New Week, New Determination
Jul. 26th, 2009 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinanjuAs my loyal readers will no doubt remember, I got two short story rejections yesterday in the mail. I've just submitted them (electronically this time) to a new market. So I've got all my completed tales in circulation again. Yay! Go me!
Alas, there is a distinct lack of new material from me so far this month--only one new story.
I discussed this with my lovely and talented (and oh so supportive) wife and we brainstormed on ways to be more productive. One of them is: exercise. I need to do some aerobic exercise every day, no matter whether I feel like it or not. It invariably makes me feel more alert, and does my body good even if that weren't the case. And it gives me some time away from the house and/or my computer when I can just let my brain fool around with ideas.
I'm also going to schedule some daily time for brainstorming and plotting and editing in addition to my actual writing time. I often neglect that, feeling like I ought to be writing. But I think having some better idea of what stories I want to tell will help with that. Sitting down and just writing whatever comes into my head works sometimes. But not always.
Dean Wesley Smith relays the legend that Isaac Asimov (a model for prolificity if ever there was one) had four typewriters, with a story in progress on each one. If he got stuck on one story he'd just move to the next one and kept pounding away on the keys. Dean suggests having at least two stories in mind, one story and a backup for the same reason. I think I want to have more than that. Three, maybe four. I won't be actively working on all of them, but having a "to do" list will help, I think.
I'm also going to vary my routine. Maybe editing/plotting in the morning and writing in the afternoon will work better. Or vice versa. Maybe alternating activities hourly. Maybe writing for a while, then going out for a walk/run and then writing some more. It's an experiment! Further announcements as events warrant!
My goal for this week: finish a goddamn story and get it out the door by the end of the week/month!
In other news--it's bloody HOT around here! Temps are supposed to hover around 100 all week! I'm uncomfortable, but I grew up and lived on the east coast til I was in my early thirties. I can endure the heat and humidity even if I don't like it. My lovely and talented wife doesn't handle it as well. So we'll be on red alert this week to keep her as cool and comfortable as possible. Which means air conditioning, lots of water, handling most of the chores--especially things that involve going out into the heat, like going shopping and so forth.
Words Written Today: None
Words Written YTD (since May 1): 96,751
Stories in Circulation: 8--I'm back on the horse!
Rejections: 7
Stories Accepted: ONE!
Alas, there is a distinct lack of new material from me so far this month--only one new story.
I discussed this with my lovely and talented (and oh so supportive) wife and we brainstormed on ways to be more productive. One of them is: exercise. I need to do some aerobic exercise every day, no matter whether I feel like it or not. It invariably makes me feel more alert, and does my body good even if that weren't the case. And it gives me some time away from the house and/or my computer when I can just let my brain fool around with ideas.
I'm also going to schedule some daily time for brainstorming and plotting and editing in addition to my actual writing time. I often neglect that, feeling like I ought to be writing. But I think having some better idea of what stories I want to tell will help with that. Sitting down and just writing whatever comes into my head works sometimes. But not always.
Dean Wesley Smith relays the legend that Isaac Asimov (a model for prolificity if ever there was one) had four typewriters, with a story in progress on each one. If he got stuck on one story he'd just move to the next one and kept pounding away on the keys. Dean suggests having at least two stories in mind, one story and a backup for the same reason. I think I want to have more than that. Three, maybe four. I won't be actively working on all of them, but having a "to do" list will help, I think.
I'm also going to vary my routine. Maybe editing/plotting in the morning and writing in the afternoon will work better. Or vice versa. Maybe alternating activities hourly. Maybe writing for a while, then going out for a walk/run and then writing some more. It's an experiment! Further announcements as events warrant!
My goal for this week: finish a goddamn story and get it out the door by the end of the week/month!
In other news--it's bloody HOT around here! Temps are supposed to hover around 100 all week! I'm uncomfortable, but I grew up and lived on the east coast til I was in my early thirties. I can endure the heat and humidity even if I don't like it. My lovely and talented wife doesn't handle it as well. So we'll be on red alert this week to keep her as cool and comfortable as possible. Which means air conditioning, lots of water, handling most of the chores--especially things that involve going out into the heat, like going shopping and so forth.
Words Written Today: None
Words Written YTD (since May 1): 96,751
Stories in Circulation: 8--I'm back on the horse!
Rejections: 7
Stories Accepted: ONE!
