Tag: Writing Goals

Self-Publishing · Writing Goals · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Writing 365,000 Words in a Year Update #6

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Well, we’re back into fine weather here, and I’ve had a great week of meeting my writing goals. What’s really helped this week is that I’m pushing to finish rewrites to get Black Depths #5 out the door by Halloween (cover art and editing dependant). Here’s a look at the numbers for the past week:

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It looks fantastic, and as you can see, I’m well over my goal, so I’m thinking I might allow myself a mini-break once I finish this draft. Although, there is a short story I’m trying to finish up in order to enter it into the CBC Short Story Literary Awards Contest, and there is the fact that the point of this exercise is to write 1,000 WORDS A DAY FOR A WHOLE YEAR.

Yeah, that’s a lot tougher than it sounds. Speed wise, I can type out a thousand words in under half an hour. What’s tough is coming up with motivation. Take today for instance, I’m extremely tired because one of my little kittens did not let me sleep last night. All I want to do is nap but I pushed through anyway, and I’m even writing this blog post, though I was pretty sure I WASN’T going to do it. I think that means the writing has finally made it into my blood. It’s finally more habit and chore and hopefully from here things just get easier. I am looking forward to dropping back down to 1K a day though soon, once my currently project, Twisted Currents, is wrapped up. Self-publishing is never easy, but I’m pretty sure it’s most difficult as self-imposed deadlines approach.

Ah well, I’m sensing a celebration coming down the pipe… Probably in the form of cake, tea, and books…

 

JEH

Blogging · Writing Goals

365K In a Year Update #5

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Let’s start with a pretty picture so we can cheer up about the weather:

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That’s right, it’s still snowy here. Oh well, I’ve come to covet some Reading Socks, and I’m thinking they might be my quarterly reward if I remain ahead of my word count on my 365K words in a year goal. This week was pretty good, even with Thanksgiving in the mix. I didn’t write on two of the seven days, but on the other five I did over 1000 words on each. I’m currently 13,000 words ahead of my goal, and hope to remain that way at least until Christmas time. I’m still trying to write everyday, and write at least 1,000 words, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds. After a long day, the last thing I want to do is sit down and be creative. It feels like pulling spaghetti noodles through my brain sometimes. One at a time. It can be torture. I’m still hopping that with more practice it will be come more automatic, more habit forming, but I think time will yet tell. This week I’m shifting back to rewriting, so that can be a challenge to write something new (even if it is just part of the rewrites. In a couple weeks, I will be done with the Black Depths Universe, and moving on to my NaNoWriMo project, and I’m hoping the momentum of the event, along with the forums, will get me moving.

How’s your writing going? Are you doing NaNo this year?

JEH

 

Blogging · Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

365K in a Year Update #4

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This week was a good week (winter storm aside). I wrote every day, and only one day did I write less than my goal of 1K words. It was Saturday, and I really wanted to write that day. I managed 200 words, it was late at night, and I was so exhausted from a long day, but I have to admit, I just quit. I flopped down on my bed and I said, “I can’t do it.” Which was WRONG, I could have done it. So I’m going to try really hard not to do that again. Overall, I wrote over 13K words this week, which is over my goal of 7K. So I’m pretty happy with that. As for the gym goal… Let’s not even talk about that one. I hope to do better with that next week too.

Today, the snow kept falling. And will keep falling. This was the view out of my day-job-office window. Yikes! Good thing I LIKE to stay in and write.

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This week I’ve been working on the draft of Twisted Currents, which will wrap up the Black Depths Universe before NaNoWriMo 2016. I had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday, which made me feel really good about where I stand with this project. I’m also going to start my NaNo prep next week, after the Thanksgiving long weekend, during which I’m sure not to get much work done at all. Though I do hope to do a lot of reading.

So how about you? Do you have writing goals? How are they going?

JEH

Self-Publishing · Writing Goals · Writing Prompts

How To Write Like A Caffeine Fueled Jackrabbit Without Losing Your Mind

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In my previous post, I described my September New Year goal of writing 365,000 words in a year (or 4-6 books). I’m going to accomplish this goal by writing 1,000 words of fiction a day (no, these blog posts do not count), which will take me approximately 30 minutes a day (excepting those days which I struggle and must wrestle with the mud covered monster called Writer’s Block). As I’m sure I will have some days where writing 1,000 words will feel impossible, I will need days when I can pound out 5K or even 10K (the 10K is likely to be saved for vacation or my favourite month, NaNoWriMo (also known as November)).

