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Tag Archives: Writing Habit

500 a Day (FAD Challenge) in Review

01 Feb

On December 1st, 2012, I started a mini writing challenge proposed by fellow blogger, Shannon M Howell. The challenge was to write 500 words a day for 62 days, (Dec. and Jan.). On one hand that’s a lot fewer words than the 1,667 a day required during NaNo. However, it lasts for twice as long. I thought the number was something I could hit. Also, different types of writing were acceptable, blog posts, magazine articles, Christmas letters, etc. However, the main focus should be on the current WIP.

First the bad news. I missed my goal of 31,000 words. 😩  The reasons, Work, holidays, flu, sound like excuses so I won’t bore you with them.

Now for the good news. Over the past 62 days, I have averaged nearly 350 words a day, added 12,000 words to my WIP novel, and have a good start on a new project. I knew that I don’t write fast. That’s why I never tried NaNo. However, I found out that when my mind and the keyboard do get in sync, I tend to average 500 – 800 words at one sitting. Apparently my mind thinks in blocks of this length. If I then take a break, I can come back a little later (time permitting) and turn out another 500 – 800 words.

The numbers listed above are all well and good. However the best part of this challenge is what I learned about myself as a writer. I found that lunch hours and quiet Saturday mornings at the cabin are my most productive times to write. I am more creative when I am pantsing a scene versus writing from an outline. However, I produce more words from an outline. Either way, I usually write the bare bones of the story during the first pass. Revision is where the five senses are added to description and the plot tension is enhanced.

Having more than one project to work on is good for me in the long run as I get inspired from one story and it carries over to the other one. Also, an epiphany hit me when I realized that evil characters are actually fun to write. Believe it or not, this was new territory for me. It’s about time. Now I can really get going on the middle section of my WIP. “Run thief, run.” Mwaahaahaa!

Most importantly, the experience created some writing habits that I can carry forward. My blog posts have become more regular, for one. Writing every day is not as important as writing on those days when I have determined that I should. However, I do try to write something, even if it’s only 100 words, every day. I’m still working out the best time for me on weekends when I’m not at the cabin. She who must be obeyed stated that if necessary she would start sending me to my room. 😉 You’ve seen my room. That just might be the winning ticket.

All in all this was a good experience. Those who tackle NaNo have my respect, but I will not be joining you in November. I could be talked into the FAD challenge again. Shannon, are you with me? Maybe we can drag some others along for the ride.

Armed with the knowledge gained during this little exercise, I made some realistic goals for 2013. Confidence is high that this year will be a good writing year for me.

 
9 Comments

Posted by on February 1, 2013 in Musings and Odd Thoughts

 

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21 Days to a New Habit

19 Dec

How many of you NaNoWriMo winners have continued to crank out 2,000 words a day since December 1st? 1,000 words? 500 words? Threw the computer out the window and swore never again would my fingers touch a keyboard? If you have continued to write every day since 12/1, regardless of the word count, your are ahead of the curve.

Two grand a day is a lot of flippin words. Especially for someone with a full-time job or with several kids in the house. I’m not sure I could do it for a week, let alone a month. My hat goes off to you who did it. But, the real takeaway as I see it, is if you wrote every day for thirty days, you created a habit. Whether you want to believe it or not, you did. The experts say it takes twenty-one days to create or break a habit. Even if you did not reach the ultimate 50,000 words, you sat down and wrote something every day for thirty days.

So…since you went to all that work to create a habit, are you going to let yourself slip back into your past self?

I realize that, with my snail’s pace typing skills and my need to pay the bills and keep my wife smiling, I will not create 2,000 words a day anytime soon. However, I am three days away from creating a habit of writing every day, averaging 500 words a day, and moving my WIP forward in the process. The plan is to continue this habit going forward. I keep finding ways to put writing off and then I kick myself in the butt and go to the keyboard.

Creating the habit is the tough part. Forcing yourself to do it no matter what takes sadistic discipline with masochistic tendencies. Those of you reading “50 Shades of Whatever” can jump in here. Once you reach the 21 day mark, you have dealt with the majority of obstacles that might come your way. Why stop?

I will see if I can finish creating a writing habit and maintain it.  I will comment once in a while on my progress.

My question for you is this. If you created the Writing Habit and let it get away, why?

