Three years ago yesterday I started a writing journey that continues through today.
For 1097 consecutive days I have put pen to paper and wrote.
Every. Single. Day.
I originally started this writing exercise to complete my novel 'Lincoln Island'.
I had been working sporatically on it for a number of years and wanted it finished.
I read a quote in an AW'ers sig line credited to Alisdair Steward and just rolled with it.
The quote is -
"When it comes down to it, it's always you and the white page.
At the end of the day if the page is blank, it's won.
Don't let the page win."
I have used this quote as a mantra.
Over the years I have been tempted to just take a day off but just couldn't do it - it's like an addiction.
After nearly every novel completed I said to myself - 'job well done, you can rest now'.
The next day I would start again.
I would not let my streak die.
I'm sure one day something will happen and I won't get to write and it'll be okay when it ends.
Something, somewhere will take the descision to write out of my hands for a day.
I was tempted to say 'relieve me of my burden' but that would be wrong.
Writing was a burden before I started this journey, now it's morphed into a enjoyable part of my daily regiment.
I've written about my streak in several post, the first of which was '84 days and counting' and another was 'Keeping the dream alive.'
With determination and a lot of effort, I completed 'Lincoln Island' on 6/1/15.
After that I just kept on writing.
Over the past three years I have completed three more novels -
'Spark of Life' - 84019 words completed on 12/31/15.
'HEMP' - 91004 words completed on 9/15/16 and
'Shelter' - 84175 words completed on 5/29/17.
I've also worked on several others that remain incomplete until I get back to them, along with a number of story synopsis, outlines and over 13k in text.
I'm currently writing the last scene in my current W.I.P. titled 'Season's Change' and should be finished over the next couple of days.
The manuscript stands at 79633 words tonight and I'll probably add another 1.500 words or so with this last scene.
I think my key to writing every day has been when I write.
I finally found a time that was all mine at the end of the day.
I usually write after 10:00 PM every night.
I'm never in bed before 11:30 anyway so instead of playing on the computer I write.
I set an alarm for 9:45 every night. That's my notification to wrap everything else up.
Then I sit down and write.
To say I haven't struggled with writing would be a massive understatement.
As a matter of fact, I have pretty much determined that my writing sucks.
But it's getting better every day.
An advantage (for me anyway) of writing late is that it gives me all day to think about writing.
I think about the scene I want to work on when I get to it, and sometimes I'll make notes to help me later on.
But, and this is a huge BUT, the key is to sit down and put words on paper.
Anyone who struggles with writers block (and yes I was one for many years) know's what I mean.
Believe me when I say it certainly helps me to have gone through the scene during the day.
And, even if I don't know which direction the scene will ultimately take, I know that something of the scene will come out.
If I'm stuck, sometimes I'll start a conversation between two characters and see how it plays out.
But no matter what, I put words on paper.
I've said this before but I think it should be mentioned again -
Sometimes you just have to give yourself permission to write crap.
I'm not talking writing nonsense but just crappy text on your work.
I've taken several of those 'crap' days and molded them into nice solid text after taking a second look at it.
And sometimes, the crap you write is just that - Crap.
So don't worry about it and move on.
My writing this year is still fairly slow.
I'm only averaging 375 words per day.
Over the last month I've never had a day under 500 words, so it' been pretty good.
The momentum I've built up for my ending on this novel has kept me excited.
I'm sure that word count is going to suffer for a little while until I can focus my attention on my next W.I.P.
Anyway, thanks for looking in, I appreciate it.
Remember - Don't let the page win.
Have a great evening.
Adrian
For 1097 consecutive days I have put pen to paper and wrote.
Every. Single. Day.
I originally started this writing exercise to complete my novel 'Lincoln Island'.
I had been working sporatically on it for a number of years and wanted it finished.
I read a quote in an AW'ers sig line credited to Alisdair Steward and just rolled with it.
The quote is -
"When it comes down to it, it's always you and the white page.
At the end of the day if the page is blank, it's won.
Don't let the page win."
I have used this quote as a mantra.
Over the years I have been tempted to just take a day off but just couldn't do it - it's like an addiction.
After nearly every novel completed I said to myself - 'job well done, you can rest now'.
The next day I would start again.
I would not let my streak die.
I'm sure one day something will happen and I won't get to write and it'll be okay when it ends.
Something, somewhere will take the descision to write out of my hands for a day.
I was tempted to say 'relieve me of my burden' but that would be wrong.
Writing was a burden before I started this journey, now it's morphed into a enjoyable part of my daily regiment.
I've written about my streak in several post, the first of which was '84 days and counting' and another was 'Keeping the dream alive.'
With determination and a lot of effort, I completed 'Lincoln Island' on 6/1/15.
After that I just kept on writing.
Over the past three years I have completed three more novels -
'Spark of Life' - 84019 words completed on 12/31/15.
'HEMP' - 91004 words completed on 9/15/16 and
'Shelter' - 84175 words completed on 5/29/17.
I've also worked on several others that remain incomplete until I get back to them, along with a number of story synopsis, outlines and over 13k in text.
I'm currently writing the last scene in my current W.I.P. titled 'Season's Change' and should be finished over the next couple of days.
The manuscript stands at 79633 words tonight and I'll probably add another 1.500 words or so with this last scene.
I think my key to writing every day has been when I write.
I finally found a time that was all mine at the end of the day.
I usually write after 10:00 PM every night.
I'm never in bed before 11:30 anyway so instead of playing on the computer I write.
I set an alarm for 9:45 every night. That's my notification to wrap everything else up.
Then I sit down and write.
To say I haven't struggled with writing would be a massive understatement.
As a matter of fact, I have pretty much determined that my writing sucks.
But it's getting better every day.
An advantage (for me anyway) of writing late is that it gives me all day to think about writing.
I think about the scene I want to work on when I get to it, and sometimes I'll make notes to help me later on.
But, and this is a huge BUT, the key is to sit down and put words on paper.
Anyone who struggles with writers block (and yes I was one for many years) know's what I mean.
Believe me when I say it certainly helps me to have gone through the scene during the day.
And, even if I don't know which direction the scene will ultimately take, I know that something of the scene will come out.
If I'm stuck, sometimes I'll start a conversation between two characters and see how it plays out.
But no matter what, I put words on paper.
I've said this before but I think it should be mentioned again -
Sometimes you just have to give yourself permission to write crap.
I'm not talking writing nonsense but just crappy text on your work.
I've taken several of those 'crap' days and molded them into nice solid text after taking a second look at it.
And sometimes, the crap you write is just that - Crap.
So don't worry about it and move on.
My writing this year is still fairly slow.
I'm only averaging 375 words per day.
Over the last month I've never had a day under 500 words, so it' been pretty good.
The momentum I've built up for my ending on this novel has kept me excited.
I'm sure that word count is going to suffer for a little while until I can focus my attention on my next W.I.P.
Anyway, thanks for looking in, I appreciate it.
Remember - Don't let the page win.
Have a great evening.
Adrian
Well done. I may have to print out your post and hang it up. I could use a little inspiration some days.