Tag Archives: Tools

A guest post by James Wharton.

2148. That’s the number of words I wrote yesterday. If I can do that every day for a week—let’s see, that’s 15,036 words. If I do that four weeks in a row, that’s 60,144 words, almost enough for a novel. So there you have it, a short course in how to set goals.

The catch is I neglected to tell you I only wrote 300 words the day before. And the day before that, I produced only 100 or so words. So what is the total word count for the last three days? 2548. That equates to 849 words per day. That’s still a lot, or is it? How many words should I write every day? And, oh by the way, how many will I write today since I have what I refer to as a “work hangover,” a yucky, listless, energy-devoid state from working too hard the previous day. Of course, I must write this article as I committed to a deadline, but usually, one of those “days after” means I will get little to nothing written that day. You see the problem. In four days, I will have written at a rate of 637 words per day. Is that enough?

So what should I have done? How many words should I write a day? How many days a week should I write? How many books per year should I produce? Welcome to the tricky world of goal setting. It is world many of us inhabit. We must complete X-number of tasks by a certain time, get so many sales each month, drive so many miles per day and so on. For most of our lives, we are in some sort of goal-based environment.

Several years ago I participated in NaNoWriMo, the quest to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. I did it. I learned that I could indeed write that many words, but also learned that is not the way I want to write. Yes, it was grueling but fun, and I felt good about hitting the 50,000 word goal, but not so proud of what I produced. I spent the next eight months completely re-writing it. Out of that exercise came The Destiny Project, the novel that is my best-seller.

Depending on who you listen to, it seems that the general consensus is that 1500 words a day is a respectable amount. Of course that comes with a ton of provisos. Stephen King may write 15,000 words a day or more for all I know. John Banville, one of my favorite authors, says he writes 1500 words per day on his Benjamin Black series, however, not nearly as many on his regular novels. If you’ve ever read a Banville novel, you know better than to sit down and get comfortable without a dictionary at your side. His regular novels are truly works of art and I can’t imagine Banville crafting such a book without many hours laboring over the dictionary and thesaurus. I have no idea how many words per day he grinds out on one those masterpieces, but I can’t imagine it is more than a few hundred.

Stephen King seems to have the ability to write spontaneously without the need for a lot of re-writes, but in view of his mammoth size books, I can’t believe he works anywhere near as hard as I must to produce half or probably even less the number of words he does. And there’s another proviso to the 1500 word per day goal. 1500 words is a gross amount. It’s what you put down before you revise, rewrite, delete paragraphs or pages, etc. etc. Personally, I do a lot of rewrites and revisions. Every time I re-read my draft, I find things I need to change or could have written better. Although my publisher did edit my two published books, I don’t use an editor on my self-published books because of the prohibitive cost. But let me tell you, editing your own work is difficult if not impossible.

The point is, after the revising, rewriting and editing is completed, your net words per day will drop dramatically, perhaps to only a few hundred.

Another proviso is the amount of uninterrupted private time you devote to writing. Writing is a time-intensive, energy demanding, solitary activity. Do you have a space where you write? Do you have a regular time when you write? I am fortunate to have a studio where I can cut off the world and its noises and other interruptions. Whatever you may have available, make it as “private” as possible and write at a regular time on writing days. Interruptions dramatically impact your productivity.

Another proviso is how far along you are in the writing experience. That also impacts your productivity. Your ability and speed will differ substantially if you’ve written fifty thousand words, two hundred and fifty thousand words, or a million words.

When I write a novel, I set my goal at 1500 words per day and 5 days per week. Obviously, from my opening paragraph, I don’t necessarily achieve that goal every day or week. But I consider it a good day if I produce 1500 words that, while still needing revision and editing, are probably solid enough to work as part of the book. That doesn’t mean they absolutely will. I’ve cut complete sections (1500 or more words) many times. It’s not right until it’s right, and you can only hope the reader will feel that way too.

