Finding the time to write

I learned something last week. That long line on the top is for the title and not the category. Yeah, some of us are a little slow, but working to correct it.

How do you get your writing done? For me, it is a matter of sheer willpower. I have to set goals. Do I always hit those goals? Sorry to say, sometimes, no. Yesterday for example, I was interrupted by life and missed my goal by a half page. Usually I go by word count, but with this project page count works better for me. Hold the horse, you can change the way progress is measured? Of course. That said, there is no changing in the middle of a project.

With goals, don't set some lofty goal. Set a goal you know you can hit, even if it is only one page. Remember, a page a day is a novel by the end of the year. What if you miss your daily goal? For me, it depends. If it is small, like the half a page mentioned above, I simply pick it up on my next day of writing. If it is large, sometimes there is no catching up so don't try. If I miss my goal by several pages, sometimes I can do a little more each day and catch up by the end of the week. More often, I forgive myself. Why? Because beating yourself up does nothing but put a stopper in your creativity when you need it most. Missing the goal is forgivable, missing a day due to things beyond your control can be forgivable provided things really were beyond your control, missing you goal because of surfing the net, nope, this is not forgivable really but sometimes it happens. Yes, I'm guilty of it.

So, what is the big take away from this? Keep working. Keep moving ahead even if it only a small amount.

Until next week.