Writing Lessons

Two years ago, I learned that if I wrote every day, I could finish a novel. It was insane, took place in November, and I wrote 50,051 words for my first NaNoWriMo.org novel in thirty days. I loved it. I overcame the obstacle that always stood in my way before: sticking to a writing schedule and not giving up half way through.

Along the way I've ran into some great advice, forums and fellow writers, but this post by The Writing Life re-energized that same feeling.

Writing comes first. It's based on an article by Lazette Gifford entitled "The Writing Comes First Campaign". The bare bones idea is set a goal and stick to it. Just like I learned I could do with NaNo.

Word counts, page quotas, tracking in Excel all work for me. But to make it sweeter, I found someone else willing to do the same, motivated by a monthly meeting involving chocolate cake. This year, each of us completed a first draft of a novel and are on to the editing stage of said novels. I want to have something to query by the start of next year. I've found a couple of markets to submit short stories to and earn some publishing credits.

But it all started with a daily writing goal.

What's your life's passion and goal for achieving it?