred to me that it was probably boring for my poor followers. Something like this, however, is certainly more interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
@J.W.: Yes, I'm already trying very hard to meet my word count goal this week so I can report that I've done it for next week. Must be working!
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