The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 13

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 318 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?

My year-end countdown has begun, and what a wild ride 2020 has been. The adage says what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I’m not dead, yet therefore I must be tougher right? The question becomes — How much can I accomplish before we ring in the new year?

It all starts with a well-conceived strategy, and mine includes a master list of 100 activities to help me reach my annual writing goal. It may sound impossible, but many items are almost insignificant and require fewer than 15 minutes to finish. They are micro-actions, minor jobs that, while they are crucial, they are the ones I repeatedly push to tomorrow.

My new resolution is to stop multitasking and instead concentrate on finishing one task before starting another. I have dedicated a cute notebook to collect random thoughts that often distract me from my current job. I aim to eliminate some low-priority habits and devote my time to higher valued assignments. Each evening, I will organize tomorrow’s calendar and schedule my most important activity in the top slot of my To-Do list. I pledge to complete that job before doing anything else. It means moving my daily writing session from afternoons to first thing in the morning. Well, second after my coffee, of course. November and NaNoWriMo begin on Sunday, and I need to incorporate the challenge into my routine.

Will you participate in NaNo? Do you have a plan? What can you achieve in the next few weeks?

Let us know in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Place Your Problems in Your Pillow to Dream Amazing Solutions – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

metaphorically-speaking-of-course-if-i-put-a-problem-behind-my-pillow-and-fall-asleep-very-often-because-my-brain-went-to-sleep-with-that-idea-or-the-problem-alive-very-often-in-the-midd.p

Sometimes my schedule demands I write late at night. Exhausted, from twelve to eighteen hours of activity and ready for bed, creating a story can be challenging. I have adopted a new strategy to make even my midnight writing sessions productive. The trick is scheduling and planning and working while I slumber. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But the results are surprising. The last thing I do before I cuddle my pillow is to decide on the next piece. I may have a vague idea, or I might be clueless. It doesn’t matter. I only need a general direction.

Tired, yawning, and falling asleep, I assign the problem for my brain to solve. I tell it to conjure a story for the morning. Upon waking, I find a completely formed idea, with a beginning, middle, and satisfying end. I take notes if I feel compelled and hold it tight until my scheduled writing session. On other occasions, a seed has germinated in my sleep. Those ideas I nurture, forming more details throughout the day. Since I started my experiment, my nocturnal puzzle-solving sub-conscience has not disappointed me.

What writing tricks do you use?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 12

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 317 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?

My year-end countdown has begun, and what a wild ride 2020 has been. The adage says what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I’m not dead, yet therefore I must be tougher right? The question becomes — How much can I accomplish before we ring in the new year?

It all starts with a well-conceived strategy, and mine includes a master list of 100 activities to help me reach my annual writing goal. It may sound impossible, but many items are almost insignificant and require fewer than 15 minutes to finish. They are micro-actions, minor jobs that, while they are crucial, they are the ones I repeatedly push to tomorrow.

My new resolution is to stop multitasking and instead concentrate on finishing one task before starting another. I have dedicated a cute notebook to collect random thoughts that often distract me from my current job. I aim to eliminate some low-priority habits and devote my time to higher valued assignments. Each evening, I will organize tomorrow’s calendar and schedule my most important activity in the top slot of my To-Do list. I pledge to complete that job before doing anything else. It means moving my daily writing session from afternoons to first thing in the morning. Well, second after my coffee, of course. November and NaNoWriMo begin on Sunday, and I need to incorporate the challenge into my routine.

Will you participate in NaNo? Do you have a plan? What can you achieve in the next few weeks?

Let us know in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

November 11 Day 11 of NaNoWriMo 2020

/ JoHawkTheWriter

nano-2020-writer-

My house is full of workers. They crawl through every room like ants, scrambling to complete the remodeling project. Painters mud and sand walls until they are as smooth as glass, then they apply primer and the glorious coat of finish color. Installers place appliances in their designated space, and the electrician hangs pretty new fixtures with gleaming lights. Blue painter’s tape mark needed touch-ups, and we log them on the ever-changing punch list.

The goal is within reach, and their payday is around the corner. Motivation is at an all-time high. I answer questions, offer advice, and make last-minute decisions, which highjacks my focus. Projects have a natural ebb and flow. We race from expectant beginnings, lose steam at our dark mid-points until we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow, we will arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. I am stuck and distracted from my NaNo writing but wrapping up one project gives me the courage and the confidence to dream of other endings.

