So I'm three days into My Own NaNo and have come to some conclusions:
1. My daily goal was too ambitious. I haven't been writing for several weeks, and that means the ol' writing muscles are out of shape. Twelve pages a day is just too many when I'm trying to get going again, so I'm changing my goal to a more manageable 8 pages.
This is why people say you should write every day - so the writing muscles don't get stiff. That said, I don't regret taking that time off. I needed it, so if I have to pay a price now, so be it.
2. Just when I thought I'd be free of major distractions, my son ran into some issues. Some writers are able to close out such distractions and concentrate on the writing. They even find it helps to focus on the work in tough times.
I am not of that ilk. I find it very difficult to concentrate on a job that requires so much creativity when I'm worried. And no, I cannot stop worrying if something is out of my control. I can certainly do things like revising, update my website or other administrative tasks, but writing a first draft? That's another story. So the first two days of My Own NaNo were kinda sunk before I started. Still, I did get more done than if I hadn't set myself a goal.
So what have I accomplished? I got 8 pages done on Day 1 and 7 pages on Day 2. So far today, the count is 7 pages. I may do more, I may not. Tomorrow I'm getting together with friends, so I may not get anything written.
Am I going to beat myself over missing a daily goal, or a few of them? Oh, heck no. By my own choice, I don't have an official deadline, so this goal is just for me, and it was never to get a first draft finished in a month. My main goal is simply to get back to the computer on a consistent basis.
Still, I'm hopeful I'll be more successful meeting my 8-page-a-day goal, especially since my son's issue was successfully straightened out yesterday.
Onward!
1 comment:
Boy, do I ever understand revising your goals. My orignal goal for Ilka this weekend was a Rally Advanced title, her Beginner Novice title, as well as the first leg of her Companion Dog title. My goal for Lucky was two legs each of his Beginner Novice and Rally Novice titles.
Reality was that my husband and kids had to drive two hours Saturday morning to get Lucky and take him home (another two hours back), because he was so stressed. He failed the only class he went in, and was happy to leave. I probably won't show him again.
As for Ilka, her brain seemed to have been attached to her leash, and as soon as the leash came off, there went the brain. After being excused three times in a row in Rally, and failing Novice obedience, my goal for this morning was reduced from getting a qualifying score to just making it all the way through the course. We didn't qualify, but we DID make it all the way through to the end of a very tight, difficult course.
On the up side, she got the last leg of her Beginner Novice title, and has some more pretty ribbons to frame and hang on the wall. Her off-lead work in Novice obedience went better than I thought it would, considering her behavior in Rally, and her "stays" were fantastic. Plus, she did stay in the ring with me in all her classes, even the ones that she flunked, unlike a Petite Basset Griffon Vandean, who made a break for it in another class.
Next weekend is another obedience trial (only one class), and something called a Coursing Ability Test. For that, she will have to follow a lure, usually white plastic bags, attached to a pully system that goes around a large open field. She will have to chase it for 600 yards in 2 minutes or less. She is very fit and athletic, so she should love it. Hopefully, she will get her Coursing Ability title.
As for Rally and obedience, more training and practice, and try again later on, probably in January when there will be trials closer to home. I do still have some rather lofty ambitions for this girl.
Rosemary
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