New, Quick Challenge

I have 7 stories that are finished and ready for something to be done with them. I have to stop sitting on them as if they'll get better if I look away for a while. I'm not getting much writing done this summer, and I'm allowing myself that for now. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't be doing anything.

New challenge. Submit to magazines or publish all 7 stories by July 31st. That gives me a whole weekend to work with plus a few days. I just need to set myself a reasonable goal and get my butt in the publishing/submitting seat.

Which doesn't make it any easier. I'm not sure where I might submit some of the stories and I'm still hesitant (scared?) to self publish shorter works. I could see doing maybe the 8000 word short story as a standalone, but not the 4000 or less ones. And they aren't all genre stories. And I am so good at making excuses!

So instead of working on stories or even covers, I played around with photos on Gimp, trying to combine two shots, one focused on a road and another on a distant mountain. It looks pretty neat, but it isn't what I wanted to be doing.

I know these stories that I've written since finishing the Depth workshop have better openings than stories I've written before, but is that enough? My husband liked them, but he likes everything!

So I have thrown down my own gauntlet and I'll just do it. I'll get some covers together and put the longer stories up. The shorter ones too if I can't find a market to submit to. Just do it. No one is going to punish me for trying.

Resetting

Lately, I've been having a hard time writing. Or sitting down to write, one or the other. Perhaps both. My mind just doesn't feel energized. I feel fuzzy-headed instead of clear. I'm tired.

So I've taken a break from minimum word counts. I need to adjust my goals. Because doing Crossfit 4 to 5 times a week, plus preparing for backpacking trips, plus work and additional workouts 2 to 3 times per week is apparently taking it out of me.

Whatever "it" is.

Motivation? When I first felt this way a few weeks ago, I tried sitting down and typing even though I didn't feel like it. The words came slowly and I didn't enjoy it. That was the key - it wasn't fun. And I want my writing to be a time of fun, because I want it to be fun to read. The passion needs to be there.

So I'm going to catch my breath, see if this fog passes and then refocus and get to writing up my solo trip. I do think of it often, things I want to include, the way I felt out there, when the wind was driving into my face, icily cold, while the sun beat down its heat, no one around, not even trees for company...

Shifting Goals

Last summer I had a good run of writing fiction by committing to writing fiction every day. I wrote a good deal and succeeded in my goal.

This summer I decided to do the same thing without considering the factor of my solo trip.

Last year's solo trip was at the end of the hiking season. Once I finished it, my fiction writing challenge was almost over. I could get right on to writing the nonfiction book easily.

Having already completed my solo trip, more than a month ago now, I have come to realize that I do not have time in my day to simultaneously challenge myself to write fiction and nonfiction to a word count every day. I don't want to sleep less; I can't work less; I choose not to work out less.

So I'm making a shift in my priorities. Writing will remain a priority, but it will be nonfiction that I focus on to a word count. For starters, I'm going to keep the word minimum at the same 600 words for at home and 300 when out camping/backpacking, but I might revise that because I typically do find it easier to write my solo books than to make up stories.

Just like "only" hiking 92 miles instead of 100 was not a failure, but a reframing of the goal, so too do I not see this as a break in the streak or cause for sadness. I'm consciously refocusing so that I can achieve my goal of having the solo book ready. Once it's done, I'll go back to fiction able to focus on stories without worrying about the fact that I haven't done my solo book yet.

And I think I'm going to manage to get this year's solo book out in time for Christmas gifts.

Writing Writing Writing

I finished up all the stories that I started when I was doing the Depth workshop. Most of them are fairly short. I think one of them is not bad. But I have no idea how to market them or where to put them up for sale. If to put them up for sale. Still, that is one thing that I've managed so far with my summer writing challenge.

The other thing I've managed is to build a streak. I didn't find it very difficult to keep up my writing over the long weekend when I was out camping, even though I increased the word count from 100 to 300 for those unconnected days. Actually, with car camping, it's much easier because I bring my cell phone and use it as a word processor. Backpacking and writing 300 words a day will be much more challenging.

