January Challenge - Write Every Day!

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Magnus

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A fresh new year is coming up and it's time for us all to grab life by the scruff of the neck and make sure it knows we're writers!

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 in 2019!
 

Layla Nahar

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Wheeee!!

I'm in, as usual. And as usual, my three:

Adding words to my WIP
1 action of self-care and/or responsibility
1 action to improve my earning power

I'll do it everyday, with one skip day option a week for each category.

Thread old-timers have heard it all, but for those new to the thread, I do this in order to be able to write *and* take care of life. In the past, whenever life got stressful, writing went out the window. Hence the practice of 3.
 

Keithy

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Wow, January already?

But of course I'm in.
 

PamelaC

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I'm going to join in for the first time. My goals are going to be:

1. 500 new words per day. I'm not really going to put any other restrictions on that. Whether it's taking notes on research, character profiles, worldbuilding, a plot outline, or actual work on a first draft, I just want 500 new words typed into a Google doc each day.

2. I'm not allowed to read back over whatever it is I've written on days 1-6. On day 7, I read back through the 2,000 new words. I can add to it if I'd like, but it's not mandatory. Mostly I'll spend time with what I've written. The only rule is I cannot delete anything I've written. I can annotate it with my thoughts about how horrible it is and why it's horrible, but I cannot delete it.

3. I will write long-hand in my journal every day. No set amount, I just need a place to reflect on the day, work, or life in general (including writing) and release any thoughts that might need releasing.

4. I recently purchased a workbook called Creative Visualization for Writers. I will work on this once a week, probably on Day 7 when I'm spending time with what I've written over the previous 6 days.


Edited: Because I forgot there are 7 days in a week instead of 5 (work week).
 
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Pterofan

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I'm going to take one more shot at this, and this time actually work at being more productive. I think a change in eating habits (less junk food, more exercise) will help.

Goals: 1000 words minimum per day, one sub per month. The 1000 words can be spread out throughout the day and split between two or more stories, if that's what it takes. I'm cheating on the January sub because I already have a draft I can revise. February's going to be where the rubber hits the road.
 

WGough

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Thanks for starting the January thread, Magnus!

I'm going to try a bit of juggling in January. In no particular order,

1) Finish Book II character revisions
2) Finish brainstorming / researching new project
3) Polish Book I

Good luck, everybody. Happy New Year!
 

Keithy

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I need to up my work rate. 500 words a day, or 3500 a week. If I get to 3500 words say by Friday, I'll try making myself do more.

There's no more Christmases for a while, so that's no excuse.
 

April Swanson

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I'm committing to a firm goal for once, and that goal is to finish my exploratory draft. I always underwrite so I expect it to be about 60-70k. Currently sitting at 20k.

Let's do this! (In, like, a couple of days, after I've eaten all the mince pies and finished the wine and played so much PS4 my eyes burn.)
 

Krimigen

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I'm gonna join in! Nothing like a public announcement to make me take my resolutions seriously. Most of these are habits I've already started, but they're working, and I have a bad tendency to suddenly stop good habits.

1. Write (or plan, between drafts) for at least ten minutes a day.

2. Journal daily, even if that's just filling in habit trackers.

3. Read (for fun) 10 minutes daily.
 
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awriter

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I'll try this for the first time! Very specific goals, schedules, etc. seem to backfire whenever I try to use them as motivators, so I will keep my goals simple and vague.

1. Write daily for at least half an hour (preferably an hour or two if I have time).

2. Read daily. When I get into a book I can finish it very quickly, but since I don't have a good habit of reading regularly I often go through periods of reading nothing at all.

3. Exercise daily. It's good for me in general and it increases my energy and ability to focus, which should help me accomplish my first two goals.

My goal for the entire month is to finish at least one short story and maybe try submitting it if I feel it is good enough.
 

The Second Moon

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I'm in! I wrote everyday last month so I'm going to allow for some breaks this month.

My goal would be to get anywhere between 14,000 words (November's total word count) and 15,000 words (Decembers's total word count).
 

