July Challenge - Write Every Day

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Magnus

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Right. July is coming up and at the end of it, I'll have been doing these threads for a year. Admittedly, my dedication to checking in has been lacking for several months, but I always put up a new one because I love to see all the people participating. I hope I'll be able to participate more this month, but I better not promise anything!

So, this is a thread open to anyone who wants to start, maintain, or reinforce a writing habit. (It can also be about revision, editing, research -- all writing habits welcome!)

The basic idea is that repeating something daily, even if only for a short time, will build a habit that becomes stronger over time.

It's entirely up to you how much and in what way you participate. Post your goals, if you like, or just check in when you can!

Here are some tips:


  • Set achievable goals – I can't stress enough how important this is. To build a habit, doing something is more important than quantity or quality.
  • Keep up the habit as many days in the week as possible – even if it's just a few sentences or a bit of editing. It reinforces the habit and makes it easier to get started.
  • Mix it up – Try different types of goals, different times of the day, different tricks to reward or motivate yourself. A good habit is what works for you, not someone else.
  • Be patient – It takes a long time to build a strong habit and you'll always be facing new challenges. Get used to constantly adapting and you'll be better prepared for whatever problem comes up next.
  • Don't give up because you didn't hit your goal – When you fail to hit your target, your job is figuring out why it happened. That way, you can find ways to get around your roadblocks (and don't be scared of lowering the bar - doing something is better than doing nothing). If you share your stumbles in the thread, others might be able to help out with tips, tricks, and support! And sometimes, it's okay to just take a break for a day or two, or have scheduled days "off". Whatever works for you!


Good luck, and see you on July 1st!
 

Magnus

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For July, my goal is to check in every day, whatever I did or didn't do. That's it. My writing habit has been going up and down but I haven't checked in, and I know it helps when I do as it lets me keep track of things and I get to chat with the nice people here.

So, July: Check in every day. :D
 

Devan Isra

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My goals are to try checking in here every day (helps keep me accountable), and doing some serious drafting in my modern fantasy manuscript at least, plus doing more research for my alien sci-fi series. I'd also like to do some little prompts and challenges. And I'd like to see how others are doing - it's rather inspiring, helps me to feel a little less hopeless, hahah. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to accomplish each day, so I'll just take it one day at a time. Thanks for making this thread, by the way. :)

EDIT: I'd love to read more, too, but I have my doubts that will happen much, unfortunately.
 
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Pterofan

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The things I didn't finish in June will be spilling over into July. I want to finally finish the one damn story and sub it by the end of the month. I think I'll make 500 words my daily goal this time. June proved that's a lot more doable for me than 1000.
 

WGough

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Thanks for starting the July thread, Magnus. You were missed in the June thread, so it's good to hear from you.

Looking back at June. I met only 1 of 4 goals. They were way too lofty. I was on fire March-May and expected to continue at that pace. My 2nd revision was much more thoughtful and, therefore, time consuming. Didn't follow Magnus's advice to set achievable goals and be patient.

Looking forward to July.

1) Finish 2nd revision of 1st novel in a three novel series by July 14th. This is doable. I'm halfway through the 2nd revision at the time of this writing, and I've got two days left in June.

2) Set 1st novel aside. This will be the hardest one.

3) Finish structure and discovery draft of 2nd novel by July 31st - current word count 30K

Draft word count goals: M-Th 2,000 words/day, Fri-Su 5,000 words/day

Good luck, everybody!
 

Layla Nahar

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Thank you Magnus!

My goal for July - same as always, to Write and Life* - to that end I will take at least one action, without judging, in the following 3 areas, 6 days a week:

WIP: Ad new words to my WIP.
Responsibility/Self-care <- title says it all
$$ - one action to bring more money, including actions to build my skills

*Previously, if things got too stressful, writing went out the window. & I would often say, when things settle down, when this is out of the way, then I'll be able to write. I finally learned that if I waited for that, I'd be waiting a long time, so I had to learn to write - while I was stressed, scared, whatever...
 

April Swanson

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Thanks Magnus. Hope to see you around soon.

I'm actually setting a proper goal this month: to write three pages a day (M-F) and one page a day on weekends. I have a history of obsessive tracking, and this is my first time setting a firm target in a while. We'll see how it pans out... I may go mad. S'all I'm sayin'.
 

thereeness

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Thanks Magnus! You are awesome as always!

