Making Writing A Habit I Can't Kick - Day 5 - Reflection

And the writing continues. Unlike yesterday, I woke up to a phone call which connected me to the outside world much earlier than I wanted to. It was after 9 am, so I can't complain too much. Good thing is, it did get me up and out of bed and out to start my day.
So here comes the update...

1. How much did I write?
2,594

Word count for the day and how long did it take me?
99.9% of all that I wrote today were notes transcribed from this morning. Considering I quit writing on the notes and began transcribing them around 2:15, I have been working on those 2,594 words since around 9:30 this morning. Which puts me at around 4 hours and 45 minutes of writing.

2. What is the current word count of my Work In Progress (WIP)?
Word count for the WIP is 10,742. Which puts me about 10% into what I hope the final word count of the finished, publishable book will be.

3. How do I feel about what/how I did today in the writing session?
I'm actually pretty darned impressed at how much I did. Why would I be impressed that nearly 5 hours of work only netted me close to 2,600 words (which divided out is around 520 words an hour)? Because I wasn't only working on my writing. I had two very long, drawn out text message conversations. One with my mom close to 10 am that lasted nearly an hour. Then a second with a student of mine who literally kept the conversation going for nearly 2.5 hours. 
All the time I was responding to texts and reading through texts, I had the words I needed to put down on the page going through my head. I never lost the thread of the conversation with my characters.
That's a huge deal!! For me that's pure gold information.
I didn't try to dilly-dally getting started on the writing. Once I was up, I had the stack of papers and my fountain pens in hand and I was ready to go. And the interruptions from the conversations had little effect.
So, all in all, a great writing day...although I'm not sure I'm finished, I just wanted to make sure I got this posted.

4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays.
Was it easier/harder?
In comparison to yesterday, it wasn't easier or harder getting started. I simply recognized what I had to do and I set forth to do it. In future I might actually set a goal for the number of scenes I want to get through, but getting through 3 and considering two were scenes with only the sketchiest of notes, I'm pretty darned proud of my progress. Especially considering the interruptions that could have derailed me. I could have decided to turn on the TV and watch Netflix after the first text conversation with my mom. I could have kept going in that direction when I started the second text conversation less than an hour later. Yet both times, I knew I had a goal and I stuck with it. I knew I had to write. I had to get words on the page.
And I did just that.
Yay Me!!

Did I enjoy it?
Actually I did enjoy it. It was nice to have that physical connection to the manuscript and be able to move through the scenes just letting the words drop onto the page. It's getting a little easier to trust myself to just let the words flow rather than try to direct the scene for the character. As a control freak, it's hard to let someone else take the wheel, but letting my characters do it, is getting much easier, because they actually know where they're going. I'm just along for the ride.

5. What am I looking forward to in tomorrow's session?
I think tomorrow I want to set a goal for the number of scenes to get through. This strategy may be a bit premature and has the potential to derail me and my progress, since I'm not so great at keeping to my goals. Then there's the added issue that I have to go in to the day job to help out with some stuff early in the day.
It may mean that tomorrow will be a transcription day only, which is fine with me. As long as I'm adding to my word count. that's what really matters.

My favorite line from today's writing:
She had a war to plan.

Making Writing A Habit I Can't Kick - Day 3 - Reflection

1. How much did I write?
1,539

Word count for the day and how long did it take me?
Word count for today is 1,539 (not including the updated page on my blog).
It took close to 2 hours, I wasn't really paying attention to time.

2. What is the current word count of my Work In Progress (WIP)?
4,499

3. How do I feel about what/how I did today in the writing session?
It's been a very interesting day. I'm very happy with the progress I made. To be honest I didn't think I'd get nearly as much as I did. I actually avoided writing for as long as possible today, but after an edifying discussion with Claire J. Monroe, things started to click. (I'll probably write a blog post about the discussion once I've processed through it and written up some notes.)

4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays.
Was it easier/harder?
It was harder today than yesterday. It may be because I ended up doing another 648 words last night before midnight and a part of my brain tried to rationalize that "Hey, that's another writing session. So what if it wasn't AFTER midnight. It meets the criteria set forth of a writing session over 20 minutes long. I should use it."
But I didn't. It wasn't right to consider it a writing session for today.
Another reason it was harder was because I kept convincing myself to put other things ahead of the writing. That's where the discussion with CJM comes in. She walked me through some stuff and made me see the underlying cause for my avoidance, and she also identified what the true purpose of this challenge is about.
Discipline.
In some areas I am very disciplined, but with writing I am definitely not. That's why I need to develop the discipline necessary to make sure my writing career can be a long-lived one. 