I've almost finished a story that I started years ago. I'm going to be going through it a bit to make sure it hangs together, but it is long enough that I think I'll just publish it. Too long to submit to magazines to sell. Too short to submit to traditional publishing, though I don't think I'd do that even if I had a suitable piece.

It's a story that I tried to finish at the end of last summer's challenge. I didn't make it then, but it will be finished. I'm going to finish what I start.

Which means I need to get cracking on the write up of my solo hike. I've decided that the name of it will be: Hike with Me: Idaho Centennial Trail Nevada to Hammett. Now I just need to write it. Which means making sure I get butt in seat not only for my fiction words but my nonfiction words as well. And if I get that finished up before fall, then I'll be continuing with fiction through the slow time of winter. Maybe this is the year I get serious about this writing stuff.

Butt in (New) Chair

It has not been easy to make the time for my 600 words a day. Again and again, I feel like I've run out of time by the end of the day. But again and again, I've put my butt in the chair and started writing.

This has actually gotten a little bit easier since last Friday, when the new chair I ordered online arrived. See, my old desk chair was a metal folding chair that I had put a little inflatable camping mat on for a seat cushion. It inevitably lead to my butt going numb, sometimes within half an hour. Lately, it also exacerbated the back pain, which made sitting at my computer to write somewhat less than fun.

The new chair is one of those ergonomic kneeling ones (this one). I opted to assemble it myself because it was a lot cheaper that way. I only got a little help from my husband in assembly, and I'm sure I would have figured out my problem eventually even if he hadn't said anything...

It is taking some getting used to, but it does not impact my back pain like the old one. And it forces me to sit with better posture. The cushioning is not the best, but the main weird thing about it is my shins tend to get sweaty.

So I'm writing to my goal and working long hours and still getting up for 5am Crossfit. It's all about setting priorities and committing yourself to keeping them. I made the choice again and again to make my goal instead of sleeping or relaxing or trying to attack some of my huge pile of work from home.

I'll get this writer thing down yet.

Writing Challenge 2017 Begun

I'm still recovering from last week's backpacking trip, but that's no excuse not to start up my writing challenge as planned. Monday night, after I had a chance to unwind a bit from work and eat dinner, I settled into my writing desk and stared for a few moments at the blank screen.

I had no idea what to write.

But I was determined, so it only took me a few minutes to remember that I had several story starts from the depth workshop that I could continue. I picked one at random, copied it into a new document and began to continue the story.

It did drag for a while, but by the time I had finished my 600, I actually wanted to keep going.

Tuesday I tried to think about getting started earlier, perhaps before work or during lunch, but that's not quite as easy as it sounds for me. I tend to be distracted in the morning and lazy during my lunch hour at work.

And so I was working hard to get the words finished before my 8pm 'get ready for bed' time rolled around. I did it, but it wasn't easy. I'm having to fight hard against critical voice on this story. I feel like I don't know where it's going or what it's doing. But I'll keep pushing and see what I can do with it today.

The start of a challenge is the hardest, because there's no momentum built up. Skipping a day doesn't feel like a big deal. Once I've got a few weeks under my belt, it will be easier to roll. And I've got a few more story starts to work with as well as the story that I had started just before the depth workshop to finish. I don't lack things to write, and I don't really lack time. I'm even ordering a new chair for my desk so I won't have the excuse that sitting at the current one makes my butt go numb.

Writing is important to me. Now is the time to make it a priority again.

Challenge Recap

From May 6 to September 1, I challenged myself to write fiction every day, with minimum word counts of 500 when I was home, 100 when I was backpacking and 250 for bumper days. In that goal, I succeeded. I wrote fiction every day, even when I was exhausted from backpacking. Even when my husband and I arrived at our campsite near sundown and I had to write by headlamp. Even when I felt sick and uninspired, tired from a long day at work, I wrote my words. 

