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 4 - Reflection

I'm getting today's post done a little earlier than usual. And I actually completed my work before 2pm. Even better than that, I was actually able to finish the rough outline for the book and printed the pages out so I could begin working through my notes to flesh out the components for the different scenes.
Biggest issue I'm facing right now is, getting rid of the bloody migraine that's trying to burrow it's way behind my forehead because of the wonderful storm system moving through the area.

1. How much did I write?
3,649 (although about 1,200 of that may be duplicated due to the notes)

Word count for the day and how long did it take me?
Taking away the 1,200 for structure, I was able to get a total of 2,449 words added to the book today.
I didn't really pay attention to time, but I know the majority of the work was done in nearly 2 hours.

2. What is the current word count of my Work In Progress (WIP)?
Current word count for Rogue Master is 8,148. And yes, this is the 7th version of this particular book, but it'll be the last version.

3. How do I feel about what/how I did today in the writing session?
I'm actually rather proud of myself today. I was up very late, as can be seen by my just before midnight posting for Day 3 of the Writing Challenge, so I slept in. I was up and parked on my sofa by 10:30 and deep into writing the notes by 11am.
I didn't turn on the TV or open my email at all. It's like, after the discussion with Claire on Sunday night or Monday night, I realized what the purpose of this challenge is all about and I made sure to focus on that. Not just the writing, but keeping myself from being distracted. On remaining disciplined.
And it wasn't like I hadn't turned on my internet. I did. I didn't take the easy way out. I knew I could turn on my email at any time. I knew I could turn on Netflix or Amazon Prime and watch any of the shows I want to. I even received multiple notifications of Facebook notifications and posts, yet I ignored them all in order to do the one thing I want most of all...to write.
I'm not saying everything I put down on the page is golden or that it'll last past the first ugly draft, but it's a beginning. Like Claire mentioned in a post on my Facebook page (or maybe it was on Twitter or a comment on my blog) "You can't edit nothing. You can't edit a blank page."
Well, now I don't have a blank page. I don't have "nothing". 
My inner editor will remain on vacation -- forcibly bound and gagged and stuffed in a closet with the door chained and nailed shut until the ugly draft is done. She'll remain there until I send it off to my CP. After she bleeds all over it, then my inner editor can come out and play.
How do I feel about today's writing session? Fucking awesome!

4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays.
Was it easier/harder?
It was actually easier today than it was yesterday. I don't know if it was because I got up and immediately moved into writing, or if it was because I simply felt focused on a goal for the day's writing, but in comparison to yesterday and the dilly-dallying avoidance crap, it was nice to get up and get started immediately.
Even better is to know that I have a plan for this evening. To go through my notes and add to them, sketch out what needs to happen and walk through the scenes. I like to hand write my notes and then transcribe them because the handwritten stuff is the kick off. I type much faster than I write, so the handwriting is just a means to priming the pump.

Did I enjoy it?
Yes, I did enjoy it. Bits and pieces are falling into place and with every section I moved through. It was great to realize that I had snippits of scenes already building in my head. Even better was to recognize how much faster things fall into place when you have the structure in place. The story makes more sense. The characters make more sense. All I need to do is get out of their way.

5. What am I looking forward to in tomorrow's session?
I want to see if I can sustain this momentum. Claire and I have already discussed upping the ante on this little challenge beginning in Week 2. Week 1 is all about establishing the baseline. 

My favorite line from today's writing:

“You don’t touch what’s mine.”

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.

Making Writing A Habit I Can't Kick - Day 1 - Reflection

It's just now 11:06 pm and here's the results of today's Make Writing A Habit I Can't Stop blog challenge:

1. How much did I write?
652 words (although admittedly some of it was notes.)

Word count for the day and how long did it take I?
Total word count is the 652 and it took about 30 minutes.

2. What is the current word count of my Work In Progress (WIP)?
288 words (although the other 364 are notes directly associated with the story.)

3. How do I feel about what/how I did today in the writing session?
I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by what I did. Not sure if any of it will be kept, but it's a good start and gives me something to work from when I get started tomorrow.
As for how I did, again, not overly impressed because I found quite a few excuses not to write...which isn't a good thing when you consider I'm supposed to be developing discipline.

4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays.
Nothing to compare or contrast yet, since today was the first day. Will see what happens tomorrow.

Was it easier/harder?
NA -- It was hard because I wasn't sure where to start or what to write. I don't feel like I've made any progress, yet I've identified a few little things for myself that I think will help with tomorrow.
Those things include:
Pre-writing organization
Drafting a rough outline
Identifying turning points and key scene goals and themes
Write out background for Rick to immerse myself in who and what he is.
Expand on villains' backgrounds to immerse myself in who and what they are and the goals driving them and how those goals are impacted/thwarted by Rick and Becka.
Write out background on secondary characters to better understand where they fit into the situation involving the villains and Rick and Becka.

Did I enjoy it?
No, I actually didn't enjoy it because it felt a little forced. I don't feel like the scene is going to be used, but at the same time, it gives me a jumping off point and that's the most important thing.

5. What am I looking forward to in tomorrow's session?
I think I'm looking forward to doing more prep work on the story. I want to try to set up my turning points and sketch a rough outline to a few necessary scenes so all I have to do is create the structure of the story, then fill in the holes. (See notes under question #4.)

My favorite line:
Not much written so I don't really have any true favorite lines... Guess I'd have to say it's:
The aged single malt had gone down smooth, yet it didn’t still the beast growling at its fetters every time his gaze paused on a specific brunette.