Did I enjoy it?
I have to say yes and no, with the emphasis leaning toward the "no" more than the yes. After I got into the actual writing components of the story, I had fun. Again it was the freedom to simply transcribe what the character tells me and move on. Considering I said "No", it may be construed that I don't like letting the characters take command.
I've read enough articles, books, and pamphlets to know that just about all the advice given to writers is to take control. To direct your characters where you want them to go. To force them into situations so they have to grow and change.
All well and good, but so not organic. And I'm talking "organic" to the characters, the setting, the story itself.
After the talk with CJM, I knew what I needed to do. I simply held off doing it for about 4 or 5 hours.
Yet, when it all came down to it, I got it done. And I got it done spectacularly.

5. What am I looking forward to in tomorrow's session?
Tomorrow's session is looking better and better because I should be able to finish up the rough outline of notes for the book which will allow me to skim through the story and begin filling in the blanks. It's good to have a plan and some organization established before I get into the straight writing bit. 
It's like I've prepped the playground with all the toys and tricks and treats I could and now I'm letting myself loose on the park. To have fun!
It's going to be fun, and it's going to be interesting, and while it's going to give me the words I need for the story, it's also going to give me something even better.
Discipline.

My favorite line from today's writing:
He didn’t dare trust a word out of the son of a bitch, but he needed answers. 

Until tomorrow and the next session of writing to get done. Have a great night!!

Q

Making Writing A Habit I Can't Kick - Day 2 - Reflection

Here's today's update...much earlier than yesterdays, which makes me happy...and I'm actually excited.

1. How much did I write?
2,023 words

Word count for the day and how long did it take me?
Word count for the day of actual scenes and not notes is 1,960 words. I did a total of 2,023 words in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

2. What is the current word count of my Work In Progress (WIP)?
WIP word count, including yesterday's writing is 2,248 words.

3. How do I feel about what/how I did today in the writing session?
I feel like I want to get back to it. That itch under my skin that makes me want to delve deeper into the story and start digging the details out of my characters is beginning to prickle. I haven't felt it in a very long time and I'm actually enjoying it. I like the anticipation and the curiosity bubbling up inside me that has me wondering "what next?" I've missed that feeling, that sensation of elemental magic that every encounter with my characters used to bring about.
I want it to stay.

4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays.
Was it easier/harder?
Today's session was easier than yesterdays, possibly because I decided to start my writing by creating a rough outline for the scenes that need to happen in the book. The fun part about doing that is that, often, when I'm making notes, the scene just evolves on the screen in front of me and I go along for the ride.

Did I enjoy it?
LOL, Damn straight I enjoyed it! I f'ing loved it. I decided to use a pomodoro app to time my writing sessions (25 minutes writing, 5 minute break). Only I didn't take the breaks. many times I didn't even remember to start the next session until I was several minutes into writing. I like the app because it gives me a limit for my frustration. If I hadn't gotten anything out of the session, I was free to take 5 minutes away from the computer to do something else. I didn't take that option, but that doesn't mean it won't happen on another day or another writing session.

5. What am I looking forward to in tomorrow's session?
That depends. Tomorrow is going to be a little more difficult since I'm supposed to be doing some errands and completing some work for the day job tomorrow. Will depend on when I get up and get moving in the morning and how late I stay up tonight. 
It'll be interesting to run a quick experiment to see if the early hours are still my best writing time. When I was first published and was writing all the time, I tended to use the early morning hours, before I had to go to work (usually between 4 am and 6 am), to write. If I can still do that, it would be great.
My goal is to get the full 80-90,000 word rough draft done in the 8 week challenge. To do that I need to write a total of between 1,468 and 1,607 words each day. (That's 1,468 - 1,607 words every day for 56 days) Completely doable based on today's results, but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.
I'll keep you posted.

My favorite line from today's writing:
And the time of dangling Becka Swinfield like a carrot before him was over.

Sunday, July 10th. 16:38 (4:38 pm EST)

Post Script! July 10th, 23:58 (11:58 pm EST)
Added another 648 words added after a plodding 2 more hours.

Next Book Coming Soon!

Just a little update for everyone!

My next book is a short story, coming out in late June from Loose Id, LLC. It's one of the Spring Flings and will probably be free for the first week or so, but I'll know more later.

Revealed: A Poker Posse Tale is a quick glimpse into how Vlad and Viola resolved their differences after Vlad discovered the secret Viola kept from him.

As soon as I have a release date and cover, I'll post them to the blog.

Hope you're having a great day!

Q