My goal for July is: write, edit, and prep to publish my first novella.

May the gods have mercy on my soul.
 

KayMitch

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Signing on for July. Not sure what I'm spending this month doing yet. I probably should edit and revise my pirate ms, but I also have an idea for a YA Fantasy romance that could be fun. And another idea for a YA Fantasy that I've been toying with. But that one is going to be a doozy because it's got A LOT of POVs. So many choices.

BUT it is Camp NaNo in July so my goal will be right there at write (or edit) 1667 words a day and hit 50k by the end of the month
 

Keithy

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If my computer works then I'll be trying to maintain my semi-official 3500 words a week target. If not I'll be out enjoying the sunshine.
 

DanielSTJ

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Thanks Magnus! You're the bomb! Get in on this man! :D

I'm going to try and keep more consistent writing habits this month and hope they stick.
 

SKara

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Wow, looks like we have some nice goals so far! Magnus, it's good to see you here - we all missed you in June!

I've decided to take things easy for the next month and focus less on writing and more on fixing my sleep issues, so I won't be officially participating in the July thread, but I'll keep checking on you all lovely people here :) May you get lots written by the end of the month!
 

Keithy

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Computer is working, but no writing done today
 

Ellis Clover

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Hi everyone! I read these threads every month, equal parts admiring and terrified of everyone's dedication - but I'm trying to nail down a productive writing routine and I think actively checking in will help keep me accountable.

This month I'd dearly love to get the next three chapters of my WIP done. That's all. I'm a think-for-days-before-BIC, revise-as-I-go, part-plotter-part-pantser type of writer, so my process is slow. If I can get this work done I'll be about 60 per cent of the way through the book, which will feel like a big achievement and hopefully spur a faster run-up to the end.

I'd very much like to finish one of my numerous short stories in progress too, but that's a bonus goal - nice if it happens, but not a priority.

Good luck all, and happy writing :)
 

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I just finished my first year teaching, which was really stressful and time-consuming, but I've decided to dedicate this summer off to writing goals, and here's what I've got and accomplished:
1. Write 50k words of current YA novel first draft by mid-August when school resumes.
2. Revise 2 short stories
3. Create submission list
Sounds like a lot, but so far, I'm keeping pace with about 7500 words/week, and revising one short story per month (just finished revisions on first one today). Kudos to everyone else here for their goals!
 

Taylor Harbin

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Happy July all! My goals are still the same. Finish the book. Did about two pages this morning. Really pushing myself to get it done by 7-15 at the latest. Trying not to do what so many others have done, inserting multiple scene breaks like they were editing a movie.
 

April Swanson

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Hello again, old peeps. Welcome, new peeps!

So, July.

I opened the month with several hours of Scrivener/Amazon formatting hell. I FINALLY got the paperback interior sorted, so now I can get back to my cover designer with a proper template (rather than the dud I sent her yesterday because I'd basically forgotten about margins and stuff). I also wrote a page for my current WIP. I'm on page 17 (I estimate the first draft will be around 140), and still getting to know the characters. I had to gently push away fears and doubts about where the story was going and how all the characters sound the same, and remind myself that this was an exploratory draft and that there'd be plenty time for revision... The longer I do this, the more I realise that success in writing basically boils down to how deep in the sand you can stick your head until you hit The End.

Day 1: Decent bit; 7 miles; earning my 70%
 

Scout

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Hello everybody,

I want to make a goal for July that is realistic.

For the past few months I've informally set myself the goal to write a minimum 1 hour a day, 7 days a week. I've haven't been able to meet it, because Life gets in the way sometimes, But for the past few months, I've consistently wrote for 5 days a week, and usually two of those days for two hours a day....

BUT I find a day away from writing makes me lose momentum and the thread of my wip- apparently it's a fragile thing, ready to evaporate without constant tending.... so I think I need my goal to include a daily connection.....



So here it is, my goal for July:


1. 5 days a week, write for minimum 30 minutes on current WIP

2. 2 days a week, write in journal about my WIP for minimum 10 minutes


3. Each day, In my calendar, track time spent writing, making note of things impeding progress, to better analyze my habits.



Lets see how this goes.

Good luck everybody!
 

thereeness

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Day 1! It's already a new month, I can't even believe it.