The bottom line is that writing is a creative process and setting an absolute word per day goal, (the best measure of productivity) is probably impossible. That is why goal setting with writing is an art, not a science. So here is what I suggest:

Have a specific place to write-one that is quiet and where you won’t be interrupted for a reasonable span of time. And turn off the cell phone.
Set a daily word per day goal that is reasonable (achievable) for you. Decide how many days a week can you will work? Five days a week may or may not be realistic, but that is the number I use. That goal should be a comfortable number dependent on how well and how fast you write and what you feel works for you. This is a gross number as you will need to revise, rewrite and do a final edit later. The important point is to be faithful to your words per day and work days per week goals. If you don’t reach the words per day goal today, don’t try to do more tomorrow to catch up with your overall five day goal.
Set a time for completion of your overall project. I find that my novels generally take a year to write (Approximately 75,000-85,000 words.) Obviously I don’t achieve a gross word per day goal of 1500 words per day. Life has its interruptions. I began writing The Destiny Project II early last year when my mother became seriously ill. I spent a lot of time visiting her out of state and her illness was so disruptive I couldn’t go on with writing that particular book. (I am again working on it.) However, I began writing another book to fill my idle hours. Out of that came Delirium, my newest novel.

Life and disruptions happen, but always stay focused on achieving your daily and weekly writing goals. Execution is the most important part of goal setting—SO DO IT!!

The main thing about writing is to have as much fun as you can and work at a pace that is comfortable and pleasant. Set your word per day and days per week goals and then a completion date for your project. Above all, adhere to a regular schedule and then judge your performance. How many words did I write this week? My goal was 1,000 words per day at five days per week. Did I write 5,000 gross words this week? Did I write 20,000 gross words this month?

After several months working your established schedule, you will have structure and discipline and be able to predict when your project will be complete–assuming no outside interference.

James Wharton’s Bio:
James Wharton is a full time writer with two published and eight self-published books. His most recent novel, Delirium, was published in February and his coming novel, The Destiny Project II, is due out in the Fall of 2014.

Web site: jameswharton.net

Email: jameswharton1@aol.com

6 Ways to Sabotage Your Goals

June 12, 2014

Ace Jordyn

Ace Jordyn Craft & Skills Failures First Drafts Goals Motivation Self-Awareness Self-Motivation The Writing Life 1 Comment

There are things which keep us from achieving our goals, and sometimes we’re not aware when we’re being our own worst enemy.

1) be a good friend
Be a good friend to everyone but yourself. Always check email regularly, answer the phone and respond to your social media pings – as important as these are, they’re all distractions from writing. Set a time for them and that should be when you’re in your least creative head space, you can’t write another word or you need a break. There are days when I don’t check in with anyone or even look at emails because they’re an easy distraction and shift my thoughts on other directions. There are no short phone calls with close family or friends. The danger of the distraction is the changing head space. When I’m writing a world, I need to stay in it – the travel fatigue between realities is strenuous and counterproductive.

2) pretend you’re back in elementary or high school
At some point, we learned not to believe in ourselves. We can be our own worst enemy and critic. Somewhere deep inside a kernel of doubt niggles, of not being good enough (whatever that means), that we won’t succeed, that the stories will never measure up. Remember those elementary and high school teachers who red inked your assignments? In an effort to teach us the basics, they unwittingly hammered fragile creative egos. Make them the ghosts of your past, not your present. So, drop the hammer and the red ink and use the keyboard instead.

3) sweat the details
The devil is truly in the details. It’ll bring your world alive or it’ll totally swamp you. Researching a world thoroughly is fun and it stimulates creativity. Done to excess, however, it can be a distraction from both writing the story and the protagonist’s journey. The details must contribute to the plot and not be superfluous. Sometimes you don’t know what details you need until the story is being written. Use the premise and a rough outline to guide your research. If you really like research and world building, know that it isn’t over until the story is published – there will be times when you need to deepen the world with a little more research.

4) fear heights
Fear climbing the ladder of success. Fear writing ‘the end’. Fear sending your work to beta readers and editors. Two things happen when we get closer to our goal – the dreaming stops and we are forced to leave our now comfortable, creative world for the business one. The business side demands skill sets we’re not always comfortable with such as revision, editing, submission and marketing. Rejection or criticism, at any level, feels like falling off the ladder for the higher we go, the harder the fall. But it doesn’t have to be. Learning the business side, climbing that ladder – it’s a skill set that once embraced creates possibilities and enthusiasm for new goals, new stories and opportunities to realize your highest goal which is that of professional writer.

5) believe it’s a just hobby
If you don’t take it seriously, neither can anyone else and the support you need (time to write, encouragement, feedback) won’t be there. Worse still, you’ve created an environment designed to sabotage your goals. Most of us need to work to pay the bills so we can’t write full time. But treating it like a profession isn’t justy about having endless time – it’s about taking it seriously, setting regular times to write, learning the craft and business. So set your goals and take them seriously. Most importantly, decide what it is you want from your writing – is it a hobby or do you want something more? Then, set your goals accordingly.

