The End of Sven - Until Next Time
From Jo Leigh:
Here’s to you ‘you valiant few,’ who have battled the holidays, the overindulgences of parties, houseguests, children home from school, nasty weather, and all the normal, everyday stuff that makes not writing seem like the wisest course. You’ve taken major steps to becoming, to being, professional writers and now it’s time to acknowledge who you are and what you’ve accomplished.Even if you didn’t reach your stated goal, even if you just wrote once when it would have been easier to skip it, give yourself a hand.
This is a tough business. I’m not talking about the agent-getting or the selling of the book. I mean the discipline and persistence that is perhaps the most important part of the job.
There is no possibility that you, as a professional writer, will not face difficult times. To paraphrase: There Will Be All Manner of Crap. Sickness, emergencies, computer meltdowns, editorial changes…the list goes on and on. Those with discipline and persistence will triumph. Those without will get other jobs. It’s as simple, and as amazingly difficult as that.
So pat yourself on the back, have a cookie or a drink or watch a beloved movie, then get back to it. This is the job. And the rewards are awesome.
From Lauren Dane:
Congratulations to you all for making it to the end! You took up the challenge and whether you got 100K words or 10K - you wrote. You worked and got blocked, you succeeded and failed but you kept at it. And guess what? That’s being a writer.
From Portia Da Costa:
I’d just like to send out a big, congratulatory hug to everyone who took part in the Sweat with Sven Challenge.Some of us will have written many, many thousands of words. Some of us maybe only a few thousand or less. Some of us will have met and exceeded our goals with flying colours. Others, like me, may have fallen short of our goal amounts, to a greater or lesser degree.
But what’s important is that we all took part and we were all in it together… and we’re all going to continue to write regularly in our own personal challenges in the days to come.
Happy Writing, guys!
From Shiloh Walker:
So Sven’s over and done. “Did you finish” isn’t the big question. The big questions is… “Are you writing more?”The key to being a writer is to write. Not one a week or when the spirit moves you, because if you plan on having more than a book or two out on the shelves, you have to write whether you want to or not. There will be issues outside of writing you can’t control~ there will be edits, there will family issues, there will be times when you’re sick, there will be holidays…but there will also be deadlines and deadlines aren’t met by writing as a hobby.
So whether you finished your book or not, if Sven got you in the habit of writing on a regular basis, then you succeeded.
From Jaci Burton:
It’s the end, and whether you wrote 100,000 words or just 1,000, pat yourself on the back. You participated and you succeeded. There is no failure if you try. The holidays are a tough time for anyone to write, but you had the guts to sign up and want to do it. So many writers never even make the attempt, for fear of failing, or make up a litany of excuses for why they can’t. You were one who thought you could. Congratulations! I hope you enjoyed it and it wasn’t too painful for you. I always find joining a group like this to be helpful in my writing. Writing is such a solitary endeavor. It’s always nice to know there are others like me out there struggling to make it work every single day. I hope that whatever successes you had, that you continue to push forward every day. Don’t ever quit!
From Larissa Ione:
Well, you made it! And even if you didn’t reach all of your goals, give yourself a break. There’s a reason so many authors refuse to schedule deadlines during the holidays! Keep writing, and keep challenging yourself. Sven’s a great task-master, but ultimately, you’re your best motivator. We’ll see you next time!
From HelenKay Dimon:
This one was tough. Between the holidays, the family get-togethers, trips, illnesses and everything else going on, getting the words down on paper in some coherent form was not easy. But you did it. Maybe you did not write as much as you wanted. Who cares? You wrote. During one of the most frenetic times of the year, you hung in there and kept typing. That’s commitment. It’s also a reminder that the work is important. With everything else that happens - family, friends, work, whatever - you need to make time for your dreams. Your work. Your writing. Never forget that. Whether you wrote five chapters or 500 pages, you kept going. Congratulations! Your only job now is to continue. Let this be a spark to continue, to finish and then to start something new. And, until next time…keep writing!
From Sven:
Don’t think I won’t be back.
Check back around the first of February. We hope to know more about Round #3 by then, and don’t forget the sidebar poll asking if you’re in for another round! Congratulations to you all!
January 15th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Many thanks to all the sponsors for your time and efforts in urging us along! Looking forward to the next one.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Through Sven, I’m now addicted to the excel spreadsheet that has my wip word counts, lol But since, as of this morning, I’m at 84 008 in just 3 months (less as December was a wash out lol) I don’t mind the obsession.
Thank you to the sponsors for chivvying us along. And a special thank you to Porta da Costa who introduced me to the art of the motivational icon *grin* I may have gone a little too far with mine…but my word count vindicates me. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
See you at Sven III
January 15th, 2008 at 7:03 am
A huge thank you to our sponsors and to the sweaty guy himself!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Thanks to the sponsors and added encouragement on this blog. I will definitely be back for the next one.
I more than met my original goal of 80 K. I wrote about 105! The motivation factor has had me writing on days when I really didn’t want to, which is a good thing. I need to do that and write everyday. I’ve become addicted to my tracking so may keep that up as well.
All in all, this was a great experience. Let’s hear it for Sven!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Thank you, sponsors, for the support and encouragement.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am
LOL Kim!
And Professor Hottie McHotstuff has some words of wisdom for me at my blog today, as this Sweat70 closes…
January 15th, 2008 at 8:33 am
[…] on over to Sven’s place for closing words from the sponsors, and for a little heads’ up on the next […]
January 15th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Well, I don’t know that I really participated this round, but I have almost 30,000 more words now than I did at the beginning of October, so that’s something.
