Training the Brain
Sven’s winding down. Just a few weeks left. Are you happy with the progress you’ve made this round?
All in all, I guess I am. I could have done a little better, but I accomplished my main goal, and that was getting done with the single title that’s due into Berkley on 2/1/08. With the holidays, three kids who kept passing bugs around, not to mention my own, I think I did as well as I could expect.
What about you? Did you accomplish your goals? Surpass them?
Or fall a little short? If you fell a little short, or you’re like me, did okay but wished for better…so what? The main thing is to get in the habit of writing daily. I started writing daily, or close to it, a while ago. It was one of the things I kept reading on a blog I visit regularly, pbackwriter.blogspot.com, even before Sven. That advice was the main reason I started up my own personal blog.
But even then, I didn’t force myself into any set kind of schedule. Sven’s helped me to do that. And trust me… for a disorganized type like me, getting into any sort of routine is quite a task.
Writing daily, or close to it, trains the brain for the job of writing. I keep saying close to it, because unless I’m on deadline or really caught up in the book, I don’t write on weekends, except for a blog post on occasion. 
Don’t wanna tire out the brain…okay, okay, I’ll be honest. I like my time off.
But, IMO, getting on a regular writing schedule is crucial if you’re really serious about writing. Whether it’s something we cram it in when we can around the day job, the kids, school, or something we do full time, we have to take it seriously. Taking it seriously as a writer means the same as taking your day job seriously. When I was working the day job, I couldn’t go in when I wanted, leave when I wanted. I had set hours. A routine.
This job is no different in that aspect. Granted, if I want to spend the day in workout clothes or jammies, barefoot, my hair a mess, I can. But I can’t just sit down once or twice a week, write a page here, a page there, and still expect to finish a book, sell a book, improve my writing, maintain my career.
More than anything, Sven’s helped me focus on that. A routine. A set amount of words I like done in a day, a set time when I try to do it.
I hope he’s done the same for you. Even if it’s just a half an hour at lunch, or forty five minutes at night after the kids go to sleep, if you can get in a regular routine and stick to it, I bet it’s going to help.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Another PBW fan here. This year I’ve made SO much progress on my writing and on my discipline - although not as much on the latter as I’d have liked, especially given the slump of the past month. But when I look at the year as a whole, you know what? I’m in a better place than this time last year, for sure. Since I know I’ve made such strides in the writing itself this year, my goal for next year is to make the same strides in my discipline.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I’ve not made the progress I hoped for, but even so it is worth being in the contest. I’ve revised a lot, I’m at 15/20 right now, but I’m terribly stuck.
Nevermind, I’ll get out of that.
The main thing is to have a schedule, a kick in the rear, a routine. And Sven is good for that.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Sven has been awesome for me. I’ve never written so regularly in my life. It was the right motivation at the right time. I know that I’ll have at least 100,000 words written by Jan. 15. I don’t know that I’ll have the book finished by then, but it will be pretty darn close.
More important than that, I’ve established a routine that has me writing almost everyday. That right there, for me, is huge. To everyone who organized Sven, a big THANK YOU.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I’ve done really well with Sven and I’m so glad I joined this challenge. I’ve never made a commitment like this with my writing before and it’s been good for me. I went from virtually nothing on the page to nearly 70,000 words and am on the home stretch of my book right now.
I’d like to be more disciplined, though. I don’t have a writing schedule, just a commitment to write every day, so I manage to squeeze in a session wherever I can. It’s usually in the late afternoon, between 5 and 7 at night, that I’m most productive.