Hey, y'all,
I was so excited about having the day off from work that I forgot my post! Arrrggghhh!
Anyway, this month I am participating in ACFW's Novel Track project, where members post their goals for writing and then update and encourage each other.
It's a similar idea to National Novel Writing Month, which includes many more people with many more varied backgrounds and beliefs.
If I were a techie, I would post links to these sites. But I'm not that skilled yet.
Anyway, the main theme is to write, write, write! My goal was 2,000 words each weekend since I am too "shattered" after work each day to get anything done. Other than meals, laundry and checking homework. But on Saturday morning I can dibs the computer and get 'er done.
Like my creative writing prof urged us back in the day when I was at Purdue, the main idea is to "get black ink on white paper." Once we have the words on paper we can shape them.
It has been very freeing to just sit down and write. I can worry about the rules later and just go. In 2005, after DH was in an accident and I was home with him I participated in NaNoWriMo. Since then I re-wrote that story, met an agent at ACFW's conference in 2008 who liked it and has been sending out proposals.
Just writing is like my husband's approach to field work during spring and fall if the weather has been against us. "Sometimes you just have to mud through it." Picture a big tractor with duals in back, listen to the engine roaring and breathe in the scent of diesel fuel and exhaust combined with damp soil.
My word-count goal is on the way to my next writing goal, finishing the first draft of my current WIP, a historical romance set in southern Indiana with Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry raid going on in the background. I entered part of this story in RWA of southern Louisiana's "Dixie Kane" memorial contest and received honorable mention, which tickled me. Both the contest results and the writing projects have helped me get rolling again, trying to balance writing with work and the rest of my life.
Anyway, for an encouraging way to get writing, Novel Track and NaNoWriMo have been good options for me.
Good for you. Miss you, dahlink! Write on.
ReplyDeleteA contest pat on the back sure helps when you're struggling. Congrats, Ann! Those options can be motivating, too. I didn't do 50,000 words, by a long shot, when I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2008, but I did get down thousands of words that helped me get a first draft of my women's fiction going. Since then, I've completed it after a zillion drafts, and my agent is sending it out this month :-)
ReplyDeleteRachel -- woo-hoo! Popping a Dove Bar in your honor.
ReplyDeleteHey, Lisa, you write on, too, girlfriend!
Congrats on Honarable Mention, Ann. Thanks for bringing up a timely subject for me. I listed as one of my goals this year to participate in NaNoWriMo, but since the ACFW has something similar I'm not sure what to do. You make the best point though - just do it. Big hugs to you ann. Missed you this year at conference.
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