Spring 2023: Thoughts on the journey of writing a book.
My little reset was a slam dunk for me! I'm so happy that I chose to set baby goals and focus on reorganizing my life. It did wonders for my mental health, and I'm back on track!
While I was resetting, I actually purchased a planning/productivity course called HB90 by Sarra Cannon at Heart Breathings. Her course was so incredibly helpful! It really helped me learn why I was getting so overwhelmed—mostly because I WAY overcommit to my goal when I have very little extra time in my schedule to work on said goal.
Needless to say, taking March as a reset and focusing on getting organized while investing in myself a little did wonders for me!
Now, we find ourselves in April and I'm killing it! Since my last update, I...
> Finished editing Dissent
> Hired an editor
> Wrote another 10k words of book 2!
It may not sound like much, but I'm really psyched at where I'm at and how quickly I'm chugging along. Here's what's made the difference:
I'm making smaller goals. And when I say small, I mean my goal for the next 90 days is to write 10k words for book 2. That's pretty small. But those small goals are setting me up for great success because the project doesn't feel so overwhelming. I aim to write about 500 words a day, and that's been very doable for me.
I'm writing in the morning before the day gets going. I wake up around 5:30, get breakfast ready for my kids, and hit my desk by 6 a.m. It gives me roughly 30-45 minutes to write before I have to stop and get the kids ready for school. Putting 500 words down in 30 minutes has been easy. And the best part is, my word count goal is done before the day ever gets started. I feel better, I'm less irritated at the world, and I feel accomplished.
Finally, at night when I'm tempted to write some more, I don't. I don't allow myself to go back to the computer and write anymore for the day (unless I didn't hit my goal in the morning). And this has been crucial for me because it forces me to rest. I need the rest. I need the opportunity to be a mom and snuggle with my kids. I need the chance to be a wife and enjoy cuddles with my husband. And I need time to refill my creative well by watching brilliant shows, reading books, and enjoying art.
This is what has made a huge difference for me starting Q2. Now, I need to maintain it and get this book done!
With that said, let's talk about April! On April 1st, Camp NaNoWriMo started up, and I'm registered and already on the bus! This month, however, my kids go on spring break and we're taking a trip to Hawaii. That means a 4-week camp just became 3 weeks for me because I have no intention of writing on my trip.
So, my original goal for NaNoWriMo was to write 3k words of those 10k I was planning to write in Q2. I've been so focused this past week, however, that I blew threw those 3k words, and I'm only 1000 words away from hitting my goal of 10k!
Ring the bells and sound the horns!
It may not sound like much, but juggling as much as I am right now, it feels really really good!
With that said, I decided to up the challenge and push myself for NaNo. So my new goal for Camp is another 10k. In truth, I don't actually think I'm going to hit that, and I'm ok with that. At this point, anything I get done during NaNo is just the cherry on top of an already amazing ice cream sunday.
The Plan: Moving forward throughout the rest of April, I'll be posting on social media my Camp NaNoWriMo Diaries as I journal and track my progress throughout the month. So, the next Behind the Book won't be around until June. But you can follow my progress through Camp NaNo by following me on Facebook and Instagram.
The goal for the next month is my NaNo goal of another 10k words for Book 2 of The Dissenter Saga series.
See you in a month!
Reminder: I've been sharing snippets of Dissent on my social media accounts, and revealing different themes that pop up throughout the story. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads to catch little tastes of this upcoming dystopian romance.
Comentários