Progress Bar from Writertopia
METRICS
New Words: 248
Total words for the first draft: 2119 – 253 = 1866
What I hate about my writing: I was pretty sure I had 30 minutes when I sat down to write, so how come it ended up only being 15?
I’ve had good success with the Bedtime Help program on the computer (with the exception of every time Windows 7 shuts off, I have to remind it that yes this program can run as administrator despite all the checkmarks saying it can run as administrator), so I’m looking for an alarm clock that I can program with multiple daily alarms (12 would be nice but no less than 8) to remind me that it’s time for a different morning task. Right now, I have no idea if I haven’t allotted enough time for the tasks or if I’m dawdling.
The Good: The draft that is been handwritten is moving along briskly. I finally got to Solair’s plan in action. Typing is suffering because of poor use of time available. I’m afraid I will have to be blunt with Mom and tell her I have to go home at 6 p.m. because I’m going to bed at 8:30pm and I need the whole two and a half hours to finish daily chores.
The Bad: Is Solair’s creepy stalker factor coming through? Irida is not terrified of him, but at the same time he makes edgy and she’d rather not have anything to do with him. Only he keeps worming his way in without tripping off character’s alarm bells, but I want the readers to see past that and be concerned.
Fave line: “This moment, I am bleeding, Solair!”
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing everything as a cohesive whole, so I can see if it works or not.
What I'm not looking forward to: Creating the Erochian language. I never seem to have a good time to just stop and do that (plus finish Ttiik that I started to learn the instructions). Fear is latching onto that task to stop progress, but I’m not going to let it. Even if I have to seclude myself on Saturday with only Creating a Language and blank pages.
Other Notes: I wrote for 30minutes on Monday (the only day I got up at 3:30 on the dot too). Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday have all equaled 15—mainly due to getting out of bed late and I can’t wear my nightgown to work. But I’m not sure about the dawdling, hence looking for a computer alarm clock.
Monday: typed 492 words and would have had more if Mom hadn’t talked my ear off at supper. Tuesday: never had time to type at work and got home late running errands. Wednesday: 248 typed because I got distracted at work and didn’t have enough time before bedtime to get to 500.
Notebook Composing vs. Computer Composing: Granted with my free time in last Thursday’s class, I jumped ahead to the scene of the fight in the restaurant, which was clear enough in my head to start without notes. All notebook writing since has been from this scene. I sit down and write into the scene immediately, no warm up necessary. Writing time hasn’t been wasted staring at a blank page.
Composing on the computer screen takes much longer. More time staring and rereading and fighting the urge to get out of the seat and do anything else. That urge is non-existent with the notebook and if I have material ready to type.
This is not the first time I’ve made these observations, but the last time I did I thought I could change my habits to be a more productive and therefore more professional writer. Judging by last year’s proof of nothing getting written for days on end, I’m doing more harm to my end goal.
I’ve been a writer since I was eleven-years-old. Since 1988, I have been scribbling stories on any paper on my person at any time. In high school, I recycled the paper I used for class note-taking by crossing out the material and writing the story around it so my parents wouldn’t have to spend money to buy extra paper just for me. Once we got a computer, I typed the stories so others could read them, editing as I went to the second draft.
In college, I shifted some writing to computer first because of deadlines, but it never felt right, like I was skipping a step and the papers were less thought-out than they should be. My studies of the writing craft led to realizing lots of writers compose on the computer, so I attempted to undo 22 years of habit formation.
It’s not the first bone-headed move I’ve ever made and it won’t be the last.
So where do I stand now? Unless there is a pressing reason (deadline) not to, all first drafts will be handwritten in a notebook set aside for that story. Which will make the investment in a LightScribe pen less “oh cool toy” and more work related.
It’s easier to count what has been typed, so I may end up with some days of no progress but I can make notes on the spreadsheet of writing in longhand. I have a span of 32 days of neither but that’s only 9% of the year if I don’t add to it from now on. And I’ll probably end up doing what I’m doing now—typing what I’ve just finished writing.
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