Writing Goals: Focusing On What You're Doing Rather than What You Should Do
January 7th 2011 12:22
I am always working on writing more, on devoting more time to my craft. I am not the best at self discipline. I do love my craft. I also love my friends, of which I have many, most of whom live quite a distance from me. It is very easy to get dristracted by friends or by one of a million other things. It is hard to balance school, writing, and all of my friendships.
I have tried many times to create a writing schedule. I have tried to designate three or four hours of my day to writing. I have tried just saying that I would spend an hour every day writing. I have tried all kinds of things; most of them have failed.
This year, instead of spending my time focusing on when and what I should be writing, I am going to focus on when and what I do write. Each day I am going to put down on my calendar how much of that day I spent writing, editing, or marketing.
You might have the same problems with self discipline. You might find it incredibly hard to spend an hour every day writing, even though you should, even though it is your passion. Instead of thinking about when you should be writing, and yelling at yourself when you don't, try just writing it down every time you sit down to write.
The idea here is positive reenforcement: seeing that you wrote the day before on your calendar should help to inspire you to write today, and then seeing that you wrote today should help you write tomorrow.
Make the effort to write a little bit each day, and record all the time you spend writing. In a month's time, you'll be able to analyze how much time you spend writing, what keeps you from writing, and how you can make more time for your writing.
Today when you've finished writing, make sure to note on your calendar how much time you spent at your writing desk. We'll talk more about this record in a month or so.
Do you spend too much time getting mad at yourself for not writing? Try instead to feel good about the time you do spend writing.
I have tried many times to create a writing schedule. I have tried to designate three or four hours of my day to writing. I have tried just saying that I would spend an hour every day writing. I have tried all kinds of things; most of them have failed.
This year, instead of spending my time focusing on when and what I should be writing, I am going to focus on when and what I do write. Each day I am going to put down on my calendar how much of that day I spent writing, editing, or marketing.
You might have the same problems with self discipline. You might find it incredibly hard to spend an hour every day writing, even though you should, even though it is your passion. Instead of thinking about when you should be writing, and yelling at yourself when you don't, try just writing it down every time you sit down to write.
The idea here is positive reenforcement: seeing that you wrote the day before on your calendar should help to inspire you to write today, and then seeing that you wrote today should help you write tomorrow.
Make the effort to write a little bit each day, and record all the time you spend writing. In a month's time, you'll be able to analyze how much time you spend writing, what keeps you from writing, and how you can make more time for your writing.
Today when you've finished writing, make sure to note on your calendar how much time you spent at your writing desk. We'll talk more about this record in a month or so.
Do you spend too much time getting mad at yourself for not writing? Try instead to feel good about the time you do spend writing.
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Comment by Anonymous
Above is the New Year's Entry ... : ) ... I am catching up and getting back in the swing of weekly prompts.
Re the above Q ... No, I don't really spend a lot of time being mad at myself for not writing. I do try to make incremental changes to ensure that creativity is part of my regular everyday life. The key is to make it not so ambitious that it becomes unmanageable.
As such, I have ScriptFrenzy and Nano. I also have visual art work ... this year, I have a goal of "drawing something every day". Which is interesting and we shall see how long it lasts. I have a diary that gets ignored when there are other creative pursuits that crowd it out. And of course - I now have weekly prompts from you where I get to focus on Elgin. This is a relatively new development and I am finding it entertaining and loads of fun. Plus I'm getting a body of work all relating to the same character. : )
As ever, looking forward to more prompts, ideas and moving day. : )
Cheers!
RP
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
I will have officially moved tomorrow
Elgin's is a beautiful, sad story. I really appreciate his voice and his style in all sorts of ways, and I can practically feel his pain. Thanks for sharing.
~Dianna