The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 3

/ 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 308 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 2 Day 2 of NaNoWriMo 2020

/ JoHawkTheWriter

nano-2020-writer-

I’m afraid I got off to a slow writing start. Yesterday was a busy day. Still, I managed 798 words before I fell asleep in my chair. Better than a big fat goose egg.

Today, I forecast a more predictable day. I have scheduled two separate write-ins that should boost my productivity. The bonus — the muse whispered in my ear while I slept. She gave me a fabulous idea about what to write. How exciting.

Are you writing for NaNo?

How is Day 2 progressing?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Mastering Your Vision and Honing Your Unique Individual Artistic Perspective – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

winners-have-the-ability-to-step-back-from-the-canvas-of-their-lives-like-an-artist-gaining-perspective.-they-make-their-lives-a-work-of-art-an-individual-masterpiece.-denis-waitley

Have you heard this story?

Once upon a time, a traveler encountered three stonemasons laboring in the hot sun. Coming to the first stonemason, the traveler asked what he was making. Annoyed, the young man paused in his task, wiped his sweaty brow, and explained in a gruff voice that he was working in the blistering heat, carving stones. The traveler nodded and moved onward.

Reaching the second stonemason and still curious, he questioned him about what he was doing. The man laid down his tools and replied that he was shaping the massive stones required for a foundation, and later he would make the blocks needed to form walls. The traveler thanked him for his response and continued along the path.

Further along the trail, the traveler met the third stonemason. This third mason focused deeply on his work, but the traveler relayed his question once more. The mason chisel continued to ring with each strike of his hammer, following a line invisible to the traveler’s eye. When he reached his stopping point, the mason turned and smiled at the traveler. “I’m glad you inquired. Please let me show you,” he said before leading the way to a busy construction site. He gestured, throwing his arms wide, and exuberantly detailed every aspect of the magnificent cathedral he was building.

What is your daily work’s purpose?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 2

/ 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 307 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

Planning Your NaNo Project Without a Plan – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

the-month-of-november-makes-me-feel-that-life-is-passing-more-quickly.-in-an-effort-to-slow-it-down-i-try-to-fill-the-hours-more-meaningfully.-henry-rollins

November 1 is the kickoff to National Novel Writing Month. Once more, authors and wannabes pledge to write 50,000 words. Why wouldn’t I succumb to temptation? Despite lacking a specific story idea, an outline, and no clue for the main character, I am all in. I am committed to composing 1,667 daily words. I am embracing full pantsing mode and working without a net. But it doesn’t mean I lack a strategy for winning.

I discovered Reverse NaNo. This format front-loads the word count, seizing the excitement inherent at the start of a new project. Day One requires 3,346 words with falling requirements on successive days. By November 15, the halfway point, I have fewer than the prescribed minimum to add. On the thirtieth, I need a single word to achieve the goal. The second tactic I am adopting is banishing my inner critic and revoking her permission to intervene. Editing comes later, and I want to capitalize on the joy of exploring the story in my head.

I am very excited about this method and eager to try it. Life drama intervened last year, leaving me with random days where I couldn’t reach my target. Making up a missed day was difficult. But this approach, with a declining word count, should make staying even feel less daunting. I’m planning a good night’s sleep before hitting the keyboard.

Are you taking part in NaNo?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – November 1

/ 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 306 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

Happy Halloween

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Happy Halloween

When black cats prowl and pumpkins shine,
When shivery shivers run down your spine,
When ghosts and goblins ring the chime,
Beware and be scared – it’s Halloween time!

Wishing you a spooktacular Halloween!

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Finding Happiness in A Surprise Butterfly Encounter — Daily Quote 

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

happiness-is-a-butterfly-which-when-pursued-is-always-just-beyond-your-grasp-but-which-if-you-will-sit-down-quietly-may-alight-upon-you.nathaniel-hawthorne

It is astonishing how much everything can change in a matter of one week. Last weekend I started work on my fall cleanup projects in the garden. Purple flowers covered the chrysanthemums I had planted in my front border. Those stunning blossoms attracted not only my attention but also the interest of at least a dozen bees and a single gorgeous Monarch butterfly.

Afraid to move, and scarcely daring to breathe, I stood transfixed. I didn’t want to scare him away, but he didn’t seem to notice me. Oblivious, he stayed focus on his task of gathering the precious bits of sweetness from the yellow flower center. Monarchs migrate to Mexico each autumn, traveling thousands of miles to escape killing frost, so he would need every ounce of energy he could glean from the nectar.

The forecast predicted freezing temperatures and snow mid-week, and my mums are proof of the ravages inflicted by wintry nights. Frost has a way of sapping the brilliant fall colors I cherish, and this weekend my thoughts return to my incredible butterfly encounter. Did my chrysanthemums provide the weary traveler with adequate sustenance to sustain him? Did he fly far enough, fast enough? I will imagine the next monarch I see is the grandchild of my friend, and I am making plans to plant more flowers in anticipation of their arrival.

Has a surprise encounter made you happy?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – October 31

/ 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 305 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