I also challenged myself to write a short story almost every week. My goal was to complete 14 short stories, and 4 novel or novella length works. In that goal, I fell short, completing only 5 short stories, 1 microfiction and 2 longer works. That is, I believe, what Dean Wesley Smith calls failing to success, because without the challenge in place, I would have completed none of those works. 

I had a more vague goal about publication, and I'll put the blame for the lack of completion on the vagueness of the goal. I was so focused on writing that I didn't focus as much on publication or submission. As I transition into the fall, I'll put more energies in that direction. 

I also challenged myself to be accountable for my words, and in that I succeeded. I posted my words every day that I was home and posted recaps when I got back from my backpacking trips. 

Overall, I call the challenge a success. I finished a work that I'd started years ago; I created several new works of fiction. I proved to myself that I can make time for writing if I really want to. I wrote over 65,000 words during this challenge, and I have one more work that is still in progress. Because of this challenge, I'm committed to finishing it, to continue writing fiction every day and recording the word counts, if only for myself. 

This fall, I have a goal of completing my next Hike with Me book, which will get the bulk of my writing attention once I finish writing up the Chamberlain Basin hike I took with my husband. But I won't abandon fiction completely. I have a mighty streak of fiction writing, and I don't really want to break it. Writing fiction became easier as the weeks wore on. Where I struggled to complete my 500 in less than two hours in the first month, by the last month, I was able to finish that minimum in less than 30 minutes. Not something I want to lose. 

Although I'm pretty sure I annoyed my husband more than a few times this summer with my need to complete my words, I am glad to have started and finished this challenge. I may just do it again next year. 

Writing and Hiking

Ambrose is still working his way through my longer story. I guess I can forgive him, because he's helped me prepare for my solo trip instead of reading. And he did get started on it. But I really want to know his opinion.

I'm writing to entertain myself, but I'm also writing to entertain him. He's my first reader, and I trust his opinion. If he told me that I shouldn't publish something, then I wouldn't. If he tells me that I should, then it's going to go up, no matter how nervous I feel about it or what I think of the work.

I'm not creating as much work as I wanted to with my current challenge, but I am constantly creating. I'm writing way more than I would have without the challenge. Even though I spent a lot of time preparing for my solo trip in the couple weeks, I always made time for the fiction goal. Actually, I had to curb my fiction writing in order to make time for the solo prep.

When this posts, I'll be on that solo trip. The third day. The plan is that I'll be starting my shortest day of 11 miles toward Benedict Lake.

As I write this, I still feel nervous about the trip. It's hard to believe that I'm undertaking such a long trip on my own. When I've told co-workers about it, I've gotten reactions that vary from admiration to confusion.

But the central question is, why would you do that?

And I think that I do it to answer that question. The solo hike is the question, and undertaking it is the only way to find the answer.

The End Is Near

At least, I hope the end is near. I feel like the end is near. For my old story, the one I started a long time ago and am now powering on to a finish. I think.

I know that it's going to take practice, many stories and many attempts, to really know when a story is heading to its (hopefully) inevitable and (hopefully) satisfying conclusion. So it's good that I'm finishing this, however it turns out to be.

But my inner critic is trying to stop the process. Yelling as I write on about how the story isn't very good and the characters aren't consistent and the tone is all over the place and how do I expect anyone to believe anything that I've written? That voice is afraid, and I think it's because I'm close to finishing. Otherwise, why would that little voice in my head even care?

On the one hand, I'm really proud of keeping up with my fiction writing every day so far this summer. Even when backpacking, even with all the crazy exercising I'm doing and the work that never seems to end for my job, I'm getting those words in.

On the other hand, I'm only getting small amounts of words in every day. And my inner critic cries out at that low output with a condescending sneer. 'Oh, sure, you're writing every day, but you're hardly finishing anything and your stories grow at a snail's pace!'

And I do my best to ignore that voice and all its myriad complaints and I write on.

Because the end of the story is near.

Productivity

I haven't completed as many stories as I wanted to complete for this challenge so far. Part of that happened because the first story I started turned out to be much longer than I realized. More of a novelette than a short story. And that threw everything a bit off.

