100 Day Challenge

It came. It went. The 100 days are done.

How did we do? I checked my total this morning. I ended up with 92,784 words in the 100 days. 7,216 words short of my goal. I'd hoped to get there as of last night, but I had too much going on this week to sit and pound out those last few words. I'm hoping to make it up before the end of the year though. How did everyone else do?

And out of curiosity...anyone interested in doing the 100 day challenge again? I was thinking we could start after New Year's...maybe Jan 2nd? If you're interested, let me know. Oh! And I got this great new daily "quote" calendar which I'm thinking of posting daily to inspire those of you who join in. ;) Maybe I can even talk the officers into springing for some kind of nice (read, not cheesy) gift for each person who makes the 100,000 word goal at the end of the thing. Like a gift card or restaurant certificate or something?

Thoughts?

Challenge Check-In

No, I'm not stealing Lisa's post day, I'm sure she'll come up with something pithy shortly. In the meantime though, since Alice is in last-chapter mode and slowing to wrap it all up, I thought I'd post her usual weekend check-in and see how you all made out this week.

I totaled up my week - 7K words - which is pretty good considering I only wrote 3.5 days. I write in fits and starts - 2500 words one day, nothing the next depending on my schedule - I suppose so long as it all evens out, that's all the matters, huh? I still wish I could force myself to write every day though. Such is life, I suppose, when things like the Civil War game interfere (OMG...did you see the Beavs kick butt?????) *grin*

So I checked my running total...for the 100 day challenge I'm at 86,880 words. Eleven days left and I have 13,120 words to go to meet my goal. I think it's going to come right down to the wire. Alice and I were talking about deadlines last night, specifically how even with editor deadlines the author has a say in when they think they can get the work done. I suppose since this was MY self-imposed deadline, I should really bust my but and see if I can make it.

How's the challenge going for you? Make any progress this weekend?

100-Day Challenge

Hey ladies...today is the official half-way mark of our 100-day challenge. Fifty days down, fifty more to go. How's everyone doing? Give us an update. Inquiring minds want to know.

Goals, Goals, Goals

(Paty's chomping at the bit because it's 1:04 and there's no new post up yet...)

Sorry this is late. I had a nightmare night with the 2 yr old. I won't bore you with the details, but I ended up with about 2 hrs of sleep, then got up and went running with a girlfriend and then was stupid enough (in my sleep-deprived state) to agree to a weight lifting class after. By the time I got home I was ready to drop (sore and in a grouchy mood). Oh, and did I mention it's an inservice day so the Gremlins are home? Ay ya ya...it's going to be a long day. This is the first chance I've had so far to get to the computer.

So goals. Lisa reminded me that I haven't posted a 100-Day challenge check-in in a while. Well, yeah, there's a reason. I've been slacking. After I sent the proposal I'd been working so hard on off to my agent two weeks ago, my writing energy has dragged. Switching gears is definitely something I need to work on. And this new project is not the gimmee book the earlier proposal was. I've restarted it about 4 times - different scene, different POV, different location. I think (hope) I've finally figured out the right starting place, but who knows. I have a feeling I'll be going back over this again and again.

But that's irrelevant to you as you could care less. However, you DO care about the challenge, so I'm going to tell you where we're at. We started the 100-Day challenge on Sept. 4th. The goal was simple: write at least 1000 words per day and in 100 days' time, you'd have a 100,000-word first draft (or finished, depending how you write). We are now in the middle of week six (there are 15.5 weeks total, with an ending date of December 13th), right around day 40. So if you were doing the 1000-words per day, you should have about 40K words total at this point. Everyone with me so far????

Some of you might be thinking, "ugh! I'm supposed to have 40K words already??? No way!" Fear not. If you're behind that mark, don't sweat it. Just recommit to getting back to work and moving forward. For those of you who want to make the commitment from here on out, imagine...if you joined us and committed to 1000-words per day you could have 60K words written by December 13th! That's a full length category or YA book! (Becky...that was for you).

So now that the cheerleading is over with (whew!), check-in time, ladies. How's the writing going? What are you working on? Have you been writing consistently, are you hitting your goals, are you making writing a habit? (Because, come on, we know it is. Once you stop writing it's that much harder to get back to it.) Even if you're not doing the challenge, let us know what you're working on and how it's going.

Challenge Check-In #5

Happy Monday, girls! Time for our check-in once again. I think we missed Sunday, but that's okay. Go ahead and tell us how you did this weekend and today.

My CP, Joan, and I were chatting last night about the challenge. She said she'd missed a couple of days and was feeling overwhelmed and behind, afraid she wouldn't be able to make up the words she'd skipped. I said to her - and will say to all of you - FORGET ABOUT IT. Start fresh. Each day is a new day. So you only made 500 words yesterday? So you had ten-thousand things going on and didn't get to sit at the computer all day long? I say simply: Who cares???? Don't let what happened yesterday impact how you write today. Don't worry about making words up. Begin again. Each day is a brand new start.

A daily word-count challenge is a lot like dieting. If you set a goal of only consuming 1500 calories for the day, and end up going over because you went to Oktoberfest and chowed on sausages and beer (see what I'm gearing up for???) and ended up snarfing down 2500 calories, would you then, the next day, try to make up for the amount you went over the day before and limit your caloric intake to a minimal 500 calories???? Of course not. It's suicide. And on a measly 500 calories one cannot expect themselves to be with-it enough to write the next NYT Bestseller.

So as with dieting, if you find your word counts aren't up to snuff or you're feeling bad about your progress so far, start fresh. Each day you start at zero. You can only go up from there.