Until tomorrow.
Day 1 of challenge - met and completed!!

Making Writing A Habit I Can't Kick -- A Blog Challenge

In my infinite wisdom (and at the suggestion of my sister), I mentioned starting a blog challenge with a friend of mine, Claire J. Monroe. Claire, wicked evil bitch...brilliant scientist and writer that she is started asking all kinds of questions about the purpose of the challenge, the nature of it, the punishments and rewards for it. (Note to self: never discuss with Claire setting something up that even remotely hints at being an experiment! :/ )

If you haven't noticed, I have avoided posting anything to my blog for over six months. I've avoided writing anything for even longer than that. A nasty case of writer's block has plagued me for nearly five years now. Yes, I was able to squeeze out two stories (a novella and a short story) but nothing else (and that was in 2013-2014). I've tried writing the next book in the Diablo Blanco Club series, Rogue Master, since 2011, yet every version gets tossed on the rubbish pile.

Before, my life used to be all about writing. Writing every day. Writing every spare moment I could eek out. Writing to get rid of my frustrations and anxiety associated with my day job. Writing to simply enjoy the stories my characters told me. Writing for the pure joy of writing. And then it stopped. Dried up like a wash in Las Vegas in the middle of August - all cracked and brittle, arid and dusty.

Which brings me to the blog challenge. Claire and I both have avoided making writing a habit again. Making writing a habit that we can't kick - can't stop - can't avoid. Of course, being the scientist she is, and the obsessive I am, she asked about rewards and punishments if we met or didn't meet our goals. Then there were the goals. As well as the criteria for determining that we were both meeting our goals.

And this is what we came up with:
For the next 8 (yes EIGHT ) weeks, both of us have to write for a minimum of 20 minutes every day. Each writing day we need to produce no less than 500 words or 2 pages of new manuscript on any WIP (Work In Progress).

Why 8 weeks? Because research shows it takes a minimum of 8 weeks to develop a healthy habit.

Where does the blog come in? Well, that's part of our reporting system. Both of us have to answer a set of questions that allow us to reflect on the time we spent writing, what we wrote, and our reactions to what we wrote, and post those questions and answers to our blogs.

Where do the rewards and punishments come in? If we stick to our challenge and make our goals each day for a week, we receive a reward specific to what internal motivator drives us. By that same token, if we fail to meet the challenge, we suffer the consequence of not achieving our reward and it resets the challenge "clock" back to zero, meaning the entire 8 weeks starts all over again.

What are the rewards/punishments? Claire and I are very different creatures when it comes to social media. Claire avoids Facebook at all costs - she's very much an introvert. Me, on the other hand, have no problem with Facebook, and I tend to chat with everyone in the various groups I belong to. (Are you starting to get an inkling of what the wicked, evil ... punishment for me is?)

Punishment for Claire is like my reward! Considering Claire's aversion to posting, her punishment is that she must post a line from her day's writing to her FB page. Every day. Yes, every day. Me, I'm not allowed to post at all to FB for the entire week. I must post a line from my writing to my blog, and Twitter (which I rarely use) in order for it to be counted and me to be considered "on-task".

Rewards if we meet our goals for writing? Claire doesn't have to post to FB for one day, and I get to FB for a day!!

Kicker is, if Claire doesn't meet her daily challenge, she has to actually respond to three (3!!) status updates or notifications she receives. If I don't meet my challenge, I have to post twice to my blog on the day of/or following the failed challenge.

And when does this fucking wonderful challenge begin?

Today. Saturday, July 9th, 2016.

Good thing is, I'll get one last hurrah on Facebook before I go off line for the next week.

And for those who are really curious, below are the questions both Claire and I will be answering on our blogs...and which you can chime in on, if you'd like:

1. How much did you (I) write? Word count for the day and how long did it take you?
2. What is the current word count of your (my) Work In Progress (WIP)?
3. How do you (I) feel about what/how you (I) did today in the writing session?
4. Compare/Contrast today's session to yesterdays. Was it easier/harder? Did you (I) enjoy it?
5. What are you (am I) looking forward to in tomorrow's session?

Wish me luck!

Will talk to you later today (hopefully)!

Qwillia

PS-- *added after original post* Feel free to check out Claire's and myTwitter and Facebook posts as the challenge progresses. Below are the links:
Claire J. Monroe Twitter
Claire J. Monroe Facebook
Claire J. Monroe Blog/Webpage
Qwillia Rain Twitter
Qwillia Rain Facebook

Random Thoughts

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a writer suddenly just stopped writing?

I've always loved reading and writing. I've enjoyed the works of other authors and been anxious and chomping at the bit for the next book. In all my decades of readership I have been aware of the time and effort authors put into their novels and stories, and while I've hoped and prayed each of my favorites wrote faster, I understood that great stories required time. When one of my favorite authors retired or simply quit writing, I could whine and cry and gnash my teeth with the best of them...but I don't think I truly understood how those authors might have felt.

Until now.

I've never expected the ideas in my head would stall on the pathway to my fingers. The characters are still talking, although in only fits and starts. The information simply isn't making it onto the page. I try to write it down, and it doesn't happen. I read books on the writing craft, I watch films to break the stories down, and analyze the character development.

But the words don't come -- but they will come back. I know they will.

I just have to be patient. Just like I was patient all those years ago waiting for my favorite authors' next books.

And I've never been very patient.

Yet, I am very thankful I have dedicated readers with more patience than me.

Q