6) read 15 how-to books and conscientiously apply them to your first draft
That stopped me cold. I didn’t need to read 15 books, just one how-to at the wrong time gave me a very painful writer’s block that took a week to work through. Of course we need to know craft and basic story structure and a few things which will make revision less painful. But sometimes we must trust we know that intuitively and let the story be told. Whether you outline or not the story must be written with all its flaws and gems all mashed into the manuscript. Revision, not the first draft, is the perfect time to analyze the manuscript and apply all the how-to advice. The danger, however, is that there are books 16, 17, 18 and more, and that the goal of finishing the novel isn’t realized. Revision, like this blog, must come to an end and the best way to do that is to write …

The End

Writing Spaces

June 10, 2014

Brandon M Lindsay

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When I moved to Tokyo late last year, I expected some things in my life were going to change.

Among the more obvious changes were the fact that I would look vastly different from everyone else, sometimes enough to warrant a long, uncomfortable stare, as well as being functionally illiterate. Then of course there was the living situation, the job, the food, the language, the lack of a car, the weather, the… well, pretty much everything.

One thing I thought wouldn’t change, however, was me. Particularly, my writing habits.

Yet after I had gotten settled in to my new life, I found that it was difficult to write. Part of this could be attributed to the change in job. For the past several years, I had worked in a call center, where the word “downtime” usually meant “do whatever you want as long as you stay at your desk.” For me, that meant a lot of reading (and thus inspiration to write) and, when I discovered the power of cloud storage, writing. My new job is rather different. I’m not sitting at a desk anymore, and there is never downtime, especially not the kind that I had before. But I had worked jobs like this in the past and still found the will to write quite easily. I figured it had to be something else.

Tokyo has a reputation for being crowded and cramped, and I suppose in a lot of ways it is. The word “megacity” conjures images of fantastically high skyscrapers clustered together from horizon to horizon, a la Judge Dredd. But Tokyo is pretty normal, especially in the more suburban areas. My apartment isn’t huge by any standard, and I have to get really creative with how I use the space in my kitchen, but I’ve seen smaller apartments in Seattle. Size wasn’t really the issue, but I figured that the root of my problem lay somewhere in my living space.

My apartment came furnished, but by more or less Japanese standards. There was no bed, only a futon (one very different from those you see at Ikea, no doubt) for sleeping on the floor. And there was a couch, a TV stand, and what I thought was a coffee table, but actually turned out to be a coffee table with a heater built into the bottom. This glorious invention, called a kotatsu, keeps your legs warm throughout the winter without blowing up your electricity bill. Provided, however, you are okay with sitting on the floor.

It turns that I wasn’t. I’ve enjoyed western comforts, such as chairs and desks, for most of my life. Sitting on the floor did not feel natural to me, and took a lot of adjusting. I mean, a lot. No, really, a lot (what I’m saying is I never fully adjusted). I thought I would tough it out and learn to adapt to my situation, as one should after moving halfway around the world, but eventually I said, “To hell with this.” And bought myself a desk/chair combo.

What a difference that has made. I immediately began cranking out chapters and outlines and ideas like I was still sitting in that call center, patiently waiting for some irrational customer to complain about the bill they never paid.

You may find yourself asking, “Why didn’t you just get a desk to begin with?” First of all, taking furniture on the train always involves logistical challenges, as well as the occasional dirty look. But more importantly, I didn’t realize how much of an effect my environment would have on my writing until I actually saw the difference in output.

If you ever find yourself suffering from writer’s block and having difficulty getting in the zone, it may not be you that’s the cause. It could be your writing space. After all, your butt is only half of the butt-in-chair equation.

Join Brandon on the blog tour for his recently-released novella, Spear Mother: A Tale of the Fourth World! Spear Mother is the third release taking place in his epic fantasy world. Details of the tour can be found on his website: http://brandonmlindsay.com

Where did my “to do” list go, or how do I keep track of everything?

June 5, 2014

Nancy

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So those of you who have read our posts over the years know I’m a mommy, writer and lawyer. My husband gets a bit put out that I don’t have “wife” in that list, but he knows I love him so he only snarls a little. It’s endearing. Really. Oh, and did I also mention we live on a 5 acre horse farm? Anyway, what all that multi-tasking means is I have a lot to do. I mean, A LOT. A “normal” to-to list across those different roles has over 70 items on it. Lawyers are an odd breed. Hal of us resist change and half of us embrace it. I’ve waffled back and forth between the high and low tech.

