Hello Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ll be taking a couple weeks off while I finish my latest WIP. I’ll be back soon.
The writing challenge that knows you have a life.
For weeks, I’ve been talking about my struggles with my WIP. I haven’t been able to get it done and time hasn’t been the only problem.
This week, I came across a post listing 10 Self-Limiting Habits Successful Writers DON’T Have. It’s a mouthful, but it’s such an empowering read. By the time I was done reading the post, I was ready to rock.
I cleaned up my beat sheet and spent a good amount of time thinking through my story.
Click. Click. Click.
I finished a read through, kept going, and finally yesterday I typed “The End.”
The WIP is no where near ready for submission. I still have a good bit of character arch to clean up, several read throughs to complete, and my betas to get past, but I’m a huge step closer to hitting send.
I see now that I had pushed myself up against a wall these past few weeks, and I couldn’t see the finish line. You better believe I’ve bookmarked that post. It clearly helped me to push past whatever was holding me back.
The Goals – week-6 results
- Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done. 🙂
- Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- not done. My week started off slow. Well, crazy busy on the evil day job front. By mid-week my focus was back on track, thanks to that fab post. I finished my read through and finished the last scene too. I also added 1k.
- Take care of and be kind to myself (start w/ a relaxing ritual and daily breaks from technology)– done. I worked through a lot of stuff this week. I’m proud of that. I also took breaks from technology this week and boy did it help me stay recharged. I also stepped back from a couple tasks and I’ve used the time well.
What you might have missed here this week:
S.J. Maylee 
It sounds like you rediscovered your focal point. Good for you! I had a meh week myself, so I’m hoping to buckle down this week. I’m going to head over and read that post for inspiration. Thanks!
Congrats on typing THE END. Of course, we know a finished draft isn’t the end of the story, but you’re indeed closer and will now be able to edit and polish and then send. Have a marvelous week!
I hope you got something out of the list too, Julie. I’ll definitely be reading it again. Here’s hoping we both have productive weeks. Thank you so much for the encouragement. 🙂
First, yay on getting to THE END. That is an awesome feeling, even when you know you still have a lot more in store for the piece. Good luck with the revisions. I had never read the 10 Self-Limiting Habits article, but I have to say—that shoe fits disturbingly well. Especially #7. Ack! I need to let more go. Recognizing it is not the end of the world if Dad feeds the kiddo a PB&J for dinner when I skip my cooking rotation is probably a good start. Thanks for the share.
Yes, #7 is an important one to let go and PB has a good bit of protein. So, it’s all good. 🙂 I do have a lot of work to go on my WIP. I better get to it. I hope you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by today.
There must be something going around, like a bad case of the blahs. I’ve had the same problem–not a lack of time, just not moving forward enough. But today is a new week, and a new chance to meet our goals, right? Good luck on yours, especially now that you’ve figured out what was holding you back.
I’ll be heading over to read that list. Unschooling has led me to see many many things differently, and to shift the way our entire family life is oriented. Still, there may be things to learn.
I had one of those “veer sharply to the left” weeks. I let most things go, and finished the current steps in the two WIPs that were distracting me from the one I want to prep for a revision pass next month.
So happy for you that you’ve found a key that unlocks a door to your own progress. And a huge WAHOO! on those two little words you typed!
May this week prove even more fruitful!
Pingback: Infected Play: ROW80 Update Template, 2/19/14 | shanjeniah