Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, Jan 25 2016
Flogging will (not) continue.
2016 is proving to be the year of creative bursts when it comes to writing. I don't plan 8,000 words a day, every day, come rain or shine, health or food poisoning. That's too degrading, much like teachers resorting to assigning minimum-word reports so that students don't turn in four fluffy sentences with genuine expectation of a high grade. The teachers don't like making it a number-of-words goal and neither do the students. And when the school year is over, both sides come away with a negative attitude toward the beautiful craft of writing.
This year is the year of firm, short-term writing goals. My long-range plan may be out there somewhere, but I'd rather get there in bursts of genuine creativity than through long sessions where I plough through resently and end up compromising on quality. The goals I set for a day will be attainable amd reasonable. Rather than looking unsurmountable from the beginning, they'll be brief, measurable, enervating and even exciting. If I continue beyond that day's goal I'll at least stop before I feel bogged down, so that the next day's writing session will be one where I'm drawn in immediately and fully engaged in fun.
I learned from putting away money in savings that the deposits are not the marathon. And the marathon is not attained by constant pounding that wears down joints and connective tissue, at least in my case. The daily choices to put cheerfully and mindfully into the bank are what help me to stay excited. I put in a bit more than I think is comfortable, but not so much that I lose the excitement of it all. I don't push to the point of burning out and losing sight of attaining the long-term goal.
posted at: 11:16 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
2016 is proving to be the year of creative bursts when it comes to writing. I don't plan 8,000 words a day, every day, come rain or shine, health or food poisoning. That's too degrading, much like teachers resorting to assigning minimum-word reports so that students don't turn in four fluffy sentences with genuine expectation of a high grade. The teachers don't like making it a number-of-words goal and neither do the students. And when the school year is over, both sides come away with a negative attitude toward the beautiful craft of writing.
This year is the year of firm, short-term writing goals. My long-range plan may be out there somewhere, but I'd rather get there in bursts of genuine creativity than through long sessions where I plough through resently and end up compromising on quality. The goals I set for a day will be attainable amd reasonable. Rather than looking unsurmountable from the beginning, they'll be brief, measurable, enervating and even exciting. If I continue beyond that day's goal I'll at least stop before I feel bogged down, so that the next day's writing session will be one where I'm drawn in immediately and fully engaged in fun.
I learned from putting away money in savings that the deposits are not the marathon. And the marathon is not attained by constant pounding that wears down joints and connective tissue, at least in my case. The daily choices to put cheerfully and mindfully into the bank are what help me to stay excited. I put in a bit more than I think is comfortable, but not so much that I lose the excitement of it all. I don't push to the point of burning out and losing sight of attaining the long-term goal.
posted at: 11:16 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry