70 Days of Sweat starts today. You only think you’re ready.
I will also be participating in the sweating this round, though mine may not be lasting the full on 70 days. This is the goal:
We’re looking for a total word count between 60-100k. This means between now and May 16, (77 days total, 7 ‘free’ days worked into the calendar), you will write 850-1500 words a day.
Are you up for it? For me, I’ll be finishing the unicorn book, and then getting a big chunk of Knights In Black Polyester done.
A few tricks that work for me when you are staring at that “white bull”:
1. Get up first thing in the morning and write for fifteen minutes before doing anything else. This will set your mind in “writing mode” for the rest of the day.
2. Turn off the email.
3. Read the scene you wrote last night right before going to bed. This will keep it in your mind.
What works for you? What will you be working on for the next two months?
16 Comments
March 1, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I’ll be working on my resume. I wonder what it would be like if THAT was 60 to 100k in words? Maybe I’ll count the cover letter in that, as well.
March 1, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I’d like to do that, but I end up getting down on myself pretty quickly in these types of challenges.
I mean, 6 pages a day is REALLY good. I’d love to be churning at that rate.
Right now I’m trying to stay at 1-2 pages per day five days a week – though I seem to be doing most of those 5-10 pages on 1 or two days instead.
Turning off the email(personal, since I can’t turn off dayjob email) and blogs might provide more time, but I haven’t been able to do that yet.
March 1, 2008 at 4:23 pm
2. Turn off the email.
whimpers, snivels, and moans
No! No! Anything but that! (Blogs too?)
Yeah. You’re right.
I don’t do well in these organized writing fests, but I applaud those who are embarking on this round with Sven. Best of writing discipline and progress to you all!
March 1, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I’ll be writing longhand because that seems to work best for me when I’m trying to meet a self-imposed deadline. Less nagging internal editor, less online distractions and all that jazzy crap.
March 1, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Re. What Heather said – I might try writing some of mine longhand, too. I have to figure out ways to avoid the internet during my writing times… *g*
I’ll be writing the sequel to my first YA contemp fantasy, so I’m looking at 60-70K.
Good luck with yours, Diana!!
March 2, 2008 at 12:17 am
Thanks for the launch article! I’m in a bit of a bind b/c I have a toddler. There are times when I have to write longhand, and others where I can sit at the computer for hours on end.
I have to wake up before everyone else, and stay up after everyone goes to sleep. It’s the only way. Thanks for sponsoring this round!
March 2, 2008 at 12:30 am
Good luck with your 70 Days. It sounds like an impressive goal. And I love the idea of writing for fifteen minutes before starting the day. I often think about my book in those early minutes before I have to get up. It’s a good time to work out plot issues and other details, and I usually start getting snatches of the scenes I want to write that day, which I then write down in the notebook I keep by my bed. As for what keeps me going, a) I remind myself that the first few hundred words are the hardest. After that I’m warmed up. b)I unplug my modem. Amazing how much that one helps. c) I dedicate my shower time to thinking about my writing. Most of the time, at least. I get my best thinking done in the shower and when lying awake in bed.
March 2, 2008 at 2:37 am
Wanted to say thanks for sponsoring the 70 Day Challenge. I’m in it, too, for the second time. Fell off the wheel first time around.
Let’s see. The shower is a great idea generator, or clarifier. Ditto for driving or doing mindless chores, such as scrubbing pans or raking whatever is in the yard this time of year. Ivy.
Again, thanks for sponsoring, and great writing to you all.
March 2, 2008 at 4:20 am
Diana,
I started the challenge on 2/26 to get a head start, and I know that I’m going to finish my book by the end. I’m extremely excited about it! It’s going well, so far. More than 1,000 words per day. Thanks for sponsoring.
Thanks for your little tips about rereading what you wrote at the end of the day before you go to sleep. That is a great idea. I think just keeping it in your head at all times is helpful. I’m number 70 for the 70 days of sweat, and hope that’s a lucky thing.
Lonnie
March 2, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Ooops… I’m already a day behind! Thank goodness for those built in days off!
March 2, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Thanks for the tips, Diana!
I’m pushing for 2k today. I need to make up for yesterday’s grand total of zero!
Shayla
March 2, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I’ve been averaging about 300 words a day, so I’ll have to step up the pace.
No email in the morning? Yikes!
March 3, 2008 at 9:03 am
Uh-huh, I start after 6pm usually, very active after 12 midnight. Course I am retired so…
I need to write when rest of family is asleep.Pump up my IPOD to Robert Randolph. Oh, yeah, that’s how we roll in Seattle.
March 3, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Your reading at night and fifteen minutes in the morning advice are great ones!
I’m not officially going for the 70, but I am trying to do at least 1500 a day through the middle of April. I need at least another 50-60K of first draft to finish my WIP by then.
March 4, 2008 at 7:31 am
Turning off my internet usually works very well for me. I’m in the terrible habit of sitting at my computer and surfing the net aimlessly without doing any writing.
However, so far so good with the challenge.
Good luck to you, Diana!
March 5, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Thanks for visiting my blog, Diana *grin*
I’m with you on the reading the last scene. I do this just before I’m ready to start writing again. It’s the little memory jog that gets me back into the story.
And where I find time to write? I’m at home with 2 monsters, so I grab what time I can, lol