Yikes, so writing can often be like the weather. You kow it’s all nice and calm and suddenly you’re hit with three storms in a row, two days of sun and so much rain the whole state floods. Or maybe you can tell I live in Western Washington, LOL.

Anyway, what I mean is sometimes you have heaps to do and you’re working and working and then you have quiet periods when it seems like all your ideas and work seem far far away and then right as you’re falling asleep you come up with a new idea.

Get up and write it down. Even if you can’t start on it now, get those keywords down, the feelings or atmosphere type stuff that gives a story its own unique feel and flavor. And then you can write it. This happened to me twice in the last few months and I’m actually finally able to get to them both now.

Sometimes you have to resist the shiny new idea but that doesn’t mean it should be repressed altogether, sometimes it just needs to be made ready for when you do have time.

This is a hard time of year to keep on schedule and continue writing. Maybe a little teamwork will help. We’ll push each other along. So, how is everyone doing?

We’re going into the last weeks of the challenge! Less than a month to go now and I hope this has been a positive experience for people, regardless of what’s on that number meter. I hope that this challenge has helped you all put your writing in a place of importance, that you’ve made it a regular part of your life and made it your work.

So far during the challenge I’ve done just about every step in the writing process. I’ve written proposals, synopses, I’ve finished books and done rounds of edits, I’ve had copy edits and final pass pages and now I am working on a co-written book and starting a new project.

During this challenge, I’ve not achieved as many words as I have before but I’ve made writing my business and my work every day and that’s what is important. Well, that and finishing what I’m supposed to when I’m supposed to, which I’ve done, thank goodness!

Writing is solitary in many ways but that doesn’t mean you don’t compare yourself to others. It’s inevitable in many ways and I try to make it as positive as I can when it comes up.

Instead of looking at someone else’s words and thinking “oh they have less kids or more time, they write faster, they have more supportive families” whatever - it’s totally necessary to live your own life and walk your own path because you will only have your circumstances.

So I leave you with this awesome quote from Steve Jobs:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I love this quote. It’s a good reminder that no one can do it for you. If you want it, you have to work for it:

“I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me. ” -Anna Quindlen

It’s that time again. We’re in the middle of the holiday season but that doesn’t mean your writing obligation is done. How is everyone doing with those daily writing totals?

Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.

Taking a break from the sweating today… just wanted to say…

Many of us are knee deep in holiday celebrations, kids are home from school, relatives are visiting, the weather is a challenge across the US anyway - how is everyone faring as we enter the last leg of the challenge?

“Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing.”
Melinda Haynes

When I do the Sven challenge, or any other type of writing challenge, I always look on Mondays as a new start–a new week.

It doesn’t matter whether the prior week–or weeks–I’ve managed to have stellar output–or total crap.
Each Monday I start over with a blank slate. It allows me to forgive myself any slacking, and it doesn’t allow me to rest on my laurels if my production has been awesome.

Never look back–only forward. The only thing that matters is what you’re going to do today, not what you did yesterday.

So have a great writing week! This is the one that counts.