Challenge Check-In #4

Okay, I'm about to put out an APB on Danita. Where is she?????? Do I need to post another wanted poster? What about a Missing Persons poster? Hmmm...may have to think about that. If I wasn't writing like a fiend right now, trying to finish the book, I'd already have it up.

Switching Gears. Challenge check-in time. How'd everyone do yesterday? (Lisa, we're still waiting for your updates!!) I had a busy day yesterday and didn't have any chance to write during the daylight hours. Then DH brought home a movie and after the Gremlins went to bed, we sat down to watch Blades of Glory (totally stupid but idiot-funny). By the time it was over, it was 10 PM and on any other day I would have called it quits and gone to bed. But I didn't. I committed to this. So I opened the wip, sat down and started writing. At 900 words I was ready to throw in the towel, but I pushed myself, knowing I could get 100 more and reach my goal. And then, magically, something amazing happened right at the 1000-word mark. I hit my stride and kept writing. Ended up with 2412 words in 12 pages and finished a scene. One more chapter to go (which I hope to do today) and then I'm DONE.

So tell...how'd your writing go yesterday?

Challenge Check-In #3

Hi-ho, ladies. It's day three. How are we doing? The excitement has worn off, it's time to dig deep and figure out what you're made of.

Lisa? We haven't heard from you and I know you're writing. Speak up and share.

Paty? Are you back now? How did the writing go on the trip?

Alice? Did you make up your words yesterday? Are you editing like a fool? Writing that third chapter in the second proposal? Tell, tell. Inquiring minds want to know.

The rest of you...who wrote today? Share your word counts with us regardless of whether or not you're taking the challenge and give us an update.

Challenge Check-In #2

Okay, girls. Day 2 is over (in like, 8 minutes). How did we do?

I scraped in just under the wire. 1058 words. Met my goal, finished a scene (four more to go to the End...woohoo!) BUT, I could have written more. I blame the not-writing-more on two things. One is Lisa. Why? Because I can. LOL Okay, wait. Seriously. Lisa because she distracted me during my writing time this morning with a discussion (I know, I know, I started it) about a series we both love and for which we are both impatiently waiting for the newest book to be released. Which leads to the second reason I didn't write more - because after our discussion, I got sucked into some discussion boards on Amazon about said upcoming release and was reading book "spoilers". (This is when you know you're twisted...when you can't wait for the book and are reading "hints" as to what is going to happen in the book from people who haven't read it and who are speculating just like you are. God, I'm sick!)

So share with us. Twisted sicknesses aside. How did you do today?

Challenge Check-In

Okay, ladies. Today was day one. How did you do? You each know what your target word count/day is. Did you reach it? Give us a report.

And for those of you not "officially" committed to the challenge, weigh in with us. How did you do on the words today?

I Challenge You To A...Duel

Okay, not really a duel, rather a challenge. But, I Challenge You To A...Challenge just didn't sound right.

(Disclaimer: I took a muscle relaxant for my back and it's left me a little loopy, so if I go off on a strange tangent, disregard for your own sanity.)

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I'm going to do something unusual. I'm going to start off with some quotes I want you to read:

"There's no perfect time to write. There's only now." Barbara Kingsolver

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Jack London

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Henry David Thoreau

Feeling inspired yet? Ready to write the next NYT Bestseller?

Not quite??? Read on.

My CP, Joan, did something interesting this week. She challenged me to a writing challenge. 1000 words a day for 100 days (I added the 100 days part). The logic is this: At 1000 words per day (roughly 4 pgs per day if you figure 250 words/pg), in just about 3 1/3 months, you could have a 100,000-word completed manuscript. (Or at the very least, a finished rough draft.) Now, this is nothing new. Writing challenges are out there tempting us all the time. National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo), 70 Days of Sweat, etc. I've been invited to join many. And I always refuse. So what's different about this one? One word: Accountability.

Because the challenge came from my CP, I can't shirk out of posting my word count total for the day. There's no anonymity. I know at the end of the day she's going to say, "How'd you do?" and I'm going to have to come up with an answer. It doesn't hurt that I am a very competitive person when it comes to something like this with someone I know. It also doesn't hurt that I'm remotivated as of late to finish the book from hell and move on to the new idea that has me so excited I can barely sit still.

I posted this challenge on my blog and asked if there were any other writers out there interested in joining us. I got a few bites. In fact, Lexi Connor (a writer and teacher) told her students what we were doing and challenged them to something similar, albeit on a much smaller scale - 50 words in 50 days. Several took the challenge. So just for fun, I'm going to turn it over to each of you. I'm challenging you to join us. A 100-Day Challenge, if you will.

Here's how it works. I want you to ask yourself this: What would I like to accomplish in 100 days? And How am I going to go about reaching that goal? Maybe you want to write a complete rough draft. What's your target word-count? How many words per day should you write to reach that word count goal (for me it's 1000-words per day, for you it might be less or more). Maybe you want to complete a novella or write x-# of proposals, etc. Shape the challenge into something you know is attainable and then set your daily goal. One hundred days from a starting date of next Tuesday (Sept. 4th) gives us a completion date of (if I did my math right) December 13th. Plenty of time before the holiday rush to keep you from being stressed. Just imagine what you could get done in 100 days if you put your mind to it!!! The possibilities are endless.

If you're up for this challenge, I'd like you to post your goals and your target word count/day in the comment section. At the end of each day, I'll try to post a short blog asking everyone involved to give us their word count totals for that day. If you commit to this, we're going to be watching you and encouraging you, so don't think you can slide into the shadows and we'll forget you're there. ;) And because I believe in positive reinforcement....our chapter Christmas party will be happening just about the time this challenge is over. For those of you who participate and stick with it all the way to the end, I'll have a special surprise for you at the party.

So who's game? Who's up for a challenge????