I am sitting in my cosy room with a new flavour of tea right in front of me and my favourite music playing in the background. I just did some Yoga and spend the morning outside with my dog and my boyfriend, breathing in fresh air, being amazed by the beauty of a frozen forest underneath a blue sky, writing poetry... My day has been amazing so far. It was a good day. Yesterday was a good day, too. And when I look at my journal I realise that I had a lot of good days this year.
But there were also bad days. Nights in which I stayed awake in my bed for hours, contemplating life, my future, the terrible person I saw myself as.
This should be a wrap-up post for November, already too late a few days, but I have decided to turn it into something else entirely. For two reasons: I yet have to reevaluate my Nano-experience, and today when I walked through that beautiful place with the two most important beings in my life I realised something: I am better.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
NANO Update 01 - Halfway through?
We are almost two weeks into November and I wanted to take a moment and reflect on this years nanowrimo experience - so far.
I already mentioned nano in my previous blog post but for all those that do not know what NANO is: The National Novel Writing Month challenges you, each year during November, to write an entire novel - more precisely 50.000 words - in 30 days. There is a huge community for all the participants to encourage and help each other and I have already made some great friends through this site.
I already mentioned nano in my previous blog post but for all those that do not know what NANO is: The National Novel Writing Month challenges you, each year during November, to write an entire novel - more precisely 50.000 words - in 30 days. There is a huge community for all the participants to encourage and help each other and I have already made some great friends through this site.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Monthly Update 02 - October 2016
Hello lovely cupcakes! Here is my second monthly update, and I have to tell you I threw half my goals over board during this month.
As some of you may know I started working 40 hours a week and I am currently not only physical but also mentally exhausted. I am happy with my life, I manage to hit my writing goal of 200 words for Project A most days, but yet I did not get as much done as I wished I would be able to do.
I am proud of having written more than 18.000 words for Project A so far, for I normally quit after less than half that number. And I did fill some of the major plot holes ( I wonder, though, why plotting A always makes me end up finding new things for the sequel. Gosh brain, concentrate on one thing first!), so I am still proud of what I did this month.
Figuring out how I can use the short amount of free time during work weeks has been a real challenge, but I changed my way of using to do lists and found a new way of motivating myself, so I am quite positive that I am on a good path and as soon as work is turning into a routine I hope to become even more productive.
Today, for the first time in what felt like forever I had time to take my dog for a walk in the forest, I love this time of year, every falling leave speaks bliss to me - as Emily Bronte once said. And of course I came home with a new poem and a new idea. But lately an old enemy has reappeared in my writing life: Self doubt. I read in an online article about the traits of successful writers, that one has to shove self doubt aside until the work is finished and then allow critique to make it better. But I am struggling with self doubt. Is my writing good enough? Am I getting better at it at all? Shouldn't I just quit because there is no way in life I can finish this project anyway?
I am determined to push through. I am determined to finish this novel, but I haven't really found a way to deal with self doubt, except of course to ignore it. Have you encountered this problem? What did you do? I would love to hear your tips, or maybe your problems, down below in the comments. (If you do not wish to comment you can send me an anon message here.)
So what am I planning to set as goals for the new month? It is November and in an insane moment I signed up for Nanowrimo. Yes, the girl that can't even write 200 words each day is now trying to write 50.000 words in one month. Truth be told I already have a list of scenes I can work on for Project A, so I should be set for the first few weeks... I do not know how I will combine it with my already busy schedule (I have two weekends of travelling ahead of me next month) but I do not wish to complain. Nano is a great chance to motivate me, to force myself to write every day. Because let us face it if I do not glue my but to my chair I may never finish this thing. And I cannot let self doubt win, can I? This book is important to me, though many people in real life don't think I will ever finish it. I can prove them wrong. I can do this somehow.
And if not, well then at least I tried. And being a part of something is always more important than winning, right? Have you joined NANO yet? Have you done before? Tips or questions? Leave them down below or in my askbox. And together we may survive November ;)
As some of you may know I started working 40 hours a week and I am currently not only physical but also mentally exhausted. I am happy with my life, I manage to hit my writing goal of 200 words for Project A most days, but yet I did not get as much done as I wished I would be able to do.
I am proud of having written more than 18.000 words for Project A so far, for I normally quit after less than half that number. And I did fill some of the major plot holes ( I wonder, though, why plotting A always makes me end up finding new things for the sequel. Gosh brain, concentrate on one thing first!), so I am still proud of what I did this month.