So, not only did I get perfect attendance for work in June, but 6/30 into 7/1, but my wrist got so sore from all the writing I did, that I had to stop writing the last hour of my shift XD I dunno how many pages I got done, 8, 10, who knows? All I know is that it was good progress. No transcribing, sadly, but my weekend's coming up on Monday, so I'll have plenty of time to catch up on transcribing then. But Sunday night into Monday morning means more notebook writing.

Let's hope my wrist is up to it.

And now we begin swimming! Good luck everyone :D
 

Pterofan

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Happy First of July! Start the partying early.:e2drunk:

Last day of June - a measly 206 words. No word count for today yet. This week's goal: finally finish that one story I've been fiddling with for what feels like forever. It's past 30K so far. It wasn't a book when I started it. This month's goal: write Book 1 (first draft) of a romance series so I can hopefully pick up enough side bucks to afford a new central air conditioner. (Waves sympathetically to WGough).
 

Devan Isra

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First, I'd like to say good luck to everyone. :) May the writing gods smile upon you all and bless your goals.

It's early in the day for me, and I thought I'd write down my to-do list first, then just edit the post in the evening.

So first of all, I'm thinking of rewriting two of my current stories to be more like a series of semi-short stories, having a few per volume. Each one would be about a different character, but some would be revisited now and then. One of these is set in a school and I'd like the reader to have a chance to get to know all the different characters. The other is about a war, and it's more about showing how it slowly builds up from many different perspectives. I've never actually done much with this kind of narration, but it really fascinates me, and I really enjoy reading stories in this vein. Having a more 'normal' narrative just wasn't working for what I was going for, so I'm glad I discovered this. Which, I wouldn't have thought to try it if I hadn't joined up here, so thanks for that~ (I was stuck in a mindset that only certain kinds of narration are 'correct'. Bleh.)

So, for today, I'd like to try to:

-Write some framing for either the school or war series, to use either as a summary or introduction to the stories
-Rewrite the first 'short story' of the school series, which was really how I was trying to write my chapters already, it would be something like 5,000 - 10,000 words, maybe leaning more toward 15,000, though this might end up being more of an edit than anything else, to make sure it fits in with being a series of short, connected stories, rather than having much of a greater plot
-Work a little on the language(s) of the war series (I really only need a basic idea)
-Start a little side project I have going on with a friend. For this, I would probably just write a brief intro today. But we'll see.

Of course I'll probably only get a couple of these things done, those are just the ones that need to be done before I can do much else with the main stories.

Day 1: I didn't get to work on any of these, unfortunately. Right after posting this, I had to write a care guide of about 5,000 words long, and after that I had to deal with family drama for the rest of the day. But I at least got to put words down, even if it wasn't part of my goals. But, that just means they'll be the goals for tomorrow, and now at least most of that trouble is taken care of.
 
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Magnus

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Day 1!
I started with a bang. Some fresh ideas for my writing routine have renewed my vigour. Today I took a ton of notes, transferred a ton of notes, and wrote the first draft for some writing advice (to do with that fresh look; I'll post it on Twitter tonight or tomorrow).
And most importantly, I'm checking in here, so my goal is met! :snoopy:

April - Ugh, formatting.
Scout - Those sound like great goals. Recognising that you don't always have time for the full deal, but still doing a few minutes of writing to keep your head in the right place!
Devran Isra - Whoa, are you sure those aren't your monthly goals? ;)

Welcome new people and Write Every Day veterans! I'm glad to hear I've been missed, that certainly gives me the energy to do better!
 

Cindyt

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My goal is to write extra articles toward The Voice going weekly. That way I'll have something every week without scrambling for the deadline. So, I'll need to write every single day.
 
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KayMitch

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Day 1
Words Written Today: 129
Dystopian WIP Count: 50,000
other WIP Count: 0

I'm off to a great start this month XD Only a little over 100 words today. But me and the boyfriend got up, dropped the dogs off with "grandma and grandpa" (ie: my parents), and then 2 hours to visit our friends that we haven't seen in 10 months. So we spent all day at the lake swimming and sun bathing, had dinner with them, watched a bit of a movie, drove home, and then I cracked out the rest of my homework, and wrote 129 words for the day just to make sure I write at least SOMETHING every day this month. XD
 

Keithy

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Computer's still working: my "fan" theory seems to be proved. But no writing for the last 2-3 days, my time was taken up with family days out and errands
 
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