So, on those days when you really need to write 10K words—or for the entire month of NaNoWriMo—here are some tips to fuel my creativity, increase my word count, and Write Like A Caffeine Fueled JackRabbit Without Losing My Mind:

  1. Find a really comfortable chair (I do mean chair, not upright bed, there is a difference).
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Be Careful, This Chair is as Cozy as it Looks

2. Decide upon your drink of choice and keep it near by. I find a slightly caffainated tea works the best, since it doesn’t cause my hands to shake when I drink it pot after pot.

My Favourite Cream of Earl Grey Tea
Raw Coffee Beans

3. Write the first sentence of 8-10 scenes you want to finish that day.

4. Buy an amazingly cute kitchen timer that you can’t resist playing with. Set it for 5, 10, or 30 minutes, and do nothing else until it buzzes.

(Associate Link)

5. Pick your favorite motivational song, when you start dropping off, play it loudly, dance about for five minutes, and envision yourself hiking to the top of that insurmountable mountain of 10 thousand words (it only FEELS insurmountable).

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6. When your self-doubt success sucker shows up, close your eyes tight and say “I CAN DO THIS” five times loudly. Soon, you will see that Self-Doubt Success Sucker pushed right back into the ground (inevitably, he will pop up again, so be sure to repeat this step whenever necessary).

7. Keep easy to fix food nearby for a quick fuel-up.

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8. Find a buddy to check in with, be it a fellow writer, a friend, the NaNoWriMo Forums or the Twitter Universe. Be accountable to someone.

9. Think about the worst job you’ve ever had, picture yourself going back there. If that isn’t motivation to finish doing something you love, I don’t what is.

10. Pick a reward for when you reach your goal, and don’t allow yourself to have/do it until you’ve accomplished what you need to. Whether it’s a new journal, a pretty photo from Stockphoto that you want to use for your cover art, going for a run or out for a drink, hold off until you’ve accomplished your “work” for the day.

Need a Relaxation Device for your Office? Reward yourself once you’ve finished your goal. (associate link)

11. Once you reach your goal, stop. Everyone deserves a break. Especially you. By getting some rest in between mad-dash sessions, you’re much more likely to do it again the next day.

Good luck with your writing goals! Whether it be the next book in your fabulous serious or 2016 NaNoWriMo. Do you have any other tips you would like to share?

JEH

Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

365K in a Year: Update #3

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So, it’s almost an entire month in, and I’m sure you’ve all been wondering how the crazy lady with the 365K words in a  year goal is doing. Well, I’m great. Busy. Crazy, and have just fought of a cold, but I’m great. I am totally in love with fall right now, and plan on finishing reading Empire of Storms tonight. Things are looking up!

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But I haven’t been writing my 1K words a day. Instead, I’ve been rewriting. I’ve been finding it pretty difficult to split my focus between rewriting something and writing something new, so I’ve dropped drafting for the moment. I should finish up the rewriting today, which means I’ll be getting back at drafting 1K words a day. Overall, I’m still ahead of my goal, mostly thanks to one killer weekend. I’m planning a second one of those weekends, as there are two things I would like to finish drafting and rewriting before NaNoWriMo begins in November. Both of those projects are around 40-50% drafted, so this a goal that is highly achievable, especially since I’ve planned to have more dedicated writing time in October. Come November, things are going to get more difficult as I’m picking up more hours at my day job.

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When it comes to the other 3 goals, I have to admit I’ve gotten sidetracked (worked on more than the 5 pre-determined projects), I haven’t gone to gym even once (feeling horrible), but I am checking in on a Thursday, so that has to be worth something! One thing the check-ins are doing is making me very conscious of what I’ve been doing with my writing time. Next weeks chart should look a lot different, primarily because I’ve scheduled time to write in the upcoming week. So hopefully when you check back in, you’ll see how much farther I’ve come.

Till next week,

JEH

 

Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

The 365K Words A Year Goal: Update#1 (Week 2)

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I said I would update on Wednesday. Last week I didn’t update and this week I’m doing it on Thursday. Maybe updates will move to Thursday? We’ll have to see moving forward. But the GREAT news is that I’ve been working so hard getting my 1K words a day written, that I’m up over 35K words! That’s almost 10%. I’m killin’ it. Mind you, I did the 3 day novel writing contest, which kicked my word count out of the park right off the bat, then I promptly had three 0 word count days in a row, but now I seem to be back on a steady pace. Here’s a glimpse at my tracker chart, where you can see how jumpy my days are.