Are you writing for NaNo?

How is Day 11 progressing?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Fight, Recharge, and Live to Enter the Battle Again — Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

you-fail-only-if-you-stop-writing.-ray-bradbury

Some weeks are hard, but some would try Job’s patience. Every step is a struggle as you trudge forward. Nothing goes right, your bus doesn’t stop on Easy Street, hardships dog-piles on top of stress, and slumber is a long-forgotten dream. Failing, not reaching your stated target is demoralizing, painful, and an acid test of your determination.

I have no intention of succumbing to defeat, and I won’t wave the white flag. I won’t give up. Instead, I recommit to my goals, and I rewrite and rework my calendar. Sometimes, the best idea is to chuck your lists, find a quiet sanctuary, and realized it is okay to place self-care as your priority. Tonight, I plan to relax, recharge, and sleep like a baby. Tomorrow presents another chance to win.

Will you keep trying?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 11

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 316 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?

My year-end countdown has begun, and what a wild ride 2020 has been. The adage says what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I’m not dead, yet therefore I must be tougher right? The question becomes — How much can I accomplish before we ring in the new year?

It all starts with a well-conceived strategy, and mine includes a master list of 100 activities to help me reach my annual writing goal. It may sound impossible, but many items are almost insignificant and require fewer than 15 minutes to finish. They are micro-actions, minor jobs that, while they are crucial, they are the ones I repeatedly push to tomorrow.

My new resolution is to stop multitasking and instead concentrate on finishing one task before starting another. I have dedicated a cute notebook to collect random thoughts that often distract me from my current job. I aim to eliminate some low-priority habits and devote my time to higher valued assignments. Each evening, I will organize tomorrow’s calendar and schedule my most important activity in the top slot of my To-Do list. I pledge to complete that job before doing anything else. It means moving my daily writing session from afternoons to first thing in the morning. Well, second after my coffee, of course. November and NaNoWriMo begin on Sunday, and I need to incorporate the challenge into my routine.

Will you participate in NaNo? Do you have a plan? What can you achieve in the next few weeks?

Let us know in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Trials, Tribulations, Setbacks, and Ordeals Pave the Way to Your Hero’s Success – Daily Quote 

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

people-with-goals-succeed-because-they-know-where-theyre-going.-earl-nightingale

We plot, research, plan, schedule, outline, and create a roadmap we feel sure will guarantee a clear track to success. But even when we know the destination, the path can be circuitous. Detours, roadblocks, washouts, and fallen bridges block the direct route.

We find ourselves unprepared, short on supplies, lacking the right password, and despair threatens to consume the last of our resolve. The going is fraught with peril, and we scramble, attempting to discover alternate paths, devise a Plan B, and keep our eye on the ultimate prize. We cling to hope’s faint light and push forward.

Having goals is imperative. I compare the writer’s struggles to Joseph Campbell’s structure of the hero’s journey. The goal is set. We answer the Call to Adventure, travel the Road of Trials, descend into the Abyss, and experience the Supreme Ordeal. I realize the story isn’t complete, and everyone is waiting for our hero to prevail against all odds.

Where are you on your hero’s journey?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 10

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 315 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?

My year-end countdown has begun, and what a wild ride 2020 has been. The adage says what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I’m not dead, yet therefore I must be tougher right? The question becomes — How much can I accomplish before we ring in the new year?

It all starts with a well-conceived strategy, and mine includes a master list of 100 activities to help me reach my annual writing goal. It may sound impossible, but many items are almost insignificant and require fewer than 15 minutes to finish. They are micro-actions, minor jobs that, while they are crucial, they are the ones I repeatedly push to tomorrow.

My new resolution is to stop multitasking and instead concentrate on finishing one task before starting another. I have dedicated a cute notebook to collect random thoughts that often distract me from my current job. I aim to eliminate some low-priority habits and devote my time to higher valued assignments. Each evening, I will organize tomorrow’s calendar and schedule my most important activity in the top slot of my To-Do list. I pledge to complete that job before doing anything else. It means moving my daily writing session from afternoons to first thing in the morning. Well, second after my coffee, of course. November and NaNoWriMo begin on Sunday, and I need to incorporate the challenge into my routine.

Will you participate in NaNo? Do you have a plan? What can you achieve in the next few weeks?

Let us know in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer