Holiday time...

Well, today the kiddies break up from school for the summer hols... and I have reached 38k!!! Wahooooooooooooo!!

I really thought that over the summer I would just leave my book to one side, but this week I have realised something, I can't not write it ... even if it's five hundred words here or there, I am writing every day and I love it!

So what's my plan with the kiddies home everyday? Well, I think I am going to do an activity with them in the morning (crafts, baking, reading whatever) and then set them up with their own activity or let them watch tv (has to be done!) whilst I write for an hour, then I am all theirs (minus housework hahaha) and I am hoping this will work... if not, I will make sure I am keepnig notes of any ideas and write them up in the evening! :)

Hopefully by the end of the Summer I will be on at least 50k...

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

Happy holidays!!!

Focus at last..

So, finally the word count is picking up and I couldn't be happier. On the downside, our house is a tip. I wonder how other writers with children do it? Is there a daily balance or is it a case of winging it? I feel as though my writing is my main priority once the kiddes are in school and the dog has been walked, but my house does look like world war 3.... does this matter?

I do find it harder to work in a messy space, but if there is one thing I learnt from the book 'What Milo Saw', it was that tunnel vision is a great thing when all you want is to concentrate on what is in front of you... This and advice and tips from the lovely Helen Redfern  means I am concentrating most of my energies on my laptop :)

I do have to have a break now and again and go in the garden or tae the dog for a walk but that's just me...  I get too sleepy if I am sat in front of a computer all day haha!

This far into my word count I feel that at least one of my characters is real (which is why I a sticknig with her storylnie for now)... I feel that she is out there somewhere, that I know how she ticks and what she feels, how she dresses and her smell (that sounds weird, but you get what I mean???) This is a goooooooooooood feeling!

I am aiming to be at 40k by the end of the week, but we'll see, maybe 35 is more realistic...

mwah xxx

30,037 words and counting...

Yay! I have finally learnt how to up my word count...

1. WRITE everyday and 2. Bugger the housework hahaha!

I have been putting my timetable ot good use and I am feeling very positive today. I have finally made it over the hurdle of 30,000 words and I feel I could keep typing all day now... but unfortunately I can't...

I have a dog to walk, lunch to eat, a house that needs a bit of a tidy and then school activities this afternoon...

But I still managed to fit in at least an hour's writing this morning (maybe a bit more tehe)

I feel relieved that I do have a detailed plan of the book, so I know exactly where the story is going.  Because I am writing a multi-narrative, I have lately been writing the first narrative alone, without the other one slotting in... this is helping because I really kno the voice for this part and less so for the other... I am hoping that this summer I will be reading lot of sci-fi and fantasy books to help me with my second narrative which is set in the future... I am particulalry looking forward to reading Island and I am Legend... amongst many others...

So, here's to a celebratory weekend with a bit of fizz and lots of smiles :)

I DID IT!

Timetable...

Yes, it is time I made myself sit and 'do' and a timetable is the way forward... I think????

Warren said it would be a good idea to focus in on what needs doing as I often get distracted. Between school runs and dog walking, I need to find a balance... cleaning the house is less important than writing, right?

YES, IT IS!!!!!

But again, I am a very good procrastinator... so I probably need the timetable ot kick me up the bum!!!!

So I have devised a timetable to fit in all the parts of my life, so reading, cleaning, reading at the school, tv time and most improtantly writing! weekends and hols are all about the kiddies os will have to write in the evenings then... but it looks good so far and gives me a minimum of 9 hours a week to write... now if you know me and how fast my mouth moves, my fingers move jsut as fast!

I have also given myself another 5,000 word target for this week... so wish me luck!!!!

xxx

Words, words, words...

So I have hit the milestone with over 20,000 words and to be honest, with all the stuff going on right now I am pretty pleased with that! The kiddies have been ill, we have been away and we have had lots of housework to do (yet it still looks like a bomb has hit it haha)

I guess at the moment I am thinking more and more about procrastination and how it can affect your motivation to write...

I have lots of things that can get in the way of facing the 'blank page', for example I will go and do some washing or washing up or chat for too long with the lovely Mums at the school (I blame them, I really do... hahaha) but after a while you do just have to get on with it. You have to go to the place and be that person's voice and jsut write!

