July 10, 2011

ROW 80 Check In: Words Define Me

As part of the A Round of Words in 80 Days challenge, we check in with fellow challenge writers on Wednesdays and Sundays to access our goals and give each other encouragement. Today is my first check in post since starting (I started one day late).

A brief overview of my goals:

- 750 words six days a week on my WIP (the sequel to Depression Cookies)

- Blog 4-5 days a week on Depression Cookies and review 3 books a month on my other blog, Mom in Love with Fiction

- Read two books on writing (in the 80 days)

How I did this week:

Wednesday, July 6
Results: 881 words and a blog post on this blog
Reaction: Fist pump!! I exceeded my WIP goals and posted on my main blog.

Thursday, July 7
Results: 789 words and a guest blog post on this blog
Reaction: Still excited, surpassed my 750 word goal. Posted on this blog, but it was a guest post. And a good one at that.

Friday, July 8
Results: 410 words and a post on this blog
Reaction: Frustrated. I sat and stared at a blank page. I had a limited amount of time to devote to writing, and it wouldn't flow. With so much momentum coming into Friday, I was discouraged with this word total. I did blog that day.

Saturday, July 9
Results: 763 words and a post on this blog
Reaction: Back on track. Whew.
Bonus: Did my first Tagxedo on the post. Loved how it turned out and will use this application again when I can't find a relevant picture.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my progress during the first week of the ROW80 challenge. I needed to make writing the sequel a priority, and I'm happy with 2,843 words in four days. I hope the frustrating days are few and far between, but I know it's all part of the process.

I am happy to be keeping up with my posts, but I'm motivated thanks to the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I'll be interested to see how I do once that challenge is over and I'm knee-deep into the sequel story.

I am reading two books, which I rarely do, and hope to have two reviews up in the next week or so. This will keep me on track for my 3 book review goal per month.

I'd love to hear how others are feeling about their goals, whether part of a challenge or personal goals. Is it encouragement or pressure to have a goal like 750 words a day staring you in the face?

14 comments:

Radtkecustoms said...

Love that you are keeping up with the challenge. Being surrounded by three little girls all day this summer has got me wondering how many words I hear in the course of the day and if I can count that high that fast. Keep going. I love reading your posts.

Marie Andrews said...

Congrats on all that you accomplished this week :) Hope this week is stellar for you!

Marie

Anonymous said...

Huzzah for exceeding your goals on some days!

My frustration these last few days has been more that I haven't kept track of what I've done. I just feel like I'm always busy, but I'm not sure if I've been close to my goals.

Tia Bach said...

Jennifer, Thanks for stopping by. I visited your blog as well. We have so much in common: three girls will do that!

Tia Bach said...

Thanks, Marie. Visited your blog as well (beautiful top banner by the way). Raising my glass to a productive week for both of us!

Lauren Garafalo said...

Nice job this week! I can be eager to jump right and I know this about myself so when I realized that I might be wasting time, I decided that I'd better go back to planning. