Despite evidence to the contrary, I have not forgotten yet again that I have a blog. I’ve been playing with the sidebar, see? —–> But more importantly, I’ve been working on other writing projects. Not, of course, on the ones I’m “supposed” to be working on, but that’s nothing new. I got a burst of enthusiasm and started editing my 2008 NaNovel about werewolves. Over halfway through, according to my spiffy new progress meter!
Also, I’ve committed to daily writing as part of Inkygirl’s 1000 Words a Day Challenge. I’ve already skipped two days, but I cheated and made up the word count a couple of days later, so don’t tell anyone, ok?
Most days, committing to a specific word count without a particular project goal helps me sit down and just start writing. It works even better if I do it first thing in the morning before my brain has woken up and started telling me I suck. It takes me about half an hour to an hour to blast out 1000 words of freewriting, which usually consists of mulling over elements of various stories. By then I’ve woken up a bit, so I move onto one of my projects.
It’s easier for me to work on a story when I’ve spent a while limbering up my brain. More importantly, freewriting gets me into the rhythm of writing. I might start with meaningless rambling, but one thing leads to another, and connections between things spark ideas I never would have had if I’d made myself get up and stare at a project file until I gave up and went back to bed. Writing is a muscle that gets stiff and easily tired when it’s not used. This daily challenge is my workout.
Thanks again to Inkygirl for the idea and the spiffy graphic! Complete information, including badges for 500 and 250 word challenges, are available on Deb Ohi (inkygirl)’s website.
