Did you party it up on Fat Tuesday? Maybe some of you celebrate Lent afterward or not? Where am I going with all of this?
I’ve decided to turn the next 40 days into my own personal quest to write more fiction every single day. I already write a lot, but I usually take a day or two off from it each week. Now, for the next 40 days and nights I’ve challenged myself to write a minimum of 1,000 to 2,000 words a day, each day, and every day.
This probably doesn’t sound too crazy to some of you, but I prefer to grow my writing career in baby steps. So how do you challenge yourself to write during the week? Do you have a set word count or goal in mind when you sit down and write?
I need to do this. Set myself a goal of some sort for my writing. It might be a combination of querying goals, writing goals and I have a bunch of critiques for partners I need to do.
ReplyDeleteBut some goals would be a good idea. :)
Once the confusion of the next two weeks is past, I need to get back into the writing grove.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great goal to set! Good luck with it.
ReplyDeleteJack London write 2000 words a day. I'm not sure if it was seven days a week, but that was his workday. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great goal. You have to do what works for you. Also, you have a life beyond writing, we all do. It'S fun to blitz 10k in a day, but not many people can do that every day.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! That's what I do for Nano--totally focus on writing every day. Having a particular goal in mind helps. Good luck. March is going to be a month like that for me. I made a lot of commitments for February which have kept me from my own stuff. No more.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome idea for Lent. I like it. :)
ReplyDeleteWell we had pancakes. Does that count? This is going to be a great goal.
ReplyDeleteI try for 20K of submitted fiction a month. I've been off the rails this month, because I've been working on novel too. But goals really help me.
I totally need to do this! I'm still working on the same re-writes I told you about a couple of weeks ago. I really get my stuff in order :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great goal. Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to challenge yourself and your daily word count is a good goal.
ReplyDeleteYou are one crazy man. Challenge ahead! I write until I start hurting, then I stop & take a rest.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing what comes from your 40 days of creative words.
I missed Mardi Gras? Oops. Well, there's always next year.
ReplyDeleteI write when I feel like it, or when there's some pressure on me to do it, whenever I have the motivation for it, really.
1000 to 2000 words a day is an impressive target from my perspective! When I sat down to full-on concentrated writing on my novel, I found 500 words just manageable. Mind you, I sustained that average through five solid months so it was more a marathon than a sprint.
ReplyDeleteI did find it helpful to track progress against target on a graph. It was a bit of excitement at the end of each session to plug in the numbers and watch the graph grow :)
Hey Mark,
ReplyDeleteC'mon man, you need 40 days of stuff.. try some flash fiction (100 words :) at Janet Reid's site - or click me for full details.
You can DOOU it
Good luck to you! Me, I just write whenever I can squeeze it in. At the end of the day if I have a few pages finished then I'm very happy.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with this Mark. I set myself little challenges whenever I feel my output slipping (or stopping!)
ReplyDeleteKelley – Maybe I’m crazy for doing this, but it just feels right (shrug) :)
ReplyDeleteAlex – Yup, confusion from life gets in the way, yet simultaneously inspires us…odd how that works.
Miranda – Thanks!
Richard – Wow! Jack London is an icon of mine, so I’ll definitely aspire to his dedication. Thanks for the info.
Emily – Indeed, I like to blitz away. Oddly enough I’m kind of trying to brainwash myself to write this much all the time, but we’ll see how that holds up.
Donna – That’s true, it is sort of like Nano. I hadn’t thought of that. Good luck in March!
Cherie – Not exactly religious, but at least my idea if full of lots of zealotry;) Thanks!
Deborah – Wow, that’s pretty impressive. Keep up the good work.
J.A. – I’m doing rewrites too, can’t wait to see yours!
Eagle – Many thanks!
Lynda – I try, I try:)
Susan – Why thank you. I consider craziness one of my better aspects;)
McKenzie – Yup, I missed it too. Oh well, always next year.
Botanist – 500 is a great goal too! So long as you can maintain it on a daily basis you’re golden.
Mark – Not a bad idea, I’ve just got so much I want to write right now…so much to write and so little time (sigh).
Stephen – Thanks! Any time of day works for me too.
Sarah – Thanks for the support!
Good luck with your word count target. There are days when I can't write much, but on other days I write lots. Even on the days I cannot write, I am thinking of my MS.
ReplyDeleteRachna - Thanks, I will try:)
ReplyDelete