I mentioned in my last post (and I'm sure I've mentioned in many previous posts) that I am working a lot harder to get writing out into the world. I'd like to have a book published by the end of the year or early next year. This may be a little ambitious but I think I've got a handle on it for at least a while. I have about four months to really buckle down and get stuff done.

What I never expect to be a hurdle (but somehow always is) is that I have a hard time with keeping a writing schedule. Part of the issue is always my work schedule. I have a variable work schedule which is nice because it keeps things fresh but it's also annoying at times because it's harder to plan things. Specifically, planning to do things at the same time each day, which is really common writing advice: to write at the same time each day. I like my work schedule just fine, but what one thing it means for me is that I need to work on writing in larger chunks of time rather than trying to write a little every day.

Earlier this week I had a whole day off without any major plans. So I took the opportunity to sit down and write a good chunk of my story. I made a very unrealistic goal of writing 10,000 words in this story in the course of one week. That's not actually that many words, if we're being real. I write just under a thousand words for this blog each week and that's not too bad for me. 10,000 words in seven days is roughly 1,500 words per day. But I made the goal on Monday so I was already a day behind. But I was not deterred. If I want to be a serious author then I need to get this done.

I haven't sat down to write longer than an hour in quite a while. Life has been busy and I tend to let things get in my way. So when I sat down I was a little nervous I wouldn't be able to do it. My fears were unfounded though because I made it to 1,500 words without any issues. I wrote a few big chunks throughout the day so I still didn't sit down and write for hours straight but it's still a win for me. Like I said, I haven't done it in a while so even a smallish victory really matters.

I didn't make it to the 10,000 word goal for the week but I did get a lot farther than I thought I would. It made me think about the whole "writing schedule" thing again. In college, it felt like that was pushed on me a lot. It was really important that I have a consistent schedule for writing. But once I got out of school, got a job, had to deal with a lot of other responsibilities, I realized that it's not that realistic. If I had a regular 9-5 job then maybe I could create a strong schedule, but I don't have that and I probably won't for a long time. Which is fine, but it means I need to rework the idea of a "schedule" in my mind.

My new plan is simple: just write. Write more on my days off but still write every day. It's a plan that makes sense and I think I've known for a long time it's what I needed to do. I hate how much I know what will work for me and I still don't do the things, you know? I know how I work and what I need to get done and how to make realistic goals for myself, yet I often just don't do the things necessary to accomplish my tasks. I make excuses or intentionally waste time instead of just getting things done.

The older I get, the more frustrating my own vices have become. I know this is a common problem, it's always that what you want to do, you can't get yourself to do, and what you don't want to do, you're always doing. Or something like that. The point is that I want to get things in order and write ten thousand words everyday, yet a spend hours on Youtube and choose to not get that done. I annoy myself with my complacency.

So, yet again, here's another post about me resolving to be better. Will I ever stop writing these posts every 8 months or so? Probably not. But hopefully each of these posts will show me growing closer to my goals anyway. It's not that I'm doing nothing it's just that I am not doing enough. But I'll get there.

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