WGough

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Day 1
Brainstormed new project, 1061 words. Did the colored note-card and cork board thing. Researched private schools, the Cliburn series, cars "the wealthy" drive, which led down a pseudo-affluence rabbit hole. Book II's scratching my brain, so I have to decide whether or not to start drafting or character revisions.

PamelaC, Krimigen, awriter: :welcome:

Good luck, everybody!
 

ReadWriteRachel

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Count me in, too!

Day 1: Wrote 1k of my new YA American Revolution fantasy WIP (because I can't help myself) and am super close to finishing up the second draft of my YA cursed Egyptian tomb WIP! Will start going on sub hopefully sometime this month!
 
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Layla Nahar

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Sounds like that bunny is taking you down a productive rabbit hole Gough :)


Rachel - congrats on the 1K!




Day 1
WIP 1/2 page
R/SC - tidying - I'm making a media storage thing, & I'm getting my crafting stuff set up so that things are easy to find.
$$ - indy project exercise; recording and audio work
 

Cindyt

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Day 1

Draft - 726

Polished - 1 scene

Research - Image of a miscarried five-week-old fetus. Home photo film development time. Anatomy of a drug cartel. 9mm pistols.

Layla - Another half page. They add up.

WGough - WTG on word count.

ReadWriteRachel - Nice word count!

Two of my articles landed in the top ten in The Voice. :snoopy:

Welcome, New Comers!
 
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Pterofan

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Day 1 - stumbled coming out of the gate, only wrote 326 words. Not an auspicious beginning. But I left the house and went for a walk! And had hip, leg and foot pains afterward, which I take to mean I did it right. Gotta get the bike fixed so I can ride the rail trail instead of walking it. Then I can brainstorm while I exercise and kill two resolutions with one stone. Accidentally running down pedestrians with the bike is just icing on the cake. :evil

WGough - have fun with the new project!
 

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DAY 1: Back to line editing. Edited 3 pages.
DAY 2: Edited the previous chapter. It's short, and something just feels off. (6 pages)
 

WGough

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Day 2
Started drafting new project. 5,266 words.

ReadWriteRachel: Awesome job.

Layla: Congrats on your half page. And progress with things and stuff!

Cindyt: Top ten times two! :partyguy:

The Second Moon: Breaks are necessary.

Pterofan: Leaving the house is way auspicious. Congrats on getting out!

starrystorm: Way to edit!

Swim, swim, swim.
 
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awriter

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Day 1: Not very productive, but I (barely) met all of my goals. I wrote a few hundred words in a writing exercise, but didn't make progress on any actual projects. Did some reading and a tiny bit of exercise.

Day 2: Much more productive. I had an idea for (yet another) short story earlier today, and now I've almost completed the first draft at 2,399 words. I'm kind of surprised by how much I like it, which probably means I'll absolutely hate it when I read it tomorrow. :Shrug: There's still a lot of revision to be done, and I need to do some more research to make sure that some minor plot points are plausible. I also did a bit more reading, but I haven't exercised yet. I guess I'll do that after posting this.
 

Keithy

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New Year's Day - nothing
Today - 362 words. Shana's digging stuff up in the mud.

Second Moon, that's better than -1 words :)

Keep swimming!
 

Cindyt

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Day 2

Draft - 456

Polished - 2 scenes

Research - outdoor crime scene investigations

WGough - 5,266 words!

Got to get busy on the next Voice article on the 3rd.
 
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Layla Nahar

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Cindy, wtg on today's 3


Moon, I agree w/ you on the breaks - it's really good to take them


Congrats on the 326 Ptero, on getting your bum out of the chair as well as keeping in in there ;)


Good work, starry :)


Gough - wait what? Holy crap! That must have been one of those giant Dutch rabbits of a plot bunny there - wtg!


awriter - congrats on starting off solid & exceeding your goals on day 2


Keithy, nice work :)


WTG Cindy!


Filling the well, Moon :)


Day 2
WIP 1/2 page
R/SC - tidying; paid rent; went to see my friend & ride a horse :)
$$ - skip day
 
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