Wednesday, August 8, 2012

#ROW80 - It's Always That First Word

I'm still in the midst of football two-a-days. That means I work for 13 hours, come home, and my brain is done. Only two more days with this crazy schedule though. Thursday represents the light at the end of the tunnel.

Considering how little free time I've had, I was actually able to squeeze in some decent work on the goals. Let's take a look:
  • Lesson Learned - I wrote a bit about passion and how I found some inspiration while watching the Olympics.
  • WIP Progress - Only finished 1 page. The weekend was busy, and I don't have time during the week. I was lucky to squeeze that one in. I knew this was going to be a fail this week, and it's bugging me, but I need to be patient. My schedule clears up after Thursday, and then I'll be back in the saddle.
  • Blogging - 3/3 on the gaming blog. 3/3 here. August just started, so I owe a new personal post, but there'll be plenty of time for that. I'm glad I hit this goal, because I wasn't expecting to.
  • Reading - Still working on The Wise Man's Fear. After I finish it, I'll need to catch up on some Writing Excuses podcasts. I like reclaiming as much of the "wasted" commute time as possible. Audiobooks and podcasts are a must.
The WIP is suffering, but I expected as much. And when I did get the chance to spend some time with it, I wrote (what I think is) a pretty good page. What's more, it was fun. Sometimes, I think I forget that writing is fun for me. That may sound odd, but when you're staring at the blank page at the start of a writing session, you know what I mean. Perhaps it's how folks feel right before they jump out of a plane. It's always that first word that seems hardest.

After that, things flow. The muse wakes up. Writing shifts from "work" to "fun," sometimes without me realizing it. At the end of the session, I find myself excited and smiling. I can't wait for the next session... right up until I remember that blinking cursor and blank screen. It's an odd sort of cycle.

Anyway, time to get back to work. Here are the word counts:

  • Since last check-in: 3,311
  • New Fiction: 348
  • Round 3 Total: 29,714

6 comments:

Lauralynn Elliott said...

Every time I sit down at the computer, that first word is hard. I don't know why that is, but it is.

I wouldn't worry too much about not getting many words written. You've been CRAZY busy, and there are only 24 hours in a day. Now if we didn't have to sleep....

Matt said...

I think not having to sleep is one of the big reasons that vampires intrigue me. Especially, you know, the vampire types that don't have to sleep. (I was never real thrilled with the prospect of being confined to a coffin during the daylight, hence why my vampires don't do that.)

Lee McAulay said...

I avoid the 'blank page blues' by leaving myself a Writer's Cliffhanger - I know what happens next, and I'm keen to write it, but I've done my wordcount for that session. So when I pick up the story during the next writing session I can get started straight away.
Otherwise my characters spend time discussing the weather and eating things (instead of making the story happen)!

Matt said...

That is a great trick. I try to employ it as well. The story doesn't always cooperate, but it is a good thing to aim for.

Also, sometimes eating things can be quite entertaining. :-)

Beth Camp said...

I'm a newbie on ROW80 and just found your site. Your marketing ideas are terrific. About that first word or even making a weekly goal,I just want to say that it doesn't matter if you have a crazy busy life or not, just keep writing something everyday. Even 25 words will feed the story. Of course, 300 is better or even 700 or more. But 300 a day = 3,000 in 10 days. And, yes, I jumped over to amazon and bought THE BINDER'S DAUGHTER. Can't wait to read it! Write on!

Matt said...

Awesome. Glad to have you along and hope you enjoy the book!

And yes, words do have that tendency to add up. That's one thing I love about ROW80. Looking back on prior goals, I have measurement marks telling how far I've come.

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