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Today is going to be a minimal word count day, as I’m switching into rewriting mode as I move Doomed Seas one step closer to release. My 1,000 words are right now focused on finishing up Twisted Currents and writing another short Black Depths Novella, called Deep Heart. This fall is going to a mammoth of Black Depths Releases, and then I’m going to have a new project for you, which I will call TH,  but first it will be NaNoWriMo, and a project I’m going to call MF, for now.

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TH is drafted, but needs a rewrite. That project doesn’t count toward my 365K goal. DH and the remainder of TC do, however, which makes me think that I should be pulling up about even by the end of October, just in time to surge ahead again in November.

I would love to finish this goal over my target word count. And if I stick to my 1K a day writing goal, then I’ll currently finish 20K over target. Maybe NaNo will push that even further. I don’t know. What I do know is that it feels great at the end of the day when I’ve done my words. it also feels amazing to look at that spreadsheet and see my WCs way up there. It puts a big smile on my face. And I love smiling.

How’s your writing going these days?

 

 

 

 

Blogging · Self-Publishing · Writing Goals

My September New Year Goals and Challenges

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I haven’t been a student for a long time, but September has continued to feel much more like a New Year to me than the much more celebrated date in January. Maybe it has something to do with the season change come September, or all the new school supplies I still buy (hello, notebooks!), but I just love this time of year. Fall always brings with it a new start, and this year I’ve decided to set some new goals. I’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now, and as it’s almost the end of August, I’m finally going to tell you just what it is I’m planning.

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Here’s my cat sitting on my goal book. Is he trying to deter me? I won’t let it happen!

I’ve been getting busier and busier. I’m getting ready to wrap up the Black Depths Universe (for now, at any rate), and have new drafts that need rewriting. I also have a storm of ideas in my head that need writing. This all adds up to one thing: I need to get to work!

So here’s what I’m going to do:

  1. I’m pledging to myself that I will write 1,000 words everyday, for a total of 365,000 words from September 1, 2016, to September 4th, 2016. Why September 4th, you ask? Because that will be the end of the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest 2017, which—just in case I fall behind on this massively huge goal—will give me the chance to make a mad dash to the end. But, I’m truly hoping that pledging to write a modest 1,000 words a day  will become habit, and therefore highly achievable.
  2. I will use that 365,000 words to finish 5 pre-determined projects which have been banging around my space in various stages of completion for the past couple years. I’m not coming up with anything new in the next twelve months. Or rather, I’m going to keep new ideas to simple jot-notes and very vague detailing. I’m not going to get sidetracked *firmly crosses-arms*. I’m going to stay ON TASK.
  3. I will go to the gym once a week (or run). Yeah, this has nothing to do with writing. But I’m putting it down here anyway because it’s important. And I’m only pledging once a week because I do have 1,000 words to write a day. Also, going from 0 to 1 seems like a pretty big jump, I’ll have to see how I handle it.
  4. I will check in on my blog once a week to update my goal progress (I’m shooting for Thursdays—we’ll see how that works).

Alright, those are my goals. As I’ve said, i’ll update here once a week to make sure I stay on track. If you feel crazy enough to join me in any or all of the above goals, comment on the post, and after each weekly post you can check in, too.

Next week, after a massive start doing the 2016 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, I’m going to update about one of those 5 pre-determined projects. Now, Ready, Set, Write!

JEH

J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch, and Broken Tide, the first two books of the series can be found on  Amazon,  Kobo,  iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The third book, Dark Shores, was released April 1, 2016. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.

Blogging · Writing Goals

Heading for 3-Day Novel Craziness

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Well, here I go again. Ten years ago I participated in my first ever 3-Day Novel writing contest. I wrote, I hiked Lake Louise, I stayed up all hours of the night, and I got something done. I loved it. But it was a crazy and insane three day week. So I’ve decided to do it again.

Yep, you heard right, and it all has to do with my September New Year plan that I’ll be revealing next week. And also to get out this little idea I’m calling The Crazy Lady and The Crow, or maybe, The Crooked Lady and the Owl, or possible, The Twisted Hag and the Spin of Fate…. So many possibilities.

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Want to share about of the craziness, have an idea you want to get out? Check out the 3-Day Novel Writing contest Website and all it has to offer. My favorite is the survival guide.

Then go get yourself some supplies, you want it.

JEH

J. E. Hunter is the author of the Black Depths Series. The first three books of the series: Tales of a Redheaded Sea-Witch,  Broken Tide, and Dark Shores can be found on  Amazon,  Kobo,  iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. The fourth and last book of the Black Depths series, Twisted Currents, will be released in the fall of 2016, after Dead Water and Doomed Seas, two Novellas featuring Caesar.