Week #1 Motivation
“You can sit there, tense and worried, freezing the creative energies, or you can start writing something. It doesn't matter what. In five or ten minutes, the imagination will heat, the tightness will fade, and a certain spirit and rhythm will take over.” – Leonard Bernstein
Welcome to:
I admit it. This last month I started off with the right intentions but my one part-time job held me back from doing all I wanted to do.
I know, I know.
For today I'll be using something out of THE POCKET MUSE by Monica Wood for an idea on how to help kick that muse into working.
...Set an egg timer for forty-five minutes, and don't get out of the chair until the timer dings. Even if you sit starting at the page the entire time, you're ingraining a habit...
What are some ways the rest of you help get the motivation feeling back?
Also share what your weekly goals are this week. Don't be shy!
My goal is to finish at least 2 chapters of edits. Plus turn that timer on at least once a day this week so I can work on the new beginning to my sekrit project.
Added bonus:
Comments
Okay, okay. Focus.
I have a clear set of goals for the week (and month and summer for all it's worth.) Every morning, starting at 6 a.m. I work on the historical for an hour and a half. Every afternoon I revise at least one chapter of the MG. I've been keeping this routine for the past two weeks and it's working well so far.
Thanks for hosting the madness this month, Kim. Happy June, Wipsters!
I'm not having trouble with motivation, only with finding the time to get through this revision. I planned to do it on the weekend, but got cajoled into judging a dance competition. Today I'm busy with homeschool meetings. Ugh. I just need a few hours to focus! I hope to be back next week telling you that I found those hours somewhere!
Time will be tight this week, thanks to the day job and some other commitments, but my motivation's running pretty high right now, so I should be able to take advantage of whatever writing time I find. My goal is to have this round of revisions done by next Monday's check-in. (And I'm excited just thinking about finishing! Time to get to work!)
I know what you mean! I have homeschooling meetings this week too. Plus, a couple other activities. It's craziness.
One of my writer friend's trick is she takes a notebook with her everywhere and writes whenever she can.
I know though. It can be tough.
I'm cheering for ya!
Yes, WANDERLOVE is an amazing read!
Wow, you're good! I tried to get up at 6am but been kind of lazy lately. Need to do that again. Get up and just write.
Ooh, on revisions! You can do it! Loving the excitement you're giving off.
I'm clipping away on my revision 157/275 as of this morning. I had hoped to be finished by the 14th (when I leave for my hs reunion) but it's not going to happen I don't think. So now my goal is to finish this revision round by the end of the month so I can send it to my first whole ms beta readers. (I have two alpha readers on my footsteps)
I'm also signed up to work again with the fabulous Joy Neaves this summer every Wednesday evening. Not sure which ms I'm going to workshop, but I'll figure it out.
Have a great writing week all!
Yay, with your revision goal!
http://www.katemessner.com/teachers-write-46-mini-lesson-monday-making-time/
Good luck, wipsters!!
As of right now I'm on page 250/375 of prose revisions, at which point I can query. (Though I can send out letters before I finish so long as I'm REALLY close...)
And what the hey, I'll make it a goal that, by next monday, I'm going to have this MS DONE so I can work on the next project. 125 pages in 7 days. I think I can do it if I focus. :)
Hope you feel better soon! Son's had this cough for almost 2 weeks.
Sending some cyber hugs your way!
Yay, for being so close! And thanks for checking in!
I'm brainstorming at least three different stories, not worrying about if I'll ever use any of them, just having fun :)
Good luck to everyone else! I hope you exceed your goals this week.
Okay, I LOVE your egg timer idea. I think it's going to have to happen. My goal is to return to edit 10 pages minimum this week, and #5minblitz every day by setting the egg timer.
Luck & Love to my WIPster friends.
--Lora
My goal is to get through the second and third drafts of my WIP by the end of the month. Since I'm starting on page sixty, this means plowing through a hundred pages a week.
You can do it! I'm cheering for ya!
My overall goals haven't changed through March/April/May, but I think this week's have to be pared down to just focusing on one thing -- working on my ms every day. It's too darned easy to get sidetracked with blogging, contest pieces, and short stories, all of which are valid writing, but not what I want to be working on right now.
Hope everyone else has a good writing week, too.
Bribe? Hehe.
Good luck on your goals!
Can you tell I was a public school teacher? I'm also totally a visual learner and pictures always seemed to stay with me longer.
Thanks for hosting a giveaway to start the month off--talk about motivation!
I'm feeling a little brain-dead today from all the driving, but I'm shooting to draft 2 pages a day and finish my in-progress chapter this week. Then I get to go back to my other WIP, which is also calling my attention. :-)
I like your timer idea. The main thing for me is to stay off the internet for that time, so I will shoot for that! I'm aiming for a good hour a day in the morning before my girls get up and then another while they're napping.
Looking forward to a productive month!
Kip
My goals are all about getting the last edits on this new book done. I should be able to finish by mid week if I can find those uninterrupted hours I need. Then I guess I'd better do a few queries on my YA. I have neglected that for weeks now.
That WIP is languishing, but it has to languish a tad longer, then I'm back to the rewrite stage. Ah, let the fun begin.
Thanks for hosting, Kim.
Thanks for coming!
My one writing teacher at UCI used to start our class with the timer but would set it for like 15-20 minutes to get the creative juices flowing.
Wow, sorry about that. That was one reason why I came to Blogger instead of LJ. No one could really sign into my LJ account unless they had an account.
Thanks for coming!
Motivation. Um. For the longest time, my age was my motivation. Not so much anymore. (And I'm not whining about my age. Far from it. I'll explain later; I'm working on a blog post about it for next Monday.)
This week has actually been about figuring out what I want and need right now, what my priorities are. That alone has helped with my motivation, because I realized there are certain things that make me say, "I am sick of this ****."
Here's my goals for the month:
Goal 1: Finish the freaking revisions to my WIP because I am *sick* of it now.
Goal 2: Send the first three chapters to agent who, when I replied to her rejection letter on the present-tense version with a "thank you, everything you've suggested is exactly what I'm fixing, so I truly appreciate confirmation that I'm making the right choice here with these changes", told me to send said chapters when I'm finished.
Goal 3: Start working seriously on Jack's book. It'll involve some research on Boca Raton, FL, and possibly a read-through of the archives of the webcomic it's based upon (yay, pro-fic!), and then an outline.
I think I'll save querying the rest of the agents on my list for July, because I want to give this agent a chance to respond first. Also, unless Jack takes over my July (which I truly hope), that month is going to be about reading, since I rarely accomplish anything then, writing-wise.
Welcome aboard! Ooh, do share the link on motivation and age. I kind of know what you mean as now I'm a tad bit older than when I first started. Back then it really didn't affect my motivation but now...
Good luck on your goals!