The Rejectionist is having a pre-resolution uncontest. We must make our New Year's resolutions on the first day of December to try them out. Even better, she suggests, we should make them excessive so the REAL resolutions are easy.
My resolution will be 3000 words each weekday in December. Why, if I couldn't do it in November during NaNoWriMo, would I think I can do it in December while trying to get ready for Christmas?
I don't know, really.
I had two sick weeks in November and I'm hoping that was the end of the winter illnesses not covered by the flu shot. I'm hoping certain family members don't make me upset enough for my annoying but non-fatal health condition to act up. But mostly I know that if I want to be a writer I need to actually get words on paper. All the education, all the books, all the blogs, will not help me if I have nothing to submit and nothing ready to publish.
Yes, I've "finished" one, but for now, that one is what I think they call a drawer novel. Finished -- as in written all the way to end and edited to hell and back -- but not quite right, not quite ready for publication. That means, I currently have nothing and I need to have something. And I need to figure out how much progress is reasonable to expect from myself.
In January, I should be able to use the December experiment to figure out what I can really do.
Who knows, maybe I'll be able to do it. Maybe if I can convince myself to look at it like this is my job, rather than the thing I fit in when the children are playing pleasantly together without needing me, then I might be able to do this for a living some day.
Another resolution would be to go regularly to the gym -- which is not one of the forbidden weight loss resolutions, but because my stomach issues are lessened by regular exercise. Unfortunately when my stomach is acting up I'm in too much pain to go to the gym so it sort of defeats the plan all on it's own.
Praying for a resolution to the health issue! I envy you the ability to put your "drawer novel" away. I'm not sure if that's what mine is and I just can't bear to put it aside yet. That's not so good, since it makes writing the next one harder...
ReplyDeleteGood ones! Good luck with writing AND keeping your health. Just the "don't get sick" thing is hard enough in December.
ReplyDeleteI wish you much luck, and no carpal tunnel or hand cramps.
ReplyDeleteI'd advise against the 3,000 word minimum. Writing every day is important, but writing an entire novel in a month is a good way to burn yourself out if you aren't ready for it. Treat it like the exercise. Build up. 500 words a day for a week. Then 1,000 for two weeks, and so on.
ReplyDeleteOther'n that, rock on. It is the wise man (or woman) who recognizes his limits, and the fool who surrenders to them.
Good luck! Hope you feel better! Exercise is totally allowed.
ReplyDelete@Victoria - I was lucky enough to have an agent read it all and give the useful feedback of too much happening -to- the character and not enough character action. Fixable but only with major re-writes and I know I should write a second before putting that much more effort into the first. It gets easier when you have the feedback to tell you that.
ReplyDelete@Laurel, yes. yes, it is. Sigh. I swear I'm fluish every other week and I'm getting really tired of it.
@Sarah and Robin, I'm nearly certain I won't be able to stick it out long enough to worry about those issues. 500 might be the reasonable goal to set for myself in January :)
@Le R, thank you. Had fun with the uncontest, no matter how serious my plan ended up being. I've loved reading the others that managed to instill humor into theirs.