Figuring out how I can use the short amount of free time during work weeks has been a real challenge, but I changed my way of using to do lists and found a new way of motivating myself, so I am quite positive that I am on a good path and as soon as work is turning into a routine I hope to become even more productive.
Today, for the first time in what felt like forever I had time to take my dog for a walk in the forest, I love this time of year, every falling leave speaks bliss to me - as Emily Bronte once said. And of course I came home with a new poem and a new idea. But lately an old enemy has reappeared in my writing life: Self doubt. I read in an online article about the traits of successful writers, that one has to shove self doubt aside until the work is finished and then allow critique to make it better. But I am struggling with self doubt. Is my writing good enough? Am I getting better at it at all? Shouldn't I just quit because there is no way in life I can finish this project anyway?
I am determined to push through. I am determined to finish this novel, but I haven't really found a way to deal with self doubt, except of course to ignore it. Have you encountered this problem? What did you do? I would love to hear your tips, or maybe your problems, down below in the comments. (If you do not wish to comment you can send me an anon message here.)
So what am I planning to set as goals for the new month? It is November and in an insane moment I signed up for Nanowrimo. Yes, the girl that can't even write 200 words each day is now trying to write 50.000 words in one month. Truth be told I already have a list of scenes I can work on for Project A, so I should be set for the first few weeks... I do not know how I will combine it with my already busy schedule (I have two weekends of travelling ahead of me next month) but I do not wish to complain. Nano is a great chance to motivate me, to force myself to write every day. Because let us face it if I do not glue my but to my chair I may never finish this thing. And I cannot let self doubt win, can I? This book is important to me, though many people in real life don't think I will ever finish it. I can prove them wrong. I can do this somehow.
And if not, well then at least I tried. And being a part of something is always more important than winning, right? Have you joined NANO yet? Have you done before? Tips or questions? Leave them down below or in my askbox. And together we may survive November ;)
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
- Scott Adams
Love what you do, promote what you love!
M
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Discipline and Motivation
One of the biggest problems I encountered with writing has - and probably will always be - my own motivation. New things make me always so excited, and it is easy to plot and work on a new project for hours. But writing is about more than just the few early days of excitement, the promising empty first page, and the smell of a new story.
Writing is about sticking to it. You have to continue to type away until you are done with the story, until the first 80.000 words are written. Because if you stop before that mark, you will never finish it.
I often lose motivation as soon as a new shiny idea appears in my head. So how does one stay motivated and continue to work on a project until it is finished?
Good question. I yet have to figure it out myself. Something that really worked for me this month is the word count. I kept my daily dose of words very small. I can reach it within 10 minutes of concentrated work. That means if I have a good day I can write more than the goal intends for me and be happy and proud afterwards. If a day isn't that good I can try to at least reach that small goal and am not discouraged at day's end. Every word brings me closer to that final number.
Having three different projects in three different stages does help in some way, too. If I do not feel like researching for one of the projects or spending hours trying to figure out a problem with the plot I can take a free day from that one project that bothers me and concentrate on one of the other two. That way I can stay productive and clear my head to start working on the first project with more concentration and energy.
Early this month, on the 4th to be more precisely, I started working at a new place and that was a huge step for me because now school is over and adult life with all its responsibilities begins. That caused some changes in my daily chores. I leave the house at 6.15 am and get back at 7.15 am, even later when I have swimming practice, and I am exhausted. Always so exhausted. That of course left me with no time to write at all. My brain just felt empty in the evenings and the first week left me without a single word written. So what did I do?
I went back to the word count. 200 words a day. Ten minutes. Nothing more. I asked myself why I can't write, because I am exhausted in the evening. But I am awake during the first half of the day and can still power through things. Naturally I cannot write during work. So I got up ten minutes earlier each day. 4.45 am. And I used those ten minutes to write. I wrote more than 200 words after a day and I found that two things happened because of that simple change in my habits.
Firstly: I manage to get my wordcount done. I am on a seven day streak now and the week felt a lot more productive through adding this ten minutes of writing. I am closer to my goal of finishing this book then I ever was to finishing something different to a short story then ever before.
Secondly: I feel better. I am more motivated when I can head out of the house already marking something off of my to do list. I did something. I achieved something. And the day has only just begun! Who knows what else will happen? I am happier. I feel better. Writing is my cure once again, and this time because I am disciplined enough to go through with it each and every day of the week.
How do you keep yourself motivated? Any tricks or treats after you hit a certain goal?
Writing is about sticking to it. You have to continue to type away until you are done with the story, until the first 80.000 words are written. Because if you stop before that mark, you will never finish it.
