During the month of February, I wrote/edited on all 29 days
I made final edits on an older story, edited my novel, and wrote the first draft of a new story
I made 3 submissions
I received 5 rejections
I took between 4 and 6 days to resub a story after a rejection
I have 12 stories currently in slush pile circulation
I made 8 blog posts
I took no days off
Analysis:
Volume. That's what I'm needing more of. I'm writing/editing every day still, but my progress has slowed to a crawl. It shouldn't take me 13 days to write the first draft of a 6,600 word story. I should get more than a page of edits done in one day. Granted, I made some big decisions on the novel which will carry throughout but don't affect where I currently am, but still, I ought be be able to work faster than this.
Some good points of February:
I met my new-sub goal
I got another first draft, so I'll have something to edit and sub later this year
I made some important decisions regarding the novel and kept plugging at it
Bad points:
Glacial progress in some areas
I did not revisit my January story, meaning time will be crunching for meeting monthly new-sub goals later this year, if I don't pick things up soon
I'm getting easily distracted these days, and psychologically feel as though I need to accomplish more and more before I give myself "permission" to write. This is a habit I need to reverse, and soon!
I have a lot on my mind these days. Hubby's getting laid off, as I mentioned a little earlier, and that throws a lot of questions into the mix. Kal'El has learned to crawl and is getting into everything (including licking toilets--yech!) and has been sick (unrelated to the toilets.) Zaxxon has been acting out a lot more than usual, probably due to the combination of increased household stress, the fact that his little brother can now get into all his toys unless he keeps them up high, and the fact that he's been sick too. I'm thinking of creating a mobile app, hoping it might ease some of our impending financial difficulties in addition to it just being a good idea--and thinking about/researching/planning for that all the time doesn't help the writing front. Thinking about whether I'll have to rejoin the work force doesn't help it either. And some days my imagination takes me everywhere except into the worlds of my characters.
It's going to be an interesting few months. I still want to write everyday, but goals may change. They may have to. I still don't know.
2 comments:
As situations and circumstances change, so can goals. Things were different when the goals were set. With things changing, it could be a good idea to re-analyze and modify the goals to better fit your priorities.
And, that's okay.
"It shouldn't take me 13 days to write the first draft of a 6,600 word story. I should get more than a page of edits done in one day."
I'm going to jump in and say--Be careful what expectations/burdens you set on yourself. There is no unwritten rule of the writing universe that says you have to meet certain expectations or else. As you said yourself, "Progress is always good, even slow or skimpy progress." Writing goals we make for ourselves shouldn't be yardsticks we measure our output or our worth with. Easier said than done, of course.
With my chronic illness, it's taken me a long time to reach a point where I'm comfortable not measuring up to my previous expectations--or even setting expectations at all. To try my best and take what comes of that effort without measuring my effort against the distance of the stars I'd been aiming for. The thought "I ought to be able to do more" only served to depress me, make me unhappy and unsatisfied with what I had to give, what I could do, what I DID do.
As you look back on what you've done and look to goals for the future, make sure that you don't heap too many expectations on yourself. Relax, allow life to happen (as opposed to "impede" goals), help your family, take time to write and enjoy yourself. But make sure you're not heaping any extra stress and expectations that you don't need on yourself. It sounds like life is pretty crazy as it is. ;)
Anyway, I'm a stranger and the above is probably too much advice being that I'm a stranger, but I thought I would share what I've learned.
Good luck!
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