Wow. Is it really the first Wednesday of the month already? Time sure is slippery that way.
Anyway, it's time once again for the monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Our esteemed leader is none other than Alex J. Cavanaugh. His minions for this month are Julie Flanders, Heather Gardner, Kim Van Sickler, and Elsie is Writing.
Also, feel free to swing by the IWSG website!
A quick note: The IWSG posting for January 2014 will be on January 8th. Yes, that's the second Wednesday of next month, but since the first Wednesday is New Years Day, we may all be too busy recovering from our celebrations to post and visit one another. Besides, ninjas need days off too. Being stealthy isn't as easy as it appears.
Anyway, my insecurity this month has to do with goals. Specifically, with such a busy month in which I will be celebrating Christmas and New Years (and shopping for these festive occasions), how should I set goals for myself? If I set a daily goal, I may feel bad when I have a day where I simply can't get any writing done. And let's face it, December is a month where that's bound to happen. A weekly goal may be more doable. Or perhaps a goal for the month as a whole will work best. Then again, I may not feel motivated enough if I have a whole month to get it done, and by the time Christmas rolls around, I'll be kicking myself for not being more demanding of myself.
Or perhaps I shouldn't worry about it at all. Maybe I should do what I can with my writing and not be too hard on myself this month. After all, there's already going to be plenty of holiday stress as it is.
What do you think? What are your writing goals for this month? How are they impacted by this busy time of year? Do I sound crazy in my insecure ramblings?
A busy time of year indeed. I think I would go with the flow as far as writing is concerned and not set myself too many goals for the month. There's always the New Year to steam ahead in. That's how I'm playing it anyway. Hope you have loads of festive fun.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's a bit easier because I live alone, so I have a lot of time to myself (which I love!). I do still have the family commitments during certain times of year (including December, natch), but for the most part it's probably going to be business as usual for me. And yet I do have a very busy time at work right up till I go on holidays (for a little less than 2 weeks), and then I'll be back at work again in early Jan to keep on being super busy.
ReplyDeleteBut my evenings should largely be my own during December, except for Christmas and a few b'day exceptions.
My goal for Dec is to get my novella rewritten entirely in past tense, at the very least. Shouldn't be too hard to achieve. But I guess it all depends on how slack I let myself get.
Good luck with your December goals!
Writing goals for me are done on a daily basis. I can't really plan much more than that. So when I have my daily schedule I look at it and decide what I will realistically be able to do that day. Fortunately I'm ahead of schedule so I'm not under the wire with a writing contract so I can afford to be a bit lax about getting words down.
ReplyDeleteI think the only month long goal is to get my book edited.
Good luck with your goals!
I'm with you! On busy months I like to set an overall monthly goal and then weekly sub-goals to help me get there. And my goals are definitely smaller so they are more likely to be achieved. And if I am able to do more than I thought--BONUS! I feel great!
ReplyDeleteHope you are able to set a realistic goal for the month and achieve it!
December IWSG co-host
I'm not setting any writing goals for this month, I'm just going to do what I can.
ReplyDeleteHappy December! I wrote about goals in my IWSG post today, too. For me, the best writing goal is just this:
ReplyDeleteWrite something. When you can. As often as you can. But just write something.
Whatever your goal, Ihope you achieve it and also have a wonderful month!
I was just trying to come up with a plan myself. December is the busiest of months and I have lots of revisions and writing to get done apart from the shopping, decorating, wrapping, card-writing, etc. I might as well drop everything and open a bottle of wine, seems like the best plan all around lol
ReplyDeleteMaybe one or two weekly goals would work? Then you would feel like you accomplished something without the time to procrastinate not doing it.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, being stealthy isn't easy...
I have some goals for December, but I've made myself a promise with them. I'll do what I can, but if they aren't finished by December 19th, then they can wait until after the new year. I'm taking some time off from the day job then, so I want to enjoy my vacation and relax and read and not stress about writing/editing not getting done.
ReplyDeleteMy personal philosophy - We do what we do, and whatever didn't quite get done on the list, wasn't meant to.
ReplyDeleteNot crazy-- committed. Wait, that didn't come out right! Planning goals and working to follow through with them during crazy/busy times is great. Don't beat yourself up. Forward progress is forward progress. And if you don't make any, sometimes your mind and body need a break to be more productive when you start again.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I did have to laugh. I can so relate - I tend to think/talk myself in circles sometimes. I'm with Ava, though; goals are good and necessary, but in such a busy time, don't kill yourself if you can't finish them. Do the best you can, and accept that it's enough :)
ReplyDelete