Word Watchers Challenge-March 2007

Two weeks ago I intended on launching another Word Watchers Challenge. Well, we all know how that went. But I’m nothing if not determined. My goal for that month-long challenge was going to be FINISH MY FIRST DRAFT.

You know what? I’m going for it anyway. So to my writing friends out there who are spending more time coming up for reasons not to write than actually writing OR if you need an extra kick in the derriere to meet your goals, here we go.

This is how it works. Set your goal. If you really want to be serious about it, post your goal as a comment. That way the rest of us will hold you accountable. And cheer you on. And cry with you when you don’t meet your goal. And celebrate when you do. I’m setting a deadline of April 2. That’s only two weeks, so don’t overestimate what you can accomplish. Be realistic, but choose something that makes you buckle down and work.

Let me point out that it is not my intention to add stress to your otherwise overwhelmed lives. This is simply a tool to shift our focus onto our writing instead of onto all the distractions that crop up in our life.

And you don’t have to announce your goal to the rest of us if you prefer to keep it to yourself. But I’ve found that…for me at least…I need to put it out there. It’s too easy to let things slide if no one else knows my intentions. That accountability thing.

Your goals can be a set number of pages. New ones or revised ones if you’re on a second or third (or fifteenth) draft. You can set a goal of completing your outline or beginning a character chart. You can say “I’m going to send my first batch of queries to my agent wish list during these two weeks.” As long as it’s writing related, it’ll do.

So today, March 19, 2007, I declare my intention to have the first draft of my manuscript completed by April 2, 2007. Care to join me? Let the Word Watchers Challenge begin.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Okay, Annette, here goes: I'm going to decide whether or not to keep the sister character (I like her support, but I think she's boring) and then write another chapter.

Thanks for the boost!
Annette said…
Judy, You go, girl! Welcome to the challenge.
Joyce Tremel said…
I have about 100 pages to go in my first draft. I'm not going to be dumb enough to say I'll finish them in that amount of time, but I do want to put a good dent in them. How about 25 pages?
Annette said…
Joyce, twenty-five pages is good. That's about what I figure I have to go to finish. So let's do it!

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