Did you know that the trials we go through as writers are not exclusive to us? When I say us, I am meaning writers collectively. Writers block for example, happens to everybody in every walk of life, it just prevents them from doing something they have a wish to achieve. It’s like an artists walking round and round the canvas but just not knowing where to place that first brush stroke.
A broader example could be editing. The art of editing is knowing when to stop. Something most of us are terrible at. When I cook, I always add one too many ingredients, and when I am in my garden, I am too impatient for the plants to grow and fill the space that they need. I don’t have a burning desire to be a chef, nor do I wish to become a landscape architect, so for me, these examples are quirky parts of my personality, rather than with my writing, something that needs to be perfected.
See if this was in my garden, those poor flowers would be struggling to grow as I would have got bored and planted some ground coverage plants to cover the soil through the winter months. Oh, and yeah, I swiped the picture.
This perfection however, takes time and patience. It can never come over night, and getting beyond the downs, which inevitably visit us more often than the ups, is a major hurdle. Sometimes it just makes us drag our feet, sometimes we just want to quit. Sometimes we just need someone to say, ‘look how far you have come, you can do this.’
But who knows the distance you have travelled, if you have never shared it?
So, I have a proposal.
Why don’t we each set up a page/category on our blog. Within this we shall set our goal, whether that be complete a novel, or set up a new business. Whatever, it has to be the one thing that you plan to dedicate your time to weekly. Then, at the end of each week, we can write our own achievement for that week. For us writers it could be our completed word count, a plot schedule…maybe sum it up in just a couple of sentences, maybe more if we wish.
OK, so it isn’t much. It’s not a proposal that will change the world as we know it forever. What it does do is make us accountable for the passing weeks. I know how many words I can write in an or so, but I never keep track of how often I actually sit down and do a dedicated writing slot. As a result, some weeks I blitz my writing, other times several weeks can pass without adding content but I still have it in my mind that I have done something. Let’s prove it to ourselves more than anything that we are being proactive in our goals.
I know most of us write within our regular posts where we are at, but as I was reminded by a certain Laney last week, we should be creating an author profile, we should be discussing more than our WIP. Setting a dedicated slot to an update, should hopefully free up blog time for other topics. It will also mean that at any given time we can all refer to how well our fellow bloggers are doing, and be able to give them feedback, help, advice, encouragement as and when it is required. Likewise, I am sure many of you are the same as me, you see someone elses achievement and it spurs you on.
This is not something that is exclusive for WIP’s. It shall be anything you want. So what do you think? Is this an idea that is worth pursuing? What can we do to improve the basics behind this? I figured a blogroll for all participants would be a good addition also. Come on, let’s do something. What do you think, can you get inspired by keeping up to date with everyone’s weekly achievements?
Elena Ransley 
Interesting. I usually end up writing based on what I feel, I don’t think I could write to specific time slots, would make me a bit crazy!
On reflection I think it contributed to my slump, however, I have no goals and not even thinking about content at this time. Big sigh, I am really falling behind on everything at the moment.
The thing is, even though you may be “falling behind”, it’s just because you have set goals for yourself that are just a bit too difficult. Let your writing go with the flow and you will get back into it in no time!
Wise words!
Setting weekly achievements is, I think, a good idea. So often the things we want to get done end up lost in the shuffle of life, or eaten by random Facebook games, that having a hard goal might be the thing that gets us through. And I know I always feel more energized when talking to other people about my writing. Or even their projects. Creative energy builds on itself. So, let’s build a giant ball of creative energy and get some amazing things done.
That’s what I’m thinking. You don’t have to commit to a certain word count, just make a promise that by the end of each week you can say I achieved this…
I realise this idea sits along the same lines as #LifeListClub. That involves making a twelve month goal list. on the surface they appear to be the same thing but its not, this idea just allows us to chart our own progress, but with the commitment of sharing. First things first though we need a name for this ‘experiment’.