I often lose motivation as soon as a new shiny idea appears in my head. So how does one stay motivated and continue to work on a project until it is finished?
Good question. I yet have to figure it out myself. Something that really worked for me this month is the word count. I kept my daily dose of words very small. I can reach it within 10 minutes of concentrated work. That means if I have a good day I can write more than the goal intends for me and be happy and proud afterwards. If a day isn't that good I can try to at least reach that small goal and am not discouraged at day's end. Every word brings me closer to that final number.
Having three different projects in three different stages does help in some way, too. If I do not feel like researching for one of the projects or spending hours trying to figure out a problem with the plot I can take a free day from that one project that bothers me and concentrate on one of the other two. That way I can stay productive and clear my head to start working on the first project with more concentration and energy.
Early this month, on the 4th to be more precisely, I started working at a new place and that was a huge step for me because now school is over and adult life with all its responsibilities begins. That caused some changes in my daily chores. I leave the house at 6.15 am and get back at 7.15 am, even later when I have swimming practice, and I am exhausted. Always so exhausted. That of course left me with no time to write at all. My brain just felt empty in the evenings and the first week left me without a single word written. So what did I do?
I went back to the word count. 200 words a day. Ten minutes. Nothing more. I asked myself why I can't write, because I am exhausted in the evening. But I am awake during the first half of the day and can still power through things. Naturally I cannot write during work. So I got up ten minutes earlier each day. 4.45 am. And I used those ten minutes to write. I wrote more than 200 words after a day and I found that two things happened because of that simple change in my habits.
Firstly: I manage to get my wordcount done. I am on a seven day streak now and the week felt a lot more productive through adding this ten minutes of writing. I am closer to my goal of finishing this book then I ever was to finishing something different to a short story then ever before.
Secondly: I feel better. I am more motivated when I can head out of the house already marking something off of my to do list. I did something. I achieved something. And the day has only just begun! Who knows what else will happen? I am happier. I feel better. Writing is my cure once again, and this time because I am disciplined enough to go through with it each and every day of the week.
"If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all." - Anne Tyler
How do you keep yourself motivated? Any tricks or treats after you hit a certain goal?
Love what you do, promote what you love!
M
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Monthly Update 01 - September 2016
Hello Cupcakes,
the month of September has been quite an interesting month writing vise. Not, because I wrote more than I did in the months before it, but because I finally regained motivation and inspiration to write at all. I spend the motivation to plot some things and, for the first time in forever, I made a schedule for writing.
An App has been really helpful in motivating me to keep going and reach my daily word counts on all of my projects, there are two I am currently writing on, and one I am currently trying to plot and researching for. Read more about them and how I started each project underneath the cut.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Welcome to my personal desk - An Introduction
Hello cupcakes,
I know there are not many of you here yet, but since I was lately in some kind of writing and reading slump I figured I will go back to the roots and start a blog again. Maybe this will help me find my creativity again, maybe this will help me continue to create content over on my Tumblr, or maybe it will just be a lot of fun.
So if you are interested in following me on my path, from being a dreamer to being an actual writer feel free to come along and read the madness I am spilling from my brain right onto the page.
I will try my best in blogging regularly, I intend to do updates at least twice a month (in the beginning and maybe in the middle of each month) but since I am starting a new job next Monday I do not know if my time management will be good enough to keep up with it. I am more than determined to not have this be another thing I started but never finished.
To start I will write short updates on what I am doing, how I am doing it, and mistakes I made in the past or am currently making. This blog is dedicated to creating a place where we can help each other in our own creative spaces, give and get advice and critique, and most importantly get motivated and inspired!
I know there are not many of you here yet, but since I was lately in some kind of writing and reading slump I figured I will go back to the roots and start a blog again. Maybe this will help me find my creativity again, maybe this will help me continue to create content over on my Tumblr, or maybe it will just be a lot of fun.
So if you are interested in following me on my path, from being a dreamer to being an actual writer feel free to come along and read the madness I am spilling from my brain right onto the page.
I will try my best in blogging regularly, I intend to do updates at least twice a month (in the beginning and maybe in the middle of each month) but since I am starting a new job next Monday I do not know if my time management will be good enough to keep up with it. I am more than determined to not have this be another thing I started but never finished.
To start I will write short updates on what I am doing, how I am doing it, and mistakes I made in the past or am currently making. This blog is dedicated to creating a place where we can help each other in our own creative spaces, give and get advice and critique, and most importantly get motivated and inspired!
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