So. I’ve been thinking, which is always somewhat dangerous. But, I’ve been thinking, which means there have been thoughts, and some of those thoughts have been about writing.
You see, I now run. A year ago, I didn’t. In fact, I may have even mumbled something about how people who run are nuts, or something like that. And then, I started running. I was really slow. I’m not much faster now, but the thing is: I’m making headway. Slowly. And surely. I can do things now that I couldn’t do a year ago, and even though there are days when my lungs scream and my legs ache and all I want to do is stop, I give myself a break, and then, keep going.
Part of the reason for that is that I’ve had set goals I’ve needed to accomplish. The first set goal was running a 5k race with my sister. We did that in January. My next goal is to run a 10k, and I think that’ll happen in June (just have to confirm a few dates before I register). And then, on to the half-marathon, which I hope to undertake this fall or maybe next spring, depending on how training goes.
The thing is: goals help. Whatever else I am, I can categorically say I am not a quitter. I see things through, if only because I’m too stubborn to give up (not to mention I hate wasting money on things I don’t complete!).
So, because this has worked so well for my running, I’m doing something similar with my writing. What I now know about my writing process that I didn’t know a year ago is that if I know what I’m doing, I can get a lot done in very little time…the key phrase being “if I know what I’m doing”. That process, the figuring out what I’m doing, can take a lot of time…as in, years. Foo. But, serendipity being what it is, all of a sudden, several projects have transitioned from the “holy handlebars, what the heck is this? How did I ever think I could write?” stage to the “Eureka, I know what this story wants to be when it grows up!” stage.
Which leaves the “write the *blinkity-blankity* thing” stage.
The best part? The husband is going on a course for three weeks, leaving me the house all to myself. My very own writing retreat!
And, I plan to word.
This is where the accountability/goal thingy comes in: since I know what I’m doing (famous last words!), I should be able to get a lot of work done. And a lot of work, in concrete terms, means three thousand words a day. So, that’s my goal: three thousand words, though not necessarily on the same project.
It’s a big challenge, but I’m pretty sure I can do it. And, to keep me honest, I’m going to be posting my daily word counts here for the next three weeks, because if I go public with this, well, I’m less likely to slack. And I can slack with the best of them!
So. Tomorrow, there will be words. I will post about them. And should anyone want to write alongside me, feel free!
