Goals, cont.

I am still computerless, but I decided that since I have to puppy-sit today (because my dad and stepmom are in Argentina) I'll spend the afternoon working on their computer.

I also have a new goal, one I would have shared with all of you sooner (stupid computer!). I decided a week ago that i just need to get up and moving with my book. No more procrastinating, no more stressing or overanalyzing. This month I am going to finish the first draft of my book.

I got the idea from a writing book at Barnes and Noble, which shared some very helpful hints on writing a novel in 30 days. The biggest of those, for me at least, was to just write. Don't worry about tangents, don't fret over character or plot development. Those things are all important, but not as important as just writing it all down. (One good trick is to keep a sheet of paper handy to jot down things you want to develop later and where you want to stick them, then forget about it and move on with the writing.)

The flow of writing is key to getting it all done within a month. I'm not going to worry as much about the little details, and I can go through and clean up the phrasing later. The most important thing for me now is to get it all down on paper (and then into the computer).

I've also decided that I need a special treat after these 31 days are up, whether or not I finish everything. I don't know what that will be yet, but I need some little carrot in front of me to motivate me to keep going.

So far I've done pretty well. Yesterday I took the evening off to play, but I'm limiting my activities, otherwise. My goal is to write a chapter a day, six days a week. That's very feasible considering most of my chapters are around 10 pages or less. I'm doing well with it: three chapters in three days.

Honestly, it's getting easier the more I do it. Hopefully my efforts now will translate into better working habits for the future.

So if I don't blog much, even after I get my new computer, this is the reason why. Which means I need to stop procrastinating and get to writing. I'm hoping to get caught up today from yesterday since I've the whole afternoon/evening in front of me--without interruption.