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- Jan 4, 2007
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There have got to be other people out there, like me, in utter awe of those who claim to write some multiple thousands of words every day. I wish I could do that. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to make that happen, although I have been trying for about 20 years.
Maybe I don't push myself hard enough. Maybe I'm simply not as talented or creative as these other folks. But I still love writing, and I still have this dream of being a "professional."
So I've decided to stop setting lofty word-per-day goals. I have accepted the fact that it will take a pretty good long time to complete my novel. A great big long humongous pretty good long time. I've decided to write one page a day. 250 words. And what is more important, I've decided that when I get those 250 words written, I will move on with my life and do something else for the remainder of the day, instead of ruining everything else about my day wondering if perhaps I should write a little more, or do some research, or take some notes or something. I want to be a writer, right? I should be writing!
It wears me out, after awhile. I'm like "always on writing," and I've been like that since I was about 20. If my daily word goal is too high (say, 1000 words ... stop laughing please), then I sit there tired because I had to get up two hours early to get it done before work, or I sit there tired because I waited until after work, and I sit there, and I sit there, and then I get restless and kinda panicky. At least until my son wants to tell me something, or my wife wants me to do something...then I get mad. My writerly frustrations boil up and then over.
When I was aiming much higher, I noticed that no matter what I set the daily goal at, I could usually get at least a page down before engine started to misfire. So I'm thinking, what the hell? Why don't you just do a page a day? I enjoy that one page. I enjoy writing that one page. For the length of time that I am involved with that one page, I am feeling every emotion that is involved with why I ever wanted to write in the first place. It's after that that things go wobbly.
So this is my resolve, and I'm hoping that there are others like me who will do the same thing and check in here daily to tell us about their "page" ... and their wip in general ... one page per day. 250 words. And then done. No guilt. Done until tomorrow.
No guilt.
Not one single solitary ounce of guilt.
Maybe I don't push myself hard enough. Maybe I'm simply not as talented or creative as these other folks. But I still love writing, and I still have this dream of being a "professional."
So I've decided to stop setting lofty word-per-day goals. I have accepted the fact that it will take a pretty good long time to complete my novel. A great big long humongous pretty good long time. I've decided to write one page a day. 250 words. And what is more important, I've decided that when I get those 250 words written, I will move on with my life and do something else for the remainder of the day, instead of ruining everything else about my day wondering if perhaps I should write a little more, or do some research, or take some notes or something. I want to be a writer, right? I should be writing!
It wears me out, after awhile. I'm like "always on writing," and I've been like that since I was about 20. If my daily word goal is too high (say, 1000 words ... stop laughing please), then I sit there tired because I had to get up two hours early to get it done before work, or I sit there tired because I waited until after work, and I sit there, and I sit there, and then I get restless and kinda panicky. At least until my son wants to tell me something, or my wife wants me to do something...then I get mad. My writerly frustrations boil up and then over.
When I was aiming much higher, I noticed that no matter what I set the daily goal at, I could usually get at least a page down before engine started to misfire. So I'm thinking, what the hell? Why don't you just do a page a day? I enjoy that one page. I enjoy writing that one page. For the length of time that I am involved with that one page, I am feeling every emotion that is involved with why I ever wanted to write in the first place. It's after that that things go wobbly.
So this is my resolve, and I'm hoping that there are others like me who will do the same thing and check in here daily to tell us about their "page" ... and their wip in general ... one page per day. 250 words. And then done. No guilt. Done until tomorrow.
No guilt.
Not one single solitary ounce of guilt.