32 replies to this topic

[Isaac]

I finally reached the 1667-words-in-one-day milestone a couple days ago. (Thank you, thank you.) How do the rest of you manage to meet your goals? With the kids, two birthdays, moving furniture for said birthdays, cleaning up after said birthdays, giving notice, starting a new job, helping grandma with some chores, our zoo and our aquarium, I find that there is always a major distraction from writing. What do the rest of you do to work around the every day obligations?

IF

[Marguerite]

Isaac, on Nov 12 2007, 08:15 AM, said:

I finally reached the 1667-words-in-one-day milestone a couple days ago. (Thank you, thank you.) How do the rest of you manage to meet your goals? With the kids, two birthdays, moving furniture for said birthdays, cleaning up after said birthdays, giving notice, starting a new job, helping grandma with some chores, our zoo and our aquarium, I find that there is always a major distraction from writing. What do the rest of you do to work around the every day obligations?

IF

I think it's really tough when you have small kids around the house. I didn't start writing fiction until my son was 10 (never planned to write it at all, but an idea just came to me). Then I took a break of several years before the next good idea showed up, by which time it was mostly a matter of coordinating car rides and meals.

I've worked out of the house since he was 5, so I've gotten really good at ignoring household tasks. I use the 30-second rule I found in some freelancers' book years ago: "If you can clean it in 30 seconds, do. Otherwise leave it alone." Plus my husband, aka the Saint, likes to vacuum as a cure for writer's block. Shopping's a constant temptation, but laundry goes on in the background, so it's no big deal. The resulting mess also cuts down tons on the urge to entertain!

But working around job commitments is tough. I write like mad from Friday afternoon through Sun. dinnertime (that's where it pays not to have kids around). And I try to put in at least an hour at the end of the day so that I have new pages to read after dinner, which helps keep the characters alive. If I can't do that, I spend half of Saturday procrastinating while I try to jump start them, which always leaves me annoyed with myself for not being better disciplined.

My critique partner, who just delivered her third novel to the publisher, has two kids and writes intensely during school hours from Sept. to mid-June, then takes the summer and weekends off. She keeps body and soul together with freelance advertising projects. That's not an option that's open to most people, though.
In sympathy with your struggle,
Marguerite

[pjl]

Single. Quit my job. Now if I could only stop watching Curb Your Enthusiasm I'd get a lot more done.

At the moment my writing schedule is erratic. I wake up at 11, write sporadically, if at all up until about 11pm and then I hit a running stretch between midnight and 6am. My goal is to have at least 4 complete novels circulating by the New Year and I've given myself three months to do that. I already have one 75,000 word Detective novel finished, and I'm 60+k into my NaNo novel, so I'm ahead of target at the moment.

Before I quit my job I found myself too exhausted to do anything when I came in, and I got the bulk of it done at the weekend. Now that I'm happily out of work, I get to write all the time. Although the money is fast running out, so it's back into a job by the New Year. But these couple of months I'm giving myself have increased my output and understanding no end, so I wouldn't give them up for the world.

PJ

[Thoth]

Unfortunately, November is not a good month for me. Too close to the end of the year wrap up. Books have to be balanced for the last quarter tax estimates, and so forth. On the up side, there are no kids in the house anymore and no other relatives to distract/motivate me . Which is not to say there are no distractions. Life is a distraction. It is also, ultimately, the fuel of our creative engines. We are not all lucky enough to be married to Simon Templar (Marguerite - I am currently, as they say, between spouses) or have the wisdom of ages at our fingertips (Isaac - My grandparents died long ago. Treasure them while you can.)

As for the rest: If you want something done, ask a busy person. I don't think we get our writing done despite distractions. Believe it or not, I think it is only possible because of our distractions. (Does that make any sense?)

My personal best is 3500 words a day, not including research or re-writes. (Don't be too impressed. It's a rare day when I can set aside that much time.) For me 1,000 words a day is a good day. Given the number of non-writing days I'd place my median day at a paltry 200 words. (Roughly, for every day I do a thousand words or more there are four days I hardly write at all. Very uneven, I know.)

So, "How do I do it?", the good days, I mean. I get all my research set up and then ignore it while I devote the rest of the day (and night) to writing and fuel breaks. Truth to tell, "pantser" that I am, on a more typical day I'll think, "Oh, that's a good idea," and then sit down and just write it through.

Your Observant, poor writing habits and all,
-Thoth.

