Hello all! Today is October 19th, which means it's 12 days until National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) and I'm super excited! I've been cutting back on my type-y style writing so I can hopefully make sure that when the time comes for me to reach a daily word quota, I can do so without completely destroying my wrists in the process. If you'd like more information regarding nanowrimo, you can check it out here. There are also going to be seminars throughout the month you can attend based on your location.
I've mentioned it before how having a word quota does make meeting personal goals easier, at least in my opinion. Today, I'm going to talk briefly about setting those goals in the first place. No one ever said writing was easy, and if they did, they obviously have a special savant-like talent and likely do nothing other than that. For the rest of us though, writing is a process that we each do in our own specific way based on our level of comfort. This is normal.
When it comes to my own personal goals, I generally look at what I'm trying to accomplish, for instance, we'll use my nanowrimo goal as an example. This year I plan on using the month of November to finish the prequel I'm writing. How this is going to be done is by meeting/exceeding the daily word quota until it is completed. According to the website, that is roughly 1600 words a day, which ends up being roughly 2 1/2 pages. When it's broken down that way, it's not so bad, however, there is another trick to it, and I'm fairly certain this happens to everyone: writers' block.
This happens when you get to a point when you're just not sure how to handle a particular scene, then what ends up happening is when you do write it out, it feels so disjointed you're just not sure what to do with it. My general thought is just push through it, or at least get to a point where having a scene change happen makes sense, and move on from there. The time for editing will come after you've actually completed the story, and that is where you'll pick everything apart. It's during the first stage of the writing process where it's ok to just throw everything on paper to get the idea out of your head. I have a problem with filler between major scenes, I'm always afraid it takes up too much time, or it feels strange. I have been told by my readers it is fine, but I still wish it were different/better.
I believe I mentioned before the way to make achieving your goals a bit easier is to have at least a vague idea of what happens in the story you're writing. Make sure you have a definite beginning, middle, and end, with particular twists, turns, plot, and character development already planned out, then it's just a matter of filling in the spaces. I can see how this can lead to the issue I have with filler, but it does make things easier than sitting down in front of a blank document, staring at it and trying to use some arcane willpower to make it write out itself from the depths of your imagination. Having a plan helps a lot.
Have a designated time to write, work it into your schedule, and make sure you keep it also helps. this makes routine and people love routine. It's comfortable, and gets your mind prepared and ready for it. Whether it be in the morning before work, during your lunch break, or when you get home to unwind. Just make sure you are ready to do it and everything will work itself out.
That was my post for today. Thank you all for stopping by. Come back on Friday where I'll have another book up for you all to check out. Until then, have fun!
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