Hey Folks,
NOTE: You’ll get this one late by a couple of hours. Tomorrow it will be back at its normal time.
Rolled out at 3 this morning after a good night’s sleep.
To the Hovel shortly afterward where I visited some sites that are new to me and did the “Of Interest” thing.
One of those new sites is of former traditionally published, now indie-published, romance writer Terry Odell.
I didn’t find anything there today for “Of Interest” but that doesn’t mean you won’t find something there that rings your personal bell. Check it out at https://terryodell.com/. Or go directly to her blog at http://terryodell.com/terrysplace.
Topic: Speaking of Challenges and Goals
I love setting writing challenges for myself, mostly to see what happens.
I realized only this morning that in setting my personal challenge, I’ve also inadvertently set two long-range goals. One for the first half of this year, and one for the whole year.
As a result, this should be my most prolific, productive calendar year since I started writing.
If I successfully complete my current challenge (the final day is June 4), I will have written 10 novels in 150 days.
If I can write 10 novels by June 4, there’s no reason I can’t write another one before June 30. (grin) With 26 days to play with, that should be easy.
So by extension, my 6-month goal is to complete 11 novels before June 30.
Then, again by extension, even if I slack off and write only one novel per month after that, at the end of the year I will have written 17 novels on the year. Woohoo!
If you’re considering something similar, don’t look at the elephant. Look at your writing speed times the number of hours you’re able to spend in the chair.
I write an average of 1000 words per hour (that includes cycling) and I am able to spend 4 hours a day (or longer) in the chair actually putting words on the page.
If you have the same writing speed (it’s only 17 words per minute) and your novel is 60,000 words, all well and good. If you spend those 60 hours in the chair in one month (2 hours per day) it will take you one month to write a novel.
If you confine those hours to a two-week period (4 hours per day) you’ll write a novel in two weeks. And if you spread those same hours over a year (about ten minutes per day), you’ll write the same novel in a year.
Somewhere down the line I need to sit back, look at the overall year realistically, and set a firm annual goal.
There are 23.73 15-day periods in 2019.
So if I decided to keep the same challenge and my “streak” going after I finish the original challenge on June 4, I could ostensibly write 23 or 24 novels on the year.
If I do that, I might have to consider going back to letting some of my personas take credit for them. (grin)
My very first challenge (back in April 2014) was to write at least one new short story every week. That one created a streak that lasted for 70 weeks. One week, to keep it going, in the last few hours I wrote a story called “Deadline.” (grin)
Then, foolishly, I broke the streak — on purpose. Don’t ask why. I don’t have any idea.
What writing challenges and goals have you set for yourself? I’d really like to hear about them, and you might give the rest of us an idea.
***
To the house for a brief break at 4:30.
Back to the Hovel for an hour of writing and around 800 words. Coming up on an action scene, so things will pick up. (grin)
I’m loving this novel. Like Blackwell Ops 1, each chapter or two in this one is a complete short story in addition to being part of the novel. Great fun.
Pretty good day today.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
See “Cold Poker Gang Novel Going Great” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/cold-poker-gang-novel-going-great/.
See “Learning How to Learn Fiction: Can You Get Better at Art?” at https://phillipmccollum.com/can-you-get-better-at-art/.
For fun, see “Process, Schmocess” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/01/process-schmocess.html.
See the comments on “Surveillance by Keystrokes…” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/01/surveillance-by-keystrokes-giving-permission-to-snoop.html.
See “News! (Are you ready for epic fantasy battles fought by strong, capable women?)” at https://alisonholtbooks.com/.
Fiction Words: 4410
Nonfiction Words: 720 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 5130
Writing of Blackwell Ops: Charles Claymore Task (novel)
Day 1…… 2405 words. Total words to date…… 2405
Day 2…… 2695 words. Total words to date…… 5100
Day 3…… 3016 words. Total words to date…… 8116
Day 4…… 3521 words. Total words to date…… 11637
Day 5…… 2478 words. Total words to date…… 14115
Day 6…… 4410 words. Total words to date…… 18525
Total fiction words for the month……… 56512
Total fiction words for the year………… 56512
Total nonfiction words for the month… 19590
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 19590
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 76102
Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date………………………… 1
Calenday Year 2019 Novellas to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date……… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 38
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 193
Short story collections…………………………………………………… 31