Life's Little Complications

Every time you turn around, life throws you another curve ball. You feel as if you are making progress toward your goals, and then there's another wall to climb.

Frustrations can grow in anyone's life, but you must learn to keep moving forward. Climb that wall, dodge that ball, do whatever is needed to continue progressing.

When things go crazy, do you let your dishes pile up? Do you grab clothes from the hamper for lack of clean ones? Do you skip showers? Do you take the day off from your job? For most people, the answer her would be no. So why is it so easy to skip a day of writing?

Forming the habit of writing, is a must for writers who wish to succeed. There are many ways to accomplish this. According to scientists, a habit can be formed in thirty days.

Make a schedule. Take a moment to sit down and plan out your day. Include your chores, work hours, television viewing, and etcetera. Now, look through your items and eliminate anything that can go. Fit in at least an hour a day for your writing - preferably, the same time each day.

Set a word count goal. Determine a reasonable amount of words to accomplish each day and strive to hit that count daily. Again, doing this at the same time each day will help. Make the count low and feel free to go over the amount. The point is to get you in the seat and writing at a regular basis.

Set a weekly goal. For those of you that have such a hectic life that you are unable to plan out each day, try setting a word count goal for the week and reach it. This will allow more flexibility, but be sure to complete the count by the end of the week, even if this means writing for hours over the weekend.

I'm sure there are other ways to get your writing in order. Feel free to share your habit forming procedures and your writing habits.

Winner of National Novel Writing Month

I managed to find the time and pushed out the words to complete the challenge of the National Novel Writing Month. It's a great feeling to have accomplished so much within a month's time.

The reality is I have a lot more work ahead of me. I began with no outline, with only a speck of an idea. The scenes came to me in spurts and not in logical order. Sifting through the produced work should prove to be a large task. The results and the learning experience will be well worth the effort.

Congratulations to all who participated. It takes a lot of motivation and courage to attempt such a feat. Whether you won or not, you gave it your all and that is what counts.

Good luck with your finished product and keep writing.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The big day is tomorrow. I want to take a moment and give thanks to all those who have guided me in my writer's journey.

I'd like to thank my best friend, Alisyn, for being a constant sounding board for my ideas, both good and bad. Mostly, I'm thankful for you being by my side through it all.

I'd like to thank my boyfriend, James, for understanding that I need time alone when writing and giving me the space needed.

I'd like to thank my critique partners and critique groups, past, present, and future. Without you my skills would not have grown so quickly.

I'd like to thank all of my blog followers. I appreciate your visits and comments.

I'd like to thank my family for providing me with the material that finds its way into my stories.

I'd like to thank god for giving me the gift and desire to write.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Try not to eat too much.

National Novel Writing Month - Day 21

NaNoWrMo, it's almost over. How many will complete the word count? How many of those novels will make it into the next stage?

At this point, I doubt myself. It's bringing back memories of the first time I did this challenge. And again, I'm wondering if it was a mistake to start. I'm sure every writer goes through this when writing a novel. But, I wonder how much of it is from the added pressure of getting it all down within a month. I'm sure an outline would have lessened the stress.

I'm still tapping the words out in hopes of meeting the challenge. At this point, I have to get twenty-five hundred words a day for the remainder of the month. Shouldn't be hard if I can think of something more to write.

Good luck everyone, as they struggle through this challenge.

27552 / 50000 words. 55% done!