I guess the point is, it is never going to write itself. However, good reasons to have a break are:

1. If you are fallnig asleep! You may have burned yourself out, so catch a quick nap and come back to it.

2. Research... you may need to find out some facts before writing the next chapter, so get on with it! Go to the library or google or whatever you need to do... but just do it!

3. Sometimes it is healthy to have a proper break. Bake a cake, paint your toenails... do something positive and for you... Remember this is your reward because there is no boss saying "Well done!" at the end of each day, you need to keep yourself motivated.

4. If you need to take the dog out/collect the kids/meet a friend/do a spot (but not too much) cleaning... get it done but make these things short and sweet and then get back on the writing bike!


You have to live a life alongside writing, but you also have to write!

So, I am going now and I will leave you with my final wordcount for today... 24,533!

I hope to make it 30,000 by next week. xxxx

So far so good...

Well, I feel in the writing zone right now... I am really enjoying editing my work, reading it and adding or taking away bits... I am also writing more instead of procrastinating and without rewards at the moment which is good... I do believe that having a plan ahead of the writing game is key, I knew my main character well enough, but then I found a characterisation tool online that basically guided me through backgrounds, looks, personality etc for each character. Even though most of it doesn't go into the novel, it all helps to build a backstory and give extra dimensions to characters...

I noticed recently that my desk is littered with pieces of paper that say things like 'Rose: red curls, freckles, fair skinned' and 'maybe they don't know about the pit?????' and lots of other notes that I think of when I am cleaning, cooking, reading or just daydreaming that make me stop and write these thoughts down in case they slip away... Last night I had an idea and I didn't write it down, I naively believed that I would remember it when I woke up today... HOW WRONG WAS I????? I really do need to keep on top of thoughts and notes....

I am at a point in my life where I totally LOVE being a writer, and I feel like I am finally doing it... I am over the 20k mark and I never thought that would happen.. now the next milestone of 30k... I can't wait!

'I AM A WRITER!!!!'

The Art of Procrastination...

Well, April has been a writing write-off! In between illness and the Easter Hols I have done very little in the way of novel work and I do feel a tad guilty... However I have been poorly and I have had a lot of fun with the kiddies, so not that guilty hehe

Anyway, I wanted to share an idea for the more distracted writer... the writer who NEEDS to do the washing up first, or HAS TO put the DVDs in alphabetical order and definitely the writer who thinks that the ironing should come first! Yes, this is me and perhaps it is you too... I know I use a lot of excuses to avoid sitting down and writing... I think my real reason for this is that my mind feels more focused once the mundane tasks are complete, and also when I do sit and face my writing I can feel very daunted by the prospect of writing a novel.

It is a HUGE undertaking and the whole concept of creating a world and the people to live in it is... well, it's freakin' terrifying!!!! I think it is anyway... so my clever husband has devised a little plan to make me 100% motivated... and I think it is going to work.

Basically, I am treating myself like a child. We have decided to set up a rewards system in exchange for word count. Now, I am not saying that this is what everyone needs, but I really do... I need to stop distracting myself from the real job I have, I need to put down the cleaning products, leave the hoover where it is and start writing!!!! However, making an abundance of tea to keep me warm and focused along the way is okay!

My first challenge is to write 5000 words in two weeks. Now that may sound easy to you, and perhaps it is... but to me that is quite a challenge. In those 2 weeks I have 9 days to myself, 6 hours a day... but I have to minus 1 hour a day for school runs and 1-2 hours for dog walks... so that kinda leave 3 and a half hours, oh and lunch so that's 3 hours a day... in total that is 27 hours... BUT I also have to do other things like reading books and making plans for the story, I do have to do some washing up and I do have to wash clothes and clean the house BUT I am going to save those tasks for the evening OR write more in the evenings... something I avoid as I am normally too tired... But I know I can do this challenge... and if I do do it, I get to buy myself something nice. Hence, work equals rewards- yay!

Now for the procrastinating writer, a reward is the perfect way to get things back on track. Maybe you want to eat out, go to the cinema, have your nails done? Then write 5000 words in two weeks and then get your treat! I promise you I feel so much more motivated now I have a reward... I know also that to some people this will sound daft, but those people are probably highly motivated and less distracted than me... and that's okay, well done for being so... motivated and focused... but some of us jsut need a that little bit more incentive, especially when the plot-line, the characters and their motivations are making your head swirl...!

So, procrastinators unite, dig out your golden stickers, your reward charts and pens and bloody do it!!!!