 
10 Comments

Posted by on December 19, 2012 in Thoughts on Writing

 

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Christmas letters

10 Dec

I’ve been working our this year’s family Christmas letter. Some times it is a major chore. But, this year I am enjoying it more. Partially because I’m happy this trying year is about over, partially because it helps build a writing habit, and partially because Shannon M. Howell is letting me include it in the FAD challenge word count. 🙂

Holiday letters are an interesting writing form. Some are like a status report on the health and welfare of the family in question. Others go into great detail of the goings on of the family over the last twelve months. Still others consist of a picture, usually of a child or children with a few words about each child. Some individuals look forward to receiving these letters from friends and family during the holidays. Others see it as corny and a waste of time.

Mine falls under the second category. You see, with me,  it is tradition. Just prior to my mother’s passing, she gave each of her children a copy of every Christmas letter she had drafted for the last twenty years. It was a surprise for us and something that meant a great deal to her.

My mother took great pains in drafting these letters. Each family member had their own paragraph that detail their achievements. Sometimes she would allow us to add something that we thought was important. Reading back through these letters is like looking in a mirror at what we used to do and what made us who we are. Those who write memoirs would do well to save these letters as they contain ideas and stories you may have long forgotten about.

I will draft the letter this year. It will include the sorrow of losing my wife’s mother and our last cat, Libby. It will also include publishing an article for a magazine, the purchase of a lake cabin, and fishing with my wife. We will send it out to those we know and love. And we will wish every one of them and healthy and happy holiday season. Hopefully, they will enjoy the mini-memoir that is our family tradition.

 
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Posted by on December 10, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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Writing is like a Train

05 Dec

For me writing is like a train.Train

The Warm Up:

Train: The engineer gets into the locomotive, turns on the power, and fires up the engine.

Writer: I create characters that I think will be interesting. Next comes a situation the characters find themselves in that will create tension and lead to further adventures. The setting is somewhere within the fantasy world I created years ago. Finally, I gather my plot notes (islands), character sketches (Traits and Tags), and a big bottle of water and head to the Storyboard. Once the islands have been laid out, I go to the computer.

Leaving the station:

Train: The locomotive winds up and builds to a roar. The train begins to inch forward. It crawls along for a few yards as the full weight of the train is taken on. Now there is some momentum and the train begins to pick up speed.

Writer: The blank screen is deafening. My mind is full of the possibilities that await the characters but, nothing is happening. There is a moment of panic and self-doubt. My hands reach for the keyboard as I try to formulate the first sentence. It has to be the best sentence of the story. The hook has to be perfect. I stop and take a drink from the water bottle. Then I remember that the first draft is always crap. My hands return to the keyboard and I peck out the first sentence. No, it’s not perfect but, it is a start. Take another drink. Back to the keyboard. Soon the first paragraph is complete and the head is getting into the game. Each paragraph that follows is easier than the last.

Coming up to speed:

Train: The train accelerates to its cruising speed. The power and momentum seem unstoppable. The cars jostle around over the uneven tracks. However, the train keeps going forward.

Writer: Once I get into a writing rhythm, woe unto any who disturb me. My mind is in high gear and the fingers begin to have a hard time keeping up. I have become the characters at his point and the story flows out like a lake draining though a broken dam. I just stay out-of-the-way and let it happen.

Coming into the next stop:

Train: The Engineer reduces the power and the train begins to coast. The friction of the wheels against the steel rails begin to slow the train down. As the train enters the station, the brakes are applied. The momentum of the train strains against the brakes because it wants to keep going. At last the train jerks to a halt and the sound of the locomotive drops to a hum. It’s not off, just waiting for the command to crank it up again.

Writer: The mind is racing forward ahead of the fingers and it sees the end of the scene/chapter/story before the fingers do. Once the mind reaches the end, it begin to coast. The fingers continue to bang away but by now fatigue is beginning to set in. The keystrokes are becoming softer and begin to slow down. The final paragraph flows forth but much weaker than before. Finally, the fingers type out the last few words and then become motionless on the keys. The Save button is pressed. The mind, however, is already working on the next scene/chapter/story. Wanting to move forward.

 
8 Comments

Posted by on December 5, 2012 in Thoughts on Writing

 

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Next Big Thing

29 Oct

I have been off participating in other areas of my life for the past couple of weeks.

