Wednesday, March 2, 2011

That Accountability Thing.

Since getting my golden ticket (okay...white paper) to nursing school, my life--while amorphous and unsure in some areas--is solidifying into a distinct path. School starts in August. This is March. That means I have roughly FIVE MONTHS in which to complete any or all or some of the mega writing goals I outlined for myself this year.

Okay, to be honest, when I made those write goals I was feeling pretty pessimistic about getting into school, so the list is enormo and definitely not feasible. Thanks to some input from a couple of my lovely CPs, I've narrowed my focus. And thanks to Ali Cross and her Ninja Writers, I think I might actually be able to accomplish it.

So, in the name of accountability and public humiliation and all that (plus a sad lack of blog inspiration, which I think many are experiencing throughout the blogoverse), I'm going to revamp my old Writer Wednesday or Whatnot feature. (I just made up that name, so don't go looking for it in the archives.) (Not that I really think anyone would. Just sayin'.)

Here's the skinny:

WIP: FOUR
Genre: urban fantasy
Current length: 53, 894
Estimated length: 80,000
Daily write goal: 2,000 words
Weekly wordcount goal: 10k

Let Me Sum Up:
         This is a pretty major write goal for me. I've stuck to it pretty well so far, though the whole dissertation-editing thing derailed me for several days. Between February 10 and February 22, I added around 20k to the WIP. I am not a fast writer by any means. NaNoWriMo is definitely a once-a-year type thing, for the calendar and for my sanity. But desperate times and all that, right? Since I'm essentially giving myself two days off a week, as far as word goals go, I'm hoping to make up for slack on days that I just can't get it all together. Like yesterday, first day back on schedule, I only pumped out 1200 words. C'est la vie, I suppose.

If you're working towards finishing a novel or pulling some Chuck Norris moves on a revision, why not visit The Dojo and consider taking part? We all need support. And what better way to get support than by finding it while you're procrastinating on Twitter and then being suddenly shamed into going back to the WIP? (Not that any of the Ninjas do the shaming--they do the supporting, which leads to the self-shaming. For me, anyway.) 

23 comments:

Creepy Query Girl said...

congrats on school and it sounds like your writing goals are pretty reasonable to me! Good luck!

Linda G. said...

2000 words a day? That's fantastic! Heck, even the 1200 rocks. :)

Here's hoping you make serious headway with your writing before starting nursing school in the fall. And, btw, hooray about that again!

D. U. Okonkwo said...

That's really cool! I'm a big fan of goals because they WORK! Well, the realitic ones, anyway :o)

Best of luck1

Katie said...

Is this what you submitted for workshop today? If so, I'm quite the fan :)

Summer Frey said...

Thanks everyone!

@KM: Yep, this is it! I'll admit, I'm pretty nervous about the reception...

Sarah Ahiers said...

ooh i'll have to check it out.
also, YOU CAN DO IT! I know you can!

Sarah Ahiers said...

dammit. my stoopid work PC blocks it. I'll have to check it out later

Meredith said...

Good luck with your goals! I definitely need to do some major work this week, too.

Kindros said...

You can do it, I have faith in you. :)

alexia said...

Good luck! You can do it. I am trying to finish my WIP by the end of April.

Roxy said...

Good luck on those goals, Summer. I'm finally getting excited about my rewrite. I like the idea of having Chuck Norris moves. I think I'll tell that to my kids.

Hannah said...

I have joined the Dojo. I will be WIP-ing my butt into shape. Ha! You like that? Do ya?!

That's a crazy goal, btw. I am feeling encouraged by said crazy goal. Thank you. I will steal your fire and build my own bonfire and laugh while you sit in the cold...wait, that sounded more mean than I intended. What I meant was, SUCK IT!

Catherine Denton said...

I need some accountability. Looking them up NOW.
My Blog

Old Kitty said...

Oh wow!! Good luck!!! 2000 words a day is pretty amazing - but I know you can do this!!!!!

Yay again for getting into nursing school!! Wonderful!!

Take care and all the best!!!
x

Guinevere said...

Great goal, and you can totally do it! That one sounds tough, but feasible.

I'm going to check out the Dojo... Although, to be honest, I really do need someone to tell me to quit with Twitter (and, also, stop watching Youtube videos and reading about Charlie Sheen) and just go write. Not that I wasted two hours today on the above activity that I meant to spend writing, or anything.

Tracy said...

Good luck, girly! I've got my fingers crossed for you. I'm trying to get my butt in gear and pump out this story I'm working on (which is not currently cooperating with me) before April gets rolling. Although my reasoning isn't as lofty as getting into nursing school.

Baseball starts next month and with my full season ticket plan (that's 81 games, btw) I spend half of my summer at the ballpark. Between working & baseball my writing time suffers a major crimp.

Tracy said...

Oh duh! I forgot to say CONGRATS on getting into school!!!

Jessica Ann Hill said...

Congrats on getting into nursing school! That's awesome news! :)

I'm sure you can meet your goal, and 1200 words in a day is still fantastic! Especially for your first day back. That's about where I average out per day (I'm a pretty slow writer).

Good luck! Go ninjas!

Jon Paul said...

You wanna know how dense I am? (I can hear the crowd: HOW DENSE IS HE???) All this time I thought you were doing Northern Ireland Writing Month (there really is such a thing!), but just never put two and two together (five, right? ;)).

Congrats on all the progress. The hunkerin' is the hard part. Once that's licked, it's all downhill from there!

M Pax said...

Congrats on getting into nursing school. Awesome! :) I admire your dedication and your ability to think in numbers.

ali cross said...

Aw, a shout out! Thanks Summer! And I have to say YOU are totally rocking (or, I should say, KICKING) the ninja thing. You're using twitter to get that connection and encouragement AND keep your accountability. PERFECT! You can totally do this. I'm all for ambitious writing goals. :)

But most of all ...
CONGRATULATIONS!!! What a huge thing. You'll make such a wonderful nurse!

Regina said...

Super congrats and I think that you will do just fine making your goals. You are determined. Look where you are now! See! :)

Tara said...

I'm more than happy to keep pestering you if it helps ;)