I also didn't expect that I had so much more to write about in the story I was finishing. It's gone well beyond short story and is rapidly approaching short novel length. I had no idea that there was so much more to write in that story. When I stopped writing on it, I was stuck. And, looking back, I think I was stuck because I was trying to take the story in a direction it didn't want to go. Once I let the story go in a different direction, the words started to flow.

I'm still going to try and write as many stories as I can during this challenge, but I don't think I'm going to make my original goal. But I've already written three stories and am working on two more, which is more than I would have if I hadn't been challenging myself. Failing to success, as Dean Wesley Smith says.

I've been more tired this summer than I expected. Backpacking, crossfit, pull up workouts, runs, busting my brains at my job and writing... all of it takes energy and time. And I also try to take time to be with my husband, to spend time talking with him and enjoying television shows and movies together. I'm making time for writing out of everything else, and sometimes that's hard, not because I don't want to write, but because I need sleep.

When this posts, I'll be out in the Sawtooth Wilderness, probably sleeping late after an attempt at Plummer Peak. Or getting up early for the attempt, it will depend on how many days we take to get to our base camp on Everly Lake. And I'll have my 100 words to write, maybe on another new story because it's harder to keep track of the stories that I've been writing on my computer when I'm out there.

After all, I'm still going strong with my commitment to finish the stories that I've started, so the more I start, the more I should finish.

Writing On

I am doing well on the words part of my challenge. I have built up a streak and I'm sticking to it. I'm nowhere near the production I wanted so far, but I've gotten a lot farther on the old, unfinished story than I thought I would. I thought it would end quickly after the place I had initially stopped, but it just keeps rolling along. What I thought was going to be the ending wasn't the ending after all. And I feel like I'm almost too committed to finishing it to start on another story.

I do want to start another story, even if it's another short one. Not only will that improve my production overall, but it can help me keep moving forward with the other story. I like being able to play with whichever one I feel best about on any given day, rather than having only one work in progress that I must produce 500 words for. And, I also like being able to settle into a different character for a change of pace. The differences help remind me who I'm writing and how they would think and speak.

My accountability goal is also going well. I'm posting once for every night I spend at home, with the nights I'm not at home recorded and posted with the first night back. That's not a problem at all, except for that one night that I thought I'd hit publish but it didn't acknowledge the button push and I had to backdate it. Still, that was a software issue. I had the post ready and every intention to publish the night of.

I told someone at work the other day that I'm writing fiction. This person only knew that I was writing non-fiction, specifically, the backpacking books. They were quite eager to read my stories, being, as they said, an avid and nonjudgmental reader. On the one hand, having another person to read through what I've written could be quite helpful. On the other hand, I have to work with this person and I'd hate for them to lose esteem for me based on either subject matter or perceived skill. I still lack confidence about my fiction, partly because I've never sold anything.

So I will keep writing, keep reading, keep practicing and get better. But I don't know if it will ever be any easier to point acquaintances to my writing with the expectation that they could, if they like the style, enjoy it.

Roughing the Writing Challenge

Over Memorial Day weekend, I kept up with my writing streak despite being camped out. But car camping is not the same thing as backpacking. For that weekend, I used my phone to type up my words. Those words were automatically counted for me. And I had plenty of time on my hands to get it done.

Last weekend, then, was the true test of how I would do with keeping up my writing streak on a backpacking trip.

I packed four sheets of blank, unlined paper in a quart plastic bag and a mechanical pencil in the top of my pack. I had to be careful about where I put the mechanical pencil, because it's sharp and pointy and I don't want it tearing anything. Since this was a short trip, I also took my Kindle, not only for the purpose of reading a book when I had time, but also because it serves as an excellent surface to write on.

I got my words written in the evenings on this trip, laying down on my stomach in the tent and alternately writing and counting my words. I chose to go a little over 100 at a minimum so I wouldn't have to worry about counting the words in my chicken scratch handwriting with complete certainty.

