Monday, June 11, 2012

It's Monday! Are You Writing?


Photo: Apieling Pictures.


     Today I decided to write on the writing process. Do you write full-time or part-time? If you're a full-time writer, do you write on the weekends also? If part-time, do you only write on weekends?

     I ask these questions to see how disciplined we are as writers. And to share tips for improving the quality and quantity of  our out puts. Are you producing over a thousand words per day? If so, do you care to share your secrets with others? I invite you today to share you writing tips here.

     The writing day for me starts with a two to five mile walk, which helps my mind set up the scenes for the day. Everyday in my journal I write my word goal for the day or the research that is needed. My word goal everyday is two thousand five hundred. I don't beat myself up if I don't achieve that, sometimes life gets in the way. What I do the next day is pick up the slack and continue to strive for my word count goal.

     Next on my list, I review the previous days work, making edits or revisions before I continue with the story. This puts me back into the story and helps me minimizes the amount of revising needed when the story is complete.

     The last secret I have if the words or story don't flow is I work on another story; either outlining it or writing down ideas for it. After you write for awhile you'll find you can go back into your current wip without missing a beat. As long as you're writing, the story should start to flow.

     Now I'm ready to write. Let the adventures continues.

14 comments:

  1. I write fulltime, usually working six days a week. I set a weekly goal rather than a daily one for the number of pages I want to get written because some days get cluttered up with other stuff. I start my day off editing the pages I wrote the day before, which has the dual benefits of smoothing out the text while getting me back into the flow of the story.

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    1. I find the same process works for me, Alexis. Thanks for visiting, Marian

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  2. I write fulltime, seven days a week. I get up at 6:30 and am up ltil usually midnight or so. During that time I write, but not continuously, and I also edit for my wonderful authors! I have no fixed schedule, and I work on different WIP's at a time. When I do get a job, that time will be shortened, but I'll still write and edit as before.

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    1. Sounds like you have your process down pat, Julie. Good luck with the job hunting, Marian

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  3. I guess I write part time. I work five days a week but I still make sure I write seven days a week at least a 1000 words a day.

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  4. My writing day really depends on what my six-year-old is doing. When she's in school, it's two hours in the morning, a walk, then lunch, and 2-3 hours in the afternoon. Now that she's out of school, it's way less organized.

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    1. Stacy,
      I hear that from a lot of writers with children. Some dread the summer just for that reason.

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  5. I work as a full-time freelancer from my home, and I pretty much write every day because I'm always juggling multiple deadlines. That said, I usually don't do two "non-fiction writing" or two "editing" jobs at the same time. I can do one of each together, and must do so since I often need a break from projects to ruminate before I can do final completions. Since this is how I make my living, I firmly schedule all paying work--the only way I keep clients is to deliver quality projects as promised. Not scheduling things, or trying to squeeze things in, tends to produce writing I'm not "quite so happy with", and even if the client is appeased I'm not. Hence, my calendar is an extension of my right hand.

    On the fiction side, I try to write at least half-an-hour each morning, and use it as dessert writing later in the day. The problem, however, is after writing nonfiction all day I don't necessarily have the working brain cells to create fiction in the evening--thus, I devote that first half-hour in my workday (when a client doesn't call and disturb the process) to keep moving forward on my current WIP.

    For both fiction and nonfiction, I don't review a lot until I'm completely finished. I've found I can waste more time tweaking and retweaking, then finally tossing work and going back to the original because I've reached the point of over-tweaking. So, I just plow through, waiting until the end to do any kind of revision. If I think of something that needs to be reworked, however, I do use the Comment option in word to flag the area and type in a quick note to remind myself later what I think needs to be done and why--then I forget it and move on with the writing scheduled for the rest of that day.

    Joanie

    leftbrainedwritebrained.wordpress.com

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    1. Joanie, first let me tell you how much I love your blog. On the writing end you seem to have your day under control. I write full-time now and love it. Marian

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    2. Thanks for reading my blog, Marian. I love the questions on your blogs, and the ideas it gives me.

      Joanie

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  6. I’m a short story writer and I write my best to deadlines. I try to write every day. The Internet is the worse obstacle and time eater for a writer.

    I’m also a NaNoWriMo addict. Yes, I admit it. I’ve completed NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo eight times. Most of my MaNoWriMo mss are great stories but a few are really bad. The good news is I learned a lot about myself as a writer. I’m a pantser, but have leaned I write a better story with short character sketches and a tight story sentence for an outline. Does this make me a mini-planner rather than an outliner?

    I only have to read the last sentence from the day before to get right write back into my story. I only edit when the first draft is finished other than running spell check every day to correct my dyslexic spelling and get my daily word count. I shoot for a daily word count but don’t worry if I’m short because when I hit a roll in the story I can write 5,000 words in a day. As a writer, I write. As an editor, I edit. I seem to have a problem commuting between those two worlds at the same time.

    I also write better in the summer and fall and edit better in the winter. Learned this from NaNoWriMo and then used it to edit two anthologies.

    With NaNoWriMo I learned to keep ahead of the word count right from the start. Why? Because in order to win my very first NaNoWriMo, I had four hours sleep the three days in order to finish. Did I mention caffeine? Also why? First I write faster when I start an exciting story and I know I will hit a story rough spot later. Second, the story is fresh in my mind. Third, things always happen outside the writer’s world that need attention, i.e, getting sister to rehab, a Full Honors Military funeral in Arlington, Va, and a memorial service in Fort Bragg, NC, all in one month when you live in NJ.

    Novels are easier because you keep the word count going on a longer story. However, if you write story stories, make a huge list of stories ideas and keep a character name’s list (spam names are great for this), then try the late Ray Bradbury’s goal of writing 52 short stories in a year. I’m trying this now and believe me it is harder than it sounds.

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    1. Pat, I did NaNoWriMo last year. I'm not one that's needs motiviation. I'm also a pantser but when I get an idea for a story, I immediately outline for it in my story idea folder. Then maybe write a chapter or two so when I come back to it I know where I want it to headed. I love seeing everyone's process because I sometimes pick and chose from each person and use it. I believe it is an evolving process.

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  7. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to stop by. I enjoyed and appreciate you sharing your process with me. Good luck with your books. Marian

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