November is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. I've done this twice successfully, coming up with two rough drafts. It's a great exercise for a writer, but this year, instead of starting something new, I will be completing the third and I hope final edit of one of those novels.
But that isn't the only thing I am working on. I am doing the publicity for Black Coffee Fiction, the collection of short stories Wade and I wrote. This means press releases, book signings, and using various blogs to get the word out.
I am planning two separate storytelling tours, one in January/February and another in July. That means contacting libraries and nursing homes.
Wade and I will be doing at least one writing workshop in 2013. I have to write up our biographies and a course description.
All of that can get confusing and when I look at it all, I get exasperated, anxious, and ready to quit.
Finally, I decided to give myself an hour for each of these projects every day. I pick one of them, set my oven timer and get started. I ignore everything. I don't move from this desk until the timer dings and that hour is over.
It's worked for the first two days. I've already edited two chapters of the novel, wrote a press release for the newspapers, contacted twenty libraries (and had four responses!) and joined three writing blogs. It's only taken five hours out of my day.
My goals are set. November 30, here I come.
But that isn't the only thing I am working on. I am doing the publicity for Black Coffee Fiction, the collection of short stories Wade and I wrote. This means press releases, book signings, and using various blogs to get the word out.
I am planning two separate storytelling tours, one in January/February and another in July. That means contacting libraries and nursing homes.
Wade and I will be doing at least one writing workshop in 2013. I have to write up our biographies and a course description.
All of that can get confusing and when I look at it all, I get exasperated, anxious, and ready to quit.
Finally, I decided to give myself an hour for each of these projects every day. I pick one of them, set my oven timer and get started. I ignore everything. I don't move from this desk until the timer dings and that hour is over.
It's worked for the first two days. I've already edited two chapters of the novel, wrote a press release for the newspapers, contacted twenty libraries (and had four responses!) and joined three writing blogs. It's only taken five hours out of my day.
My goals are set. November 30, here I come.
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