I’m actually glad the holiday season is wrapped up. I am so glad to be getting back to a regular schedule again, although all those extra days off were pretty nice.
One of the things I’m getting back to is ROW80 (I’ll be getting back to sharing my geeky delights, too, just not today). I did a few weeks at the end of the year to dip my toes back in, but now I’m ready to jump all the way in. And this post on The Myth of the One True Way is a great kickoff to the new round. I have fallen into that trap so many times, thinking I need to find the right way to write a novel. Even when I’ve qualified it with “the right way for me,” it’s just been a stumbling block. The right way to do it is to jump in and find what works as I go. The right way is to actually get it done.
I’m not saying that I don’t want to do any novel planning. This is about going beyond plans and doing the real work. I just have to remind myself–probably over and over and a million times over–that it doesn’t have to be right. There’s no such thing. It just has to be done.
My ROW80 Round 1 Goals:
- Finish working through K.M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel Workbook. How I’ll do it: post updates on Twitter daily to announce what I’ve done and then post here weekly with a round-up of all of those posts. (This “how I’ll do it” thing is something new I’m trying out to see if it helps me stay on task.)
- Write 30,000 words on Inheritance. How I’ll do it: once again via daily Twitter updates and weekly updates here.
- Twice-weekly writing practice for free writing and working on craft. How I’ll do it: take to Twitter once again and invite people to write with me and share their progress and maybe snippets of their writing; I’ll also mark these sessions on my calendar to see if that keeps the intention fresh in my mind.
Hi Kim, I dipped my toes in to Row80 a couple years ago and had a blast. Missed last year and happy to be back. I love K.M. Weiland and enjoy following her blog. Read Outlining Your Novel a while back and recently got the workbook. Looking forward to using it to work through a new story. Have fun.
Hi, Robin! Great to see you back. I was gone for almost all of last year, too, and am very happy to be back. Looking forward to seeing what we do!
intriguing use of twitter – interested to see if it works for you – might take a leaf out of your book if it does – all the best for the year:)
Thanks, Alberta! All the best to you, too. I’ll keep you posted on the Twitter thing.
THIS. This is why I absolutely love participating in challenges. Seeing how others approach a goal is so motivational. I am going to steal your “How I’ll do it” bit. I already realized I have to revise my goals to include my reading and movie challenges for Round 1, so when I write that post I’m totally sticking that “How I’ll do it” bit in. Thanks for the great idea! Currently I’m attempting 500 words per day, with hopes of completing my WIP by June 30, 2015. Good luck! We can do this!
Andi, that’s one of the things I love most about challenges, too! Even if someone’s “thing” isn’t quite for you, seeing it can spark new ideas. Love that so much! I joined a 500 words group, too, and haven’t been participating yet. So glad you reminded me. Yes, we can do this!