I am a creature of habit. My writing routine may take place on mornings four days a week, but it switches to evenings the rest of the week. When I write in the evenings, I burn a candle (either Balsam Fir or Citrus Peel and Pine), open the windows so that the chill night air tickles the back of my neck, sip a cup of peppermint tea and delve deep into the forest. The last two evenings were spent at mom's house. Mom's are great. My mom is the best. She bought a Balsim Fir candle so that I can write when I visit her. How amazingly thoughtful is that? So I spent last night on her couch instead of my own, Balsim Fir candle filling the room with the scent of the forest and I wrote deep into the night. She even curled up on the love seat to keep me company and promptly fell asleep. Unlike my dog, my mom doesn't snore so she is a great writing companion. No distractions. I played around with my goal for the week. Rather than setting a word count, I set a story beat goal. I fell slightly short of that this week. I'm disappointed in myself because I have done this two weeks in a row. I know that I'm getting close to THE END. This is a scary thought. Part of me can't wait to get there! What an accomplishment to have written a book. Plus, there's the rewriting that I haven't been allowing myself. The deal was - write straight through with no editing. I will admit that I have made story notes here and there on things I want to change/add/spruce up, but I haven't allowed myself to spend hours on sections like I was tempted to. So I'm torn - scared of reaching "the end" and excited to get there so I can start the polishing. I have no idea what to set my goal at this week. I fell 100 words short the week before and only just solved the riddle in the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps this week the goal will simply be to continue writing. Write every day. That sounds like a good goal. My mom will be in town this weekend for Mother's Day but I'm sure she will fall asleep on my couch while I write away with my candle burning, sipping my peppermint tea. I can't think of a better way to end my day!
Happy writing, everyone! And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.
(Note: that's my wonderful mom with my adorable nephew!)
Your mom sounds wonderful! I love how she curls up on the couch just to be with you then falls asleep.
ReplyDeleteI love how your posts draw us into your world. And I want to hang out with you and your mom on the couch. ;)
ReplyDeleteLet's chat about this finishing-the-zero-draft phase. I feel I'm close, too. I have three big scenes, really, and then I'm done. How close are you? I'm really excited about starting the polishing phase. :) I think your goal of writing every day is extremely wise. Staying close to the story is so important, isn't it? I wonder how many excuses I can use for my lack of writing this week. Jay started a new job. My sister visited one evening. We had a tornado. :) I think these are all fine excuses for me to eat Butterfingers, watch The Big Bang Theory . . . and avoid writing. Ack! :)
Being close to the end and knowing where I'm going seems to have turned me into a bit of a slacker writing-wise! My goal is very much the same as yours, just keep writing daily. I am trying to write *the novel* daily but on the days when all I manage is character sketches of people I see on the bus/tube I'm not beating myself up. Nine times out of ten I'm getting a few hundred novel words at least and I'm creeping towards the end. Scary!
ReplyDeleteI'll reiterate here my reply to your comment on my last post: your kind words are appreciated, really, it's so nice to hear that my rambling little entires have struck a chord with you so thank you.
- Sophia.
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