What do I find when I return but a very nice tag from Anne Woodman. The Next Big Thing is a fun little exercise going around some areas of the blogging world. You are asked to provide information on your current project.The topic for my next several posts will be WIP so, this makes a great segue.

Here goes.

What is the working title of your book?
Smoke & Goblet

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I have always liked the Luther Whitney character in Clint Eastwood’s movie, “Absolute Power”. It was a very different role for Eastwood and the Luther character was full of depth and interest. Seeing this type of character in one of the cities of my world was easy and helps me flesh out details relating to world-building.

What genre does your book fall under?
Fantasy – Sword and Sorcery

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I’m not very good with actor’s names. The only one that comes to mind to play the main character is William H. Macy.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When Liam Livsey tries to fence a stolen item, he finds out that this bauble is actually a phylactery that contains the source of all fear; and that the former owner stole it from a necromancer, with an insatiable appetite for new thralls, who is more than willing to add Liam, and everyone the thief knows, to his collection of souls if the phylactery is not returned.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The original plan was to obtain an agent. That may change as I get closer to completing the manuscript.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
Currently unfinished. The target date for first draft completion is March 2013. Total time would be a little over a year. As for seeing an intro, I will be posting that in an upcoming post.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
“Raven’s Strike” and “Ravens Shadow” by Patricia Briggs; “Witch” and “Warrior” by Marie Brennan

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
As I stated earlier, I love the character. The other area I want to explore is the different types of fear, their sources, and how fear affects different personalities.

 What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Adoption relationships, death and necromancy, interesting settings within a fantasy city.

I am tagging some of the next big things:

Scott Weber

4amwriter

Shannon M Howell

Corey M P

Elisa Nuckle

Rules of The Next Big Thing:

*Use this format for your post
*Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

 
8 Comments

Posted by on October 29, 2012 in Journey into Fantasy

 

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Pick a story and write.

09 Jul

Dear Dennis,

As your muse I am asking you, no, begging you to pick a story idea and just write it. I have giving you world-class plot ideas, fascinating, multi-layered characters, and exotic locations only to watch you turn them over for a few weeks, maybe write a scene or two, and then set them aside in favor of a newer idea. It takes a lot of effort for me to create the ideas I send you. I would hope you would show me the courtesy of at least following through on one of them.

Frustrated,

Your Muse

Dear Muse,

I appreciate your concern and frustration. However, if you would just stop giving me new material to consider, I could concentrate on finishing one idea. Perhaps you could do what all those other muses do and provide inspiration for the whole story and not just layout a scene or two leaving me with a blank screen and 50,000 words to find on my own. There is supposed to be a beginning, a middle, and an end. Sure, I know what the plotline is. However, it would be nice if you could help out with the details.

Also, you must understand that I cannot type as fast as you can think. I’m not a touch typist and you should get used to that.

So, get back to work and give me a great gypsy fortune-teller scene.

Ready to write,

Dennis

P.S. You can still work on the Actress and the Warlock from time to time.

 
8 Comments

Posted by on July 9, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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The View of the Room

22 Jun

Control Center

Since I didn’t have an pictures of my writing room when I posted Room to Write, and Several of you expressed an interest in my domain, here are a few to give you an idea of what it is like.

I also work from home on occasion so the multiple monitors come in handy. When I’m all set up with two laptops it looks like NASA’s Mission Control in Houston.

 **Note – The little sign in front of the desk next to the picture states, “You call it daydreaming…I call it multi-tasking.”  The sign on the wall next to the window states, “If you are agitated and confused, my job here is done.”

Power and Wisdom

The top two images in the Bev Doolittle print are called “Guardian Spirits”. I had the opportunity to purchase the originals when I lived in Colorado. However, I was poor and living in an apartment. Each of the originals was four feet square! The cost was well out of my league. if I even got the opportunity, I would buy them now. Yes, it is a real bison skull minus the black horn caps. I can feel the strength of the spirit behind those eye sockets. 

Inspiration Wall

Items that have special meaning, memories, and dreams. I have a fondness for owl pictures. This group of books are only very small a sample of my reference library. The cuirass on the floor to the left has a date of 1735 inscribed inside. It was a great auction find. All in all, it is a peaceful writing space full of inspiration that fires my imagination whenever I sit down to write.

 
5 Comments

Posted by on June 22, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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