I’ve used a paper “to do” list. Often multiple lists would be scattered over my desk. These scraps of paper make for messy desks and the most urgent Post-it Note is always the one you look at last. The fully manual “system” didn’t last long. Then I moved to keeping that same “to do” list in a Word document. It works. Sort of. The problem with a “to do” list “system” is you track the tasks that lead to your goals but not actually your goals. The best thing about the passage of a decade is that technology has dramatically changed. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of organizational tools and goal trackers. If you lose track of your goals you can’t measure your progress. All motion is not progress.

Someone else is writing about goal setting this month so I’ll just assume you can set them with the help of our upcoming and awesome guest post. Once you know where you are heading you need to set milestones and make sure you hit them.

Here’s what I’m currently using:

https://www.Todolist.com This is a basic to do list. I use it to keep track of household tasks like laundry. The nice thing about this tool is you can share your lists with anyone. So both Matt (that’s the hubby in case you were wondering) and I can add and take items off it. This tool has greatly helped us coordinate tasks without having to track each other down. We can designate which child is responsible for what task. So Bobby usually gets loading and unloading the dishwasher and Mikey gets vacuuming the downstairs. Even better once someone is done a task that person can mark it off and see what else is left to do. I’ve found this to be a useful tool for task completion but not goal management.

Pipe Drive, https://app.pipedrive.com/pipeline. I’ve only recently started with this tool. Pipe Drive helps you keep track of “jobs” or “work” in your pipe line. A pipe line is the channel through which your prospective customers flow. Pipe Drive allows you to input an opportunity – say an open call for an anthology -, track how that opportunity moves through your process and, ultimately whether you won or lost the opportunity. Pipe Drive also allows you to attach a monetary value to the opportunity. Let’s take that anthology again. Submissions are limited to 7000 words and pay is “professional rate” which The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America defines as 5 cents or more a word. Let’s assume this anthology pays 5 cents a word. The maximum value for the opportunity is $350.

By forcing you to put a price to the opportunity Pipe Drive helps you can set priorities. If there is another anthology opportunity with the same deadline paying 6 cents a word for a maximum of 6000 words or $360 and you’re short on time, which opportunity do you pursue? The one with the higher value.

You can use Pipe Drive to track your networking contacts and your conversion rates to customer or business partner. Pipe Drive also emails me a daily “to do” list based on deadlines I’ve set and my opportunities. Pipe Drive charges a really nominal monthly fee. Seriously , two cups of designer coffee gets you this tool.

My next new favorite tool is InfusionSoft – http://infusionsoft.com. This online tool does amazing things. Ever wonder how to online market to get to your sales goals? Ever wonder if your online or email marketing efforts do you any good? Ever tried managing more than one marketing campaign at once? Then you NEED InfusionSoft. It’s new Snap application lets you import business cards directly into the management tool and your phone’s contact list. It has a calendar to keep all your events and templates for certain types of email and electronic (webinars, free consultation, and a host of other) campaigns. Again, I’ve only started using this tool so my current use barely scratches the surface.

I am using InfusionSoft for my part of the EWomen Succeeding Through Doubt Fear and Crisis book launch in August. InfusionSoft will create a landing page for people to sign up for my bonus “gifts” for pre-purchasing the books. When someone signs up InfusionSoft will capture their email for my mailing list. I’ll also use the system to run the webinar and track who actually attends or doesn’t. InfusionSoft will then auto send a thank you to people who attended and follow-up with the people who missed the presentation. It will send attendees the link to the ebook. Best yet, InfusionSoft will generate the metrics to tell me if the campaign actually accomplished what I wanted it to. Everything is automated through the software! Less of my time on administrative tasks and more time spent at tasks that earn me money and bring me closer to my goals.

“What are those goals?” you ask.

Like my life I have goals for the different aspects of my life that support a greater goal. One of the reason people introduce me as “not your typical lawyer” is I remember that my calling as a lawyer is to serve my clients. So where am I headed? My boys graduated from college and standing on their own . Minimum of two books published a year. Five paid speaking opportunities a year. A law firm of 10 attorneys and 3-4 staff members. These income streams will give me the opportunity to provide pro bono assistance to low-income or otherwise disadvantaged groups in setting up their business and making sure they have the legal structure in place to succeed in their callings.