[Callista]

I, honestly, am not aiming for 50k this year. I got it last year, I may get it again this year, but the goal, I think is just to write. I aim for 2k a day - that's about ten pages, and so far today I'm at... 977, after two hours of writing. I don't usually make it, but hey, I try.

I get up around nine, when my husband leaves for work, shower, get a glass of water and my multivitamin, and start writing. Then I get the hiccups from not eating when I take my multi, so I make breakfast. Write. Do the dishes. Write. Go for a walk. Write. Then I usually give up and work on art projects for the rest of the day, until I go to the gym. Then I write again at midnight, until 2am usually. But I have no set job and no kids, so I've got it easy. Er, easy in a different way.

I'm trying this whole "not disconnecting while I'm writing" thing. It's... hard. Heheh.

[Isaac]

Callista, on Nov 12 2007, 01:05 PM, said:

I'm trying this whole "not disconnecting while I'm writing" thing. It's... hard. Heheh.

Just wait until the funny ideas come (maybe it's easier if your writing comedy like I am [attempting]).

"What do mean we're not using parachutes?!"

IF

[Callista]

There's always room for comedy in my stories. I'm waiting for it!

[Thoth]

Isaac, on Nov 12 2007, 10:49 PM, said:

"What do [you] mean we're not using parachutes?!"

Since 2001 it has been standard practice for humanitarian aid to be dropped by plane in enemy territory without a parachute. Three reasons: 1 - It becomes easier to hit a target; 2- The boxes fall faster and are less likely to be shot up or intercepted by the bad guys; 3- Box technology allows for the supplies to survive impact at terminal air velocities (where the force of air against a given shape equals the force of gravity on a given mass).

Totally off topic,
-Thoth.

[Isaac]

Thoth, on Nov 13 2007, 02:19 PM, said:

Since 2001 it has been standard practice for humanitarian aid to be dropped by plane in enemy territory without a parachute. Three reasons: 1 - It becomes easier to hit a target; 2- The boxes fall faster and are less likely to be shot up or intercepted by the bad guys; 3- Box technology allows for the supplies to survive impact at terminal air velocities (where the force of air against a given shape equals the force of gravity on a given mass).

Totally off topic,
-Thoth.

Okay, I just don't see the humor in that.

IF

[Thoth]

Isaac, on Nov 13 2007, 11:29 PM, said:

Okay, I just don't see the humor in that.

It's subtle. Very very subtle. Emperor's New Clothes subtle.
Subtly yours,
Thoth.

[Callista]

Sometimes I feel bad making a post just to chuckle at Thoth.

Sometimes.

[Thoth]

Callista, on Nov 14 2007, 08:28 AM, said:

Sometimes I feel bad making a post just to chuckle at Thoth. Sometimes.

See Isaac. Callista gets me.

Heart melting,
-Thoth.

[Isaac]

Thoth, on Nov 14 2007, 09:41 AM, said:

See Isaac. Callista gets me.

Heart melting,
-Thoth.

Well, there's no accounting for taste.

IF

[Callista]

*gasp* I have wonderful taste! Wonderful, fabulous, fantastic taste, dahling.



Defending all sorts of honor,
- Calli

[Thoth]

My hero(ine),
-Thoth.

[Isaac]

Thoth, on Nov 14 2007, 03:37 PM, said:

My hero(ine),
-Thoth.

Hey, hey, hey! Get a private forum, guys.

IF

[Callista]

Bwhahah!

By the way, I'm so stunningly behind on my word count, it's really... I'm at 12k. On this, the day of halfway!
Bah!

Still a knightess in shining armor
- Calli

[pjl]

I just noticed that you're from Sacramento, Callisto. I just spent a good portion of the middle of my detective novel writing about Fair Oaks and the surrounding area. Weird how life juxtaposes events in a seemingly fluid connection of coincidences

PJ

[Isaac]

Callista, on Nov 15 2007, 12:25 PM, said:

I'm at 12k. On this, the day of halfway!

Stop bragging.

IF

[Thoth]

Callista, on Nov 15 2007, 02:25 PM, said:

I'm at 12k. On this, the day of halfway!

I love artificial deadlines. Especially the way they go SWOOSH as they pass by.

SWOOSH.
-Thoth.

BTW: I've been privy-to/cursed-by a great deal of management training. The 1990's saw a trend where all managers were told to shorten all project timetables by at least 10% so all project personal could have at least one black mark against them, and the company would have a legal basis for termination should the budget require it. Lawyers are only now beginning to see that employee rating systems rarely have a basis in reality. I'd take a good 12K over a bad 12M any day of the week. Timetables? Bah!