Day to Day

Diem_Allen · Apr 30, 2013

Good morning, afternoon, evening (whatever it is in your world right now.) I wanted to start a thread for people like me who work better with day to day goals to reach an overall larger goal. We can all say yes I want to write a novel or I wank to finish 15K in a months time, those are larger goals, but what about the day to day ones. What goals do you set for yourself when you wake up and do you meet them?
I thought a thread about these goals would be helpful not only to myself but to others. I work better when I set small daily goals. If I post them here then I am not only committed to myself but I am making a commitment to you as well. It might just be that little boost needed to cross over a hurdle or break through a block.
Post your immediate daily goal each morning and then before you call it a day give kudos for accomplishing it or encouragement if you didn't so that perhaps the next day you can finish it.

Okay, Ill start it off:

Today I would like to edit three chapters, send in a query letter and write at least 1,000 words.

kaitie · Apr 30, 2013

I'd like to figure out what on earth my character is doing in the scenes between the sets I've already written. I know where she ends up and where she starts, but I can't quite figure out what she's literally doing in between.

Phaeal · Apr 30, 2013

I go for a thousand words a day on a new draft or three-four hours of revision on later drafts. Will probably be upping the revision hours as a deadline draws nearer. Keeping the big picture in mind is also important to me.

Diem_Allen · May 1, 2013

Okay so I fell short of my goal yesterday by 400 words but I still feel good about what I did accomplish. Today everything but editing goes on the back burner. Today I edit and edit only.

kaitie · May 1, 2013

Okay, I actually did figure out what scenes to write next. Which was nice, aside from the figuring it out at eleven thirty when I absolutely had to go to bed.

Luckily, I scribbled out the idea in a notebook.

folkchick · May 1, 2013

I started with a migraine and barf session, but the day got getter and I managed to get my WIP's word count to 16K. Then I did a little work on the intro to a memoir about my childhood. I feel good about it. Now I can read and watch tv before making dinner.

Diem_Allen · May 2, 2013

Congrats on daily goals, everyone! My mood is still up, which is such a positive and I will again be editing all day in hopes of getting this MS out by the weekend. Yesterday was very productive.

Diem_Allen · May 9, 2013

"Eeeps" been super busy with family matters. Today's goal was to finish editing and add needed illustrations, in the proper places. I will do that tonight. Tomorrow's goal is to finally send out the completed manuscript.

Moonchild · May 9, 2013

The goal today was not particularly impressive... It simply was to NOT procrastinate! :tongue

It worked, too! Got back into actual writing of what I call my "Draft Zero" of the last part of a trilogy I'm working on. (The alternative was to keep obsessing about the query for the first book... :Headbang:

)

All in all, I'm a happier Me for my decision!

jkillan · May 9, 2013

For me it is about time. Sometimes I feel like writing, and sometimes I feel like reading, and sometimes I feel like editing... So I set a goal to dedicate time each day to working on my craft, from writing to reading, etc. I try and dedicate at least 10 hours a week.

TitaniumDerivative · May 9, 2013

Despite a setback that I experienced today, I'm hoping to add at least 500 words to my writing endeavors.

Diem_Allen · May 10, 2013

jkillan said:
For me it is about time. Sometimes I feel like writing, and sometimes I feel like reading, and sometimes I feel like editing...

This is me 100%. I really had to push myself to stick to just editing and it paid off. The manuscript went off for review this morning. Now what to do today? Keep writing! I'm going to shoot for 500 words today. I have a busy schedule so...we'll see. "Goal" luck everyone!

folkchick · May 10, 2013

Met my two-page quota yet again which brings me to 23,000 on novel. I feel like I could write more but I have to pick my son up from Kindergarten.

Diem_Allen · May 14, 2013

So my goal yesterday was to go through mounds of old writing notebooks for some inspiration and to locate some pieces that I knew were floating around and I really wanted to work on. Accomplished. Today I will spend my time working on a short story in hopes of finishing it.

geminirising · May 14, 2013

I'm glad I found this thread! I'm a super-spurty writer, so short-term goals work WAY better for me, too.

Today, my goal is to complete big-picture brainstorming for Chapter 8 of my book.

wampuscat · May 14, 2013

Yay! What a fun thread. Yesterday I managed to get a new draft of a query I'm working on, which I did instead of writing (bad me).

Today I'm hoping to get through a revision of one chapter.

Moonchild · May 14, 2013

Today's goals (aside from the standard I-Must-Not-Procrastinate

):

- Clean up one-page synopsis (btw, synopses are evil)
- Package and send out requested materials
- Disentangle next bit of Draft Zero of Book Three (where "draft zero" = messy, messy first draft)
- Finish beta-reading duties and start writing up the related critiques

Wow. I'm ambitious today

Maybe I should make these my goals for the rest of the WEEK! :ROFL:

Marian Perera · May 15, 2013

Today I want to finish Chapter 4 of the WIP (about 4000 more words to write). Then I want to do a detailed outline of the rest of the book.

geminirising · May 15, 2013

OK, I reached yesterday's goal. Today's goal is to transfer yesterday's brainstorming notes into the story document, finalize the chapter structure, and tweak until the chapter is ready for final editing (tomorrow's goal!)

wampuscat · May 15, 2013

You all have such ambition, and wonderful, goals! Good luck to you all!

My goal for today is another revised chapter and also iron out a chapter-ordering snafu.

Diem_Allen · May 17, 2013

Okay so the weekend looms up ahead and I feel like I am lacking. Today's goal write 500 words and DO NOT re-read or edit just write. I find that I have this procrastination method to go over every paragraph and chapter before moving ahead when I should just write write write!

geminirising · May 17, 2013

Diem, I have the same problem, and it really does help to keep pushing forward. Remember, you can always edit to your heart's content once the first draft is finished (at least that's what I tell myself one hundred times a day when I'm tempted to "fix" earlier chapters)!

OK! I accomplished yesterday's goal (tweak Chapter 8) and today's goal (send Chapter 8 to critique partner). Today's goal? Write an unstructured dump of at least 500 words for Chapter 9.

wampuscat · May 17, 2013

Have you tried a timer, Diem Allen? That's what I used to shut up my inner editor during the first time I tried WriMoNaNo. Set the clock for 30 minutes and just keep typing. (For those, like me, who have trouble even with that, there's Write or Die, which set on the highest level will erase my precious words if I'm idle too long. Sure, I wrote some crap with that method, but I also got some things out of my subconscious that I'm not sure I would've otherwise.) (Write or Die link: http://writeordie.com/ If you scroll down, the web app is free. Just remember to cut and paste or save your work to your computer.)

Diem_Allen · May 17, 2013

Uggghhh another gadget! I just downloaded ywriter yesterday thinking "Oh yes this will help me keep on track." Ha!!!!! Now I want to play with that program all day. I should just stick to old fashioned methods and grab my pen and notebook. Thanks for all the help though, nice to know I am not in this boat alone.

geminirising · May 17, 2013

Haha, Write or Die is a hilarious/brilliant concept! I'm totally checking it out. Thanks for the tip!

Day to Day

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Recovering adjective addict

"Jane, get me off this crazy thing!

Recovering adjective addict

"Jane, get me off this crazy thing!