Comments on: Goals are Powerful Engines – If You Write Them http://writeabetternovel.net/goals-are-powerful-engines-%e2%80%93-if-you-write-them/ Practical wisdom for novelists and other storytellers Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:03:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bill Henderson http://writeabetternovel.net/goals-are-powerful-engines-%e2%80%93-if-you-write-them/comment-page-1/#comment-309 Bill Henderson Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:44:05 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1067#comment-309 Distraction is the enemy of goal oriented behavior, and many of the random disltractions come right out of the tool we use every day - the computer. When I get an email, I heard a prompt and see it ghost over the upper right side of my screen. Twitterfox pops up every new tweet. And on and on. Writer Cory Doctorow has gathered a few good, time tested principles for getting work done in a disciplined, goal-oriented way, despite all. Thanks and a tip o' the hat to Lisa Kenney, whose tweet (yeah, I know) pointed me toward Doctorow's post: http://tinyurl.com/8nSkox Distraction is the enemy of goal oriented behavior, and many of the random disltractions come right out of the tool we use every day – the computer. When I get an email, I heard a prompt and see it ghost over the upper right side of my screen. Twitterfox pops up every new tweet. And on and on. Writer Cory Doctorow has gathered a few good, time tested principles for getting work done in a disciplined, goal-oriented way, despite all. Thanks and a tip o’ the hat to Lisa Kenney, whose tweet (yeah, I know) pointed me toward Doctorow’s post: http://tinyurl.com/8nSkox

]]> By: Timothy Hallinan http://writeabetternovel.net/goals-are-powerful-engines-%e2%80%93-if-you-write-them/comment-page-1/#comment-308 Timothy Hallinan Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:11:58 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1067#comment-308 Goals are essential to me, because I'm a great procrastinator. I'll pour Drano down a perfectly good drain and wait half an hour to rinse it out when writing isn't going easily. But I can limit that aimless foofling by knowing that I have an absolute minimum (in my case, 1000 words) that I have to complete even if I'm still working at midnight. And for me, it's seven days a week except for something really out of the ordinary, and never, ever, under any conditions two days off in a row. The longer I stay away from a problem, the bigger its teeth get. As far as editing is concerned, if you mean self-editing, I let about six weeks lapse before I even start, to let the fat rise to the surface. Then I read it aloud to my astonishingly patient wife, mark everything I don't like out loud, write down everything she didn't like, couldn't follow, or fell asleep during, and then give myself ten days to fix it all. If you mean responding to my editor's suggestions, I do it almost immediately, starting with the biggest problems, since fixing them often has an impact on the rest of the book. Gee, what a long answer. Goals are essential to me, because I’m a great procrastinator. I’ll pour Drano down a perfectly good drain and wait half an hour to rinse it out when writing isn’t going easily. But I can limit that aimless foofling by knowing that I have an absolute minimum (in my case, 1000 words) that I have to complete even if I’m still working at midnight. And for me, it’s seven days a week except for something really out of the ordinary, and never, ever, under any conditions two days off in a row. The longer I stay away from a problem, the bigger its teeth get.

As far as editing is concerned, if you mean self-editing, I let about six weeks lapse before I even start, to let the fat rise to the surface. Then I read it aloud to my astonishingly patient wife, mark everything I don’t like out loud, write down everything she didn’t like, couldn’t follow, or fell asleep during, and then give myself ten days to fix it all. If you mean responding to my editor’s suggestions, I do it almost immediately, starting with the biggest problems, since fixing them often has an impact on the rest of the book.

Gee, what a long answer.

]]> By: Bill http://writeabetternovel.net/goals-are-powerful-engines-%e2%80%93-if-you-write-them/comment-page-1/#comment-307 Bill Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:02:39 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1067#comment-307 I love the idea of setting clear, ambitious-but-attainable goals. A daily word count is a terrific idea, too. For me, committing to a period of time rather than a word count has also been very helpful. I'd like to finish writing another novel this year, but I need to think about the nuts and bolts of how I'm going to accomplish that. When setting goals, I often get stuck when it comes to editing. For example, if a story or novel is in the editing phase, what sort of goal do I set? Should I vow to edit a certain number of pages? I'd love to hear people's thoughts. I love the idea of setting clear, ambitious-but-attainable goals. A daily word count is a terrific idea, too. For me, committing to a period of time rather than a word count has also been very helpful. I’d like to finish writing another novel this year, but I need to think about the nuts and bolts of how I’m going to accomplish that.

When setting goals, I often get stuck when it comes to editing. For example, if a story or novel is in the editing phase, what sort of goal do I set? Should I vow to edit a certain number of pages? I’d love to hear people’s thoughts.

]]> By: Kit Stewart http://writeabetternovel.net/goals-are-powerful-engines-%e2%80%93-if-you-write-them/comment-page-1/#comment-306 Kit Stewart Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:56:39 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=1067#comment-306 This is a great reminder to all of us. I have known about goal setting and Zig Ziglar for more years than I care to remember, but have not put it into regular practice. This is a good time, at the start of a brand new year to rectify that. I've been told goal setting has magic in it. I'm going to try it and find out! Kit Stewart This is a great reminder to all of us. I have known about goal setting and Zig Ziglar for more years than I care to remember, but have not put it into regular practice. This is a good time, at the start of a brand new year to rectify that. I’ve been told goal setting has magic in it. I’m going to try it and find out!
Kit Stewart

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