Saturday, July 4, 2009

Plugging Away...Daily

Momentum.

It's the single most important aspect of writing daily. Actual production ranks right up there, but momentum is what keeps you going and keeps you involved.

Even if you re-read the last scene you wrote yesterday and have only 15 minutes to write today, those extra sentences--or that paragraph or three--put your mind right back into your project and propel you forward. Even if what you wrote yesterday was garbage, and today's efforts just make the pile bigger, you're more in tune with what you shouldn't be doing--which is the first step toward figuring out what the heck you should be doing.

I wonder how YOU benefit from writing daily...

4 comments:

  1. I stay in tune with my characters personalities by writing daily. I'm also less likely to make plot mistakes when everything is fresh in my mind. The same with reading. When I put a book down for a few days, I need to refresh.

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  2. Writing - even when the Muse has deserted me - keeps me focused. I tend to have each scene occupying my thoughts until I finally write them down. My goal is at least 1 page a day.

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  3. I've been focused on blogs and handouts for an upcoming workshop on self-editing, so even though I've been writing daily, I've neglected the WIP. I'm starting to feel anxious, so I know I'm ready. Every day, right? Every day, write.

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  4. This is great advice. I first learned of this practice in a little mini book, Writing By The Bones, I'm not sure if I have the title correct. But I've tried to follow this routine, even if all I write is a snippet on the back of a grocery receipt (grin).

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