Phasing Out

I write in bursts. Sometimes it’s 12K words in a weekend, and then nothing for two months. I’m really trying to break that habit! It makes novel writing a long, drawn-out process.

Nanowrimo was a good thing for me. It taught me that I can crank when I need to. I averaged three chapters a day, 35K words in the month of November. But, then I was burnt to a crisp and my house fell down (and I didn’t have any Christmas presents).

Finding a nice middle ground would be awesome. I’m thinking that I’ll shoot for one chapter each day, at least until the creature is born. That may be a little overzealous, but I’m going to try it for a week and let you know how it goes.

Do you guys have daily, weekly, monthly writing goals? Or do you just let it happen when your muse strikes?

26 Comments

Trisha

March 11, 2011 at 3:16 pm Reply

Right now I’m in revision, and I have to admit I am sort of slacking off. 😉 When I write, I don’t actually keep goals, but I aim to write for at least a couple of hours each night (I work full time and write when I get home, and on weekends).

For me, weekends tend to be even slower, as I have more excuse to procrastinate (or so I tell myself :D).

William Kendall

March 11, 2011 at 4:46 pm Reply

It’s been slow for me lately, what with academics getting in the way and my muse coming to a screeching halt due to some personal issues I’m sorting out.

Raquel Byrnes

March 11, 2011 at 5:09 pm Reply

Once I get a couple hundred pages into a novel I sort of HAVE to keep on it. If I don’t write for a while I loose the trail of story threads and then I have to reread from the beginning…kind of motivating.
Edge of Your Seat Romance

Mflick1

March 11, 2011 at 10:15 pm Reply

I write when I feel I have “it” and “it” comes in slow bursts in the beginning and then the bursts come more frequently after awhile. But I will also go two months without feeling compelled to write…but I have notice when I force myself to sit down and write…i typically dont like it