IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here to visit the other IWSG participants. The co-hosts are Megan Morgan, Christopher D. Votey, Viola Fury, Christine Rains, Madeline Mora-Summonte, L.G. Keltner, Patricia Lynne, and Rachna Chhabria."Write every day" is common advice given to writers.
When I first started writing, I wrote most days, but I was only writing in other people's worlds via online roleplaying games and fan fiction. That dedication to writing most days changed when I started writing for publication. I wrote in spurts. Some months I would write 20,000+ words. Others, I was lucky to get in 2,000 words. On July 1, 2015, I decided to spend a number of minutes a day on writing.
Now I don't believe you have to write every day. It's what is working for me now, but that doesn't mean I won't skip a day or more in the future. Like all advice, writing every day has its pros and cons.
Three pros are consistent writing, easier to remember where you left off in a manuscript, and completing works in a timely manner.
Two cons are you never get a day off and the necessity of having a new project ready to go when you finish an old one. That last con is my big insecurity for the day. I'm a few weeks away from starting a new novel, A Soul to Reap (Soul Reaper #1). In three or four months, I will start a new series, To the Future (YA Urban Fantasy). I've been panicking the last few weeks and wondering how in the world will I be ready to write these new books.
What is your insecurity this month?
If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a big overachiever. I finished last month's goals. Two months in a row! On March 14, I completed the first draft of A Soul to Kill (Soul Reaper #0). The first draft came in at 40,905 words. Of course, two days after I finished it, I've been wondering if the story should have been told in first person point of view instead of third. If so, then I have a big rewrite to do in April/May. *sighs* Destined (The Fate Challenges #3) continues to progress, and I've completed 17 chapters out of 41. I finished edits on "Folds in Life and Death" and the bonus woodwose section, which I plan to make available for free on my website in the coming months. I also outlined "A Soul to Protect" and have been writing it since March 15 and am on scene two out of five. I've made some progress with marketing, but we'll see how it goes the next few months.
My goals for April are:
- Write for 30 minutes a day in Destined.
- Write for 15 minutes a day in "A Soul to Protect." When I finish this short story, I'll start writing A Soul to Reap.
- Outline A Soul to Reap.
- Edit Marked based off my first critique partner's notes.
- Start rewriting/editing A Soul to Kill.
Current 2016 Stats: 90,027 words written and 705 pages edited
I'm over at the Parallels' blog today for the A-Z Challenge: Emotions. I have an excerpt from "Folds in Life and Death."
Things are
different now. Using regular shots of morphine to keep his inner monster at
bay, Ryan has led a quiet life since the Second World War. His thrills now come
from saving lives, not taking them.
Until a plane
crash brings Aleria into his hospital. Her life is vibrant. Crack to predators
like him. She’s the exact sort of person they would hunt, and thanks to a
severe case of amnesia, she’s all but defenseless.
Leaving Aleria
vulnerable isn’t an option, but protecting her means unleashing his own inner
monster. Which is a problem, because his inner monster wants her dead most of
all.
Misha Gerrick
lives near Cape Town, South Africa, and can usually be found staring at her
surroundings while figuring out her next book. Tumblr | Twitter | Google Plus | Writing Blog
22 comments:
I think it's awesome that you have goals and have mapped out how to reach those! I'm attempting to hit 20K this month w/CampNanNoWriMo. We'll see! =)
Yay for reaching all your goals two months running! That's a hard feat to manage—I know I haven't done it in ages.
I don't strictly follow the 'write every day' rules. Somedays, I just don't have that mojo running, and forcing myself through it was doing more damage than good. That's not to say that on those days when I don't write, I'm not worried about the fact that I'm not writing...
Best of luck with your April goals!
You're an overachiever because you actually do achieve! That's a good thing. You've accomplished more in three months than I do in two years.
You're doing awesome! I think you'll be good once you start the new stories. I know the excitement you have for them. :) Yay for Misha!
I'm an overachiever too--though not in personal writing anymore. It's a great way to live to accomplish a lot. You do need to balance it out with relaxation sometimes, though.
I wish I had time to write. Too busy reading and formatting and stuff. If I could crank out words like you do, my story would be finished and edited five times by now.
If I wrote everyday, I'd soon go bonkers and hate the act of writing. Well, I do write everyday, but it's not always on a story out of my head. You need to change up everything you do, or you go stale. Gee. I sound like I know what I'm talking about. :-)
It's great things are progressing well and you are achieving so much. I am in awe. I try to write something each day but generally I'll have a fab, productive week one week and then a slack one where the brain refuses to play. Great post, Cherie. Thanks for sharing such an encouraging post.
You amaze me with what you've accomplished. Since the new book and series are on your mind, the ideas will come when you need them. It always works out for me. Since it's on my mind, it's on the backburner... so I like to say and the ideas are cooking. Don't panic, the ideas will be ready before you are.
I'm about ready to get back on the horse... so to speak. I was sneaking in some writing on my nook until I filled up the memory. Will commit to spending 20 mins every day on my next release.
Endless looks like an awesome book.
You are inspiring. I think your ideas will show up when you need them.
I agree with Tabatha, you are definitely inspiring. Way to go!!! And I have no doubt you will be ready for those new books when the time comes.
I try and write every day. That doesn't mean I always get something accomplished, but at least I write every day. Good luck!
Your scheduling is impressive! I'm about to jump back into a writing project now and will need to write pretty much every day, too. I don't mind when I'm doing a first draft.
Mishca's book looks intriguing. If I start reading, that is all I do until finished. But reading is also a way to hone our skills. So it's good. I'm currently reading one of my critique partners books. She needs reviews. So when I'm done I will post the review on Amazon but also blog about it. Since you read my post you know the rest.
Nancy
You are awesome, Cherie. You get so much done! My current insecurity is a writing block. I can't get to my latest WIP, couldn't force myself to open the file for a few of months. I wrote some small projects, like articles for my newspaper and a couple of short stories, but not what I really want to do. Argh!
I am so impressed with your goals and how much you get done! I really do like your time idea. I started using that myself when I'm revising, because it's easier to set time goals than word count goals.
Good job, Cherie! I'm inspired by your productivity. I love creative people. :-)
Congrats on achieving your goals! I admire your organization. While I don't always get a chance to write every day, I write as often as I can, and that will have to do. My April goal is to format my second book and get everything ready for May publication.
Misha's book sounds like a great read.
I am doing NaNo trying to get back into the habit of writing every day that I allowed over time to fall to the wayside. I miss it and for me skipping once develops into too many repeats till I am not doing it all or hardly at all.
Congrats on reaching your goals. You go!
Wishing you Happy Writing with kicking off your new series.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
I've always disliked the advice to write every day. It never worked for me. I could write a few days in a row, but then I'd have days where I didn't write because I felt burnt out. Instead, I tell people to find what works for them and develop a writing schedule around that.
Even when I was writing every day, I wasn't writing every single day. That is too regimented for me and I need to have days where I can just skip it. I'm just hoping to get the big word count goal reached by the end of the year, which means writing every day isn't absolutely necessary.
I find when I can't write something meant for publication, I write silly, fun stuff like fan fic just until I can go back to writing my original stuff. My writing goals only require me to write any fiction at all, so I don't limit it to original, publishable fiction.
Misha's book is great. I rarely write every day. I tend to write mainly on weekends and I'm consistent with that.
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