Are You Writing Challenged?

Author Alison Kent is running a 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge between now (it officially started July 8th, but you have until July 13th to sign up, because she is allowing five extra days between July 11th and 15th for those attending RWA in Dallas) and September 20th. The goal is to write between 4 and 6 pages per day, 7 days a week, to produce the first draft of a full-length novel by the last day. It's great for those of us who might need a little push. I enjoy participating in NaNoWriMo, but that's just one month out of 12. My goal is to learn to produce faster. I already have the discipline, but I need some speed. I've got too many stories I want to write.

Here's the link: http://www.alisonkent.com/blog/

Good luck!

4 comments:

Gwyneth Bolton said...

Hmm... I need something like this. (Either that or I just need to focus and sit my butt in front of the computer.) I might have to look into it.

Gwyneth

bettye griffin said...

People are signing up by the dozens! I think it's a great idea.

Of course, the best laid plains . . .

Donna D said...

Hmmm... I need a way to find time to put down 6 or 7 pages.

If you haven't done it, check out Walter Mosley's new book, "This Year You Write Your Novel." In it, he says that every writer must write for a minimum of 90 minutes every day. If you do that, you should have a first draft in 3 months. I don't know how you do that; does he count the time you have to type what you've written?

I write longhand and I write in spurts and after I'm done, I have to go back and figure how what I've written goes in the story. I admire writers who can get more than one novel written in a year.

I'll check out the blog and see what's up.

bettye griffin said...

Donna,
You might find that you save some time by taking a few minutes before you sit down to write to decide where you will begin and how it fits in. For example, if you write after cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, while you're loading the dishwasher/washing dishes, putting food away, wiping down counters, etc., think ahead. Getting your thoughts organized might save you considerable time in the long run.

Bettye