I was correct in thinking that I would be tired at the end of the day and might not want to write, but the streak is keeping me motivated. I did my writing before the sun went down each night, but we were done for the day before six in the evening each night.

The second night, I wrote over 200 words and could have kept going, but every word I wrote out there would need to be transcribed, and that's not my favorite thing to do. Plus, I reached the end of a chapter I didn't know which chapter number came next. That's a good excuse, right?

I'm not keeping up on my production goals when it comes to writing a short story a week, but I didn't realize how long that first new story was going to be. I'm hoping the new new story will be shorter so I can start adding up some finished works.

The Streak Continues

My writing challenge has withstood the pressures of car camping! I wrote my minimum number of words for being in the woods each day I was out, and I'm happy about that. 

But I also know I could have written more. I could have spent more time creating words instead of relaxing and absorbing the sights around me. I could have spent more time writing than reading. 

And yet, I'm happy that I didn't. I spent a lot of time reading, a lot of time sitting and listening to the river. I spent a bit too much time worried about our neighbors who had a tendency to disturb my peace with gunfire and loud music. 

I didn't spend as much time as I could on writing, because the point of being out there is not to work on words. The point of being out there is to recharge. To listen to the woods, and the river and mull over what's happening in my stories without actually writing them. 

I set these low minimums for a reason. I want to make sure that I don't feel like writing is a chore, because it's fun. But I do want to make sure that writing gets done - hence setting goals. It's a balance. I like writing, but I like a lot of things, and each one takes time. My challenge helps me make sure that some of time goes to writing every single day. 

So far, mission accomplished. 

Writing Challenge Challenge

This weekend will be my first camping trip of the season. Car camping, which means I have a few more options for how I will get my writing done, but still. I'm going to be out in the woods, where there are lots of things to distract me from writing.

My husband and I plan to practice some survival skills, including trying to make fire with a bow and spindle, setting a snare and foraging for morel mushrooms. Well, the mushroom foraging isn't really survival, but if we find any it should be delicious.

We'll do some day hiking to see how the water levels are on our regular trails. I might finally hike over to explore the hot springs that are supposed to be near our campsite.

But the biggest distraction is just going to be being out there in the woods. The air is different there; time runs on a different clock. I will focus and get my 100 words each day I'm out there, though there's no way I'll be able to post blogs on it from Saturday through Tuesday. My version of camping does not include wifi.

With it being car camping, I hope to do my words on my phone. It won't have signal, but I've set it up to access my documents offline. That will help me with the challenges of counting my handwritten words and then transcribing my "unique" handwriting when I get home.

I'm glad I started the streak before my camping season came into full swing. The pressure of keeping up the streak should be helpful in getting my words on the page. I'll just need to remind my husband how important it is for me to take time away from onerous camp chores for my writing.

So Far So Good

Five days into my challenge and I've met or exceeded my 500 word goal each day. The backpacking season hasn't started yet, so I haven't had any 100 word days, but those days will come soon enough.

The story I started this week is one that I've had in my head for a while, but never started writing. And then I had a different story that I had started but never finished that I'm also working on.

I like writing more than one story at a time. When one isn't flowing, I can switch to the other and get something going. Once I'm in a story mode, it's easier to get back to the one I was stuck on and figure out which words come next.

I'm thinking about starting a third story for this week, because I don't think the one I started is going to be finished by Thursday. It feels longer than that. The solution would be to write a flash fiction piece tonight so that I have something completed for the week. I enjoyed the micro fiction exercises in my last class, so I could go even shorter. I'll probably go for between 500 and 1000 words unless I feel like my first story is getting close to ending.

My main issue so far in maintaining this has been being tired. When I'm tired, I don't want to write and I get whiny. Having the "deadline" of getting my 500 words in has helped me get past the "I don't wanna" feeling and just get it done.

The streak aspect helps, too, and I know it will only help more as it grows. If I don't want to break a 3 or 4 day streak, I definitely won't want to break a longer one.