Little Steps not Big Leaps

Most of the time when I have a huge task ahead of me, like cleaning my house up for some guests that are coming, if I focus on everything that needs to be done as a whole I will often freeze. I won’t know where to start or even how to get started. It’s too much. I can’t do it.

Sometimes the goal of 50K words can seem like a heck of a lot. How are you supposed to accomplish this lofty goal when you have work, school, kids, etc?

The answer is fairly simple. Don’t look at the big picture. Focus instead on one small aspect. Something simple, something you know you can do. If I am cleaning my house I focus on clearing off my coffee table first. It’s not much, but when it is done everything looks so much better already. With writing it is the same - focus on a small easily accomplished task.

Like the daily goal of 1667 words.

If you type about 30 wpm you can do that in about an hour.  At 20 wpm that is less than 1.5 hrs of writing. At 10 wpm that is 2.5 hrs.

Small goals are what gets the job done. Words turn into sentences. Sentences turn into paragraphs. Paragraphs turn into chapters. Chapters become a novel. What stops so many people from accomplishing that first draft is the fact that they are focussed on the big picture of a first draft, but you can’t have a first draft without a first word, a first paragraph or a first chapter.

Break it down. If you can only write 10 words per minute then break up the time you write. I don’t know about you, but I cannot write for 2.5 hrs straight without a break. Still, what is that? 30 minutes in the morning. 30 minutes over lunch. 30 minutes when you get home from work or school. 30 minutes after dinner. 30 minutes before you go to bed.

It’s really not all that much to do. And most people can type or handwrite more than 10 words in a minute.

Focusing on small, manageable goals can keep you from being overwhelmed at what you are about to do. Focus on what you know you can do and everything else will follow suit. If you have more time then give yourself more time. If you can get one extra word over your goal, then do it.

While your energy is high, while every word feels new, shiny and awesome - write more. If you can, get that buffer of extra words early. Things will happen, some days you might not write as much - and that is okay! Just don’t worry about that big picture until you get there.

Do what you can with what you have. It is truly all any of us can do.

Link issues

In case anyone tried, I had a small issue with the link to my official website. It has now been fixed!

Talks and Tips for NaNo Success - Participation

Once a week, I will be posting tips and pep talks for NaNoWriMo success.Since that will be my main focus for the next month and a bit. These articles were originally written for me to share with the other writers in my region, but I figured that it couldn't hurt to share them with all of you. 

I thought I’d also give you a little background about my history with NaNoWriMo

This is my 10th NaNoWriMo. Over the years I’ve managed to complete anywhere from just barely over 50K to well over 100K words during the month of November. There are years where I have planned novels in intricate detail and years where I have received my writing prompts on October 31 at noon. I’ve run the gamut of NaNoWriMo experiences which is why I want to share those experiences with you. 

First post is below. 



Participation is Success 

I didn’t find the forums until my second year into NaNoWriMo.

I signed up for the first time on October 28. Somehow, I managed to make my 50K. That first year, the closest thing I got to interaction with other participating writers was the two friends from an online discussion group who had encouraged me to “give it a shot”. I was stubborn. I had never really tried to write a novel before, but it was a dream that I had had for a long time. So I pushed through to just over 52K.

I was overjoyed that I had written so much and disappointed when I realized that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to writing a novel. I never finished the story which was my whole goal for even trying this crazy thing in the first place.

So why did I come back?

Well, I got that email that told me that there was more to NaNoWriMo than just writing. Great, I thought, maybe someone can help me figure out where I went wrong last year. So, I homed myself to the Alberta::Elsewhere region and was introduced to a new side of NaNoWriMo.

I enjoyed it even more this time. I didn’t finish the novel again, but I had really just winged the entire thing. That year, I got just over 56K words.

The next year, I was more involved on the forums, I attended my first write-in and did word wars online. I wrote about 120K words that year. And I have never looked back. Other than the year I ran out of story before hitting 50K, that first year was the least amount of words I have ever written for NaNoWriMo.

I am not a fast typer. Ask anyone who has ever attended a write-in with me. My numbers per word war or sprint tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum.

For many people, that interaction helps them to be accountable for their words. Not just to the friends and family that they have told about NaNoWriMo, but to others who are going through the same struggle that they are. People that you can be competitive with, if that’s your thing, people who can help you puzzle out difficult parts of your story when you get stuck, people who can inspire, cheer and celebrate the victories with you.

Now, as an ML with a more than full-time job, it is the interaction with others that keeps the words coming. If it wasn’t for word wars and write-ins there would have been many years that I would have failed completely. I would estimate that about 75% or more of the words I write (typically 65K+ most years) happens at an online or in-person write-in.

Over the years, I have made some of the most incredible friends from around the globe that encourage me to continue to challenge myself and grow in my writing.

And maybe, if you’re reading this, you have discovered or are discovering the same thing. Involvement and participation, not just the writing, are one of the biggest keys to success! Besides, NaNoWriMo has never been about winning or losing - it’s about enjoying the creative process.

One step closer

Unless my incredible, amazing editor determines otherwise, I think I can now say the chapters that she asked me to add to Feathers & Fae are done.
Now all I have to do is give them a good personal editing and ship them off to her. With any luck I'll be sending then off to TOR early in 2018. Don't hold me to that though, you know how us authors are.

And of course, another NaNoWriMo approaches. This means a new WIP has been planned. I'm very excited to see if it turns out as good as I'm hoping it will.

I'm going back to my roots on this one. It's a dark fantasy with a horribly tortured protagonist.  

Working title is 'Blessings of the Damned'.

"Sometimes the only difference between a hero and a villain is what side of the line you're standing on.
There was a time when his name was something whispered with fear and awe; a time when he was one of the most powerful men to walk the earth, but that was long ago. Yet still, people feared him though he did little to justify that fear. He kept to himself and lived a quiet, simple life. Until one day, a young girl from a faraway land knocked on his door and asked of him a favour.
She asked him to kill her."