It’s funny. I managed to “win” Sven Round I with writing 70k, but my discipline was no better off. I “lost” Sven Round II with 30k, but I’m now writing every day.
I don’t think I lost at all.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:20 am
This has been a fabulous time! I lost steam over the holidays, and I had to rethink my goals a bit (and I’ve been lax about checking in, darn it), but I finished a book and I’m halfway through revisions (which ended up being a partial rewrite, so I’ve been writing but I’ve been cutting too). I will definitely do this again. Thanks for the encouragement and the kick in the pants.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Yay Sven! I’ll miss you and can’t wait until February. Maybe you can help me get this ST out of my head and down on paper. I’d sure love to have it to pitch at Nationals.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I finished the sweat at 83159/95000. Not upset about it. I’ll be off of my hiatus and back to daily writing in time for round 3, so here’s to Sven! And thanks to all the sponsors for your words of encouragement and wisdom!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Congratulations everyone! You’ve all inspired me.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I’ve been really bad this round, but hey… I’ll be back
January 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Well I have no idea what my final word count is but I am happy with everything that I have achieved this round. My goal this time around was to write more then last time, which I have done quite successfully. I’ve also had some success in gaining more acceptances. The one big story I was wanting to get done for a open call went way over the word count so is still being worked on now for another market.
I can’t wait for the next Sven challenge! These are so great in keeping me motivated and focused. Thanks for all the sponsors and also of course everyone else involved I hope you all had fun!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Final word count for Sven: 98544. I finished my contracted sequel this afternoon, so the timing was pretty perfect. Congrats to everyone who stuck with it. The holidays were rough, but I like how Sven shows no mercy….
January 15th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I just finished my last Sven blog (for now) over at Could Be A Blog, so I’m here to report. 50460 of 70K. It’s good. I certainly had fun and took a lot of, um, blogging liberties with Sven over the past few months. Sven is a good sport!
Thank you, wonderful sponsors, for putting this challenge together for us. For providing motivation and encouragement. I did come here almost daily to read comments or quotes. A special thank you to Portia, who visited my blog regularly with encouragement. But, I’d like to hear more about the art of the motivational icon, Portia.
I made some new writer friends. They stopped by, too.
Ciao for now.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Thanks to the sponsors and to Sven! I ended the challenge with just shy of 131,000 words spread over four books.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Thank you so much to the sponsors and to everyone who participated. This challenge got me writing like nothing else ever has. I’m at about 110,000 words. I can’t believe I’ve written so much in just 70 days (give or take). Awesome!
I’m looking forward to the next round of Sven. Count me in!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Thanks to everyone who encouraged us all. I didn’t finish the book I wanted to, but I’m a lot closer than I thought I would be at this point, (including doing some edits and, well, that whole holidays thing), and I’m happy I’m that far along.
Great job to everyone for working so hard!
January 16th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I came in a few K short of 70K but I still feel like a success. When I first chose to get involved with Sven last July, I consciously chose not to get hung up on word count as the primary measure of accomplishment. For me it was about instilling work habits and making room for story making in my routines.
I’m looking forward to round 3 but i’m not going to wait for it to continue working with my stories.
BIG BiG Thanks to all the sponsors for their efforts and time and the same to all the participants for being part of it and adding to that sense of community and a shared commitment and caring. It so helps to know you are not alone and that what you want is not outrageous or weird or irrelevant to ‘real’ life.
January 16th, 2008 at 3:40 am
I’m hoping to do better the next go around but I am proud of what I did accomplish.
Congrats everyone.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Like Emma, I’m also hoping to do better next time. But, I wrote more than I would possibly have done left to my own devices; finished a short story, had ideas for others, did outlines etc. and got into the thousands for word count so far on my novella. So, all in all, a personal best. And I’m not going to argue with that!
Well done everyone! See you in Round III!
January 16th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I don’t know what this is a metaphor for, but: we went out to the pub on Monday night and I was lugging my binder with my newly-printed, nearly-finished wonderful novel. And what did I do at the end of the night? LEave said novel behind in said bar! I write this gleefully now, having gone back to get it and now looking forward to revisions…
January 16th, 2008 at 8:17 am
thank you sven!
January 16th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Thanks to all the sponsors. I had fun and lots of writing. My final count was 137,789 words. And I am giddy. Looking forward to next time.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Thanks, all of you. Somehow making a commitment so openly to so many helped me keep writing. I didn’t finish my WIP, but I’m much further along.
I look forward to Round 3. My intention now is to finish this draft by the end of the month.
Best to all the rest of you who made such terrific progress!
January 16th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
This was an excellent challenge. I wrote much faster than I would have without it. Thank you ladies.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Thank you so much, Sven, sponsors, and participants for making this a lot of fun. It’s been productive for me. Got a brand new novel rough-drafted (it’s 64K words or so) and made substantial progress revising the rough draft I completed for Sven I. Looking forward to Sven III!
January 16th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
This was just wonderful. Thank you very much for hosting it. Between this and nano I’ve written 102,792 words since Nov. 1st. I’m surprised my fingers haven’t fallen off. I may not always have been happy with what i wrote but still who can argue with the whole process.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I’m probably the absolute last to check in, but I did want to share my good news: at 7:47 am on the 15th, I completed my WIP. Final wordcount was 111,587 in 34 chapters and an epilogue. On to rewrites!
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
Oh, Sven. I’ve been a very naughty writer. I’m in need of a serious work out. The kind only you can dole out.
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Yeah Sven ready for your return so I can have another try!
February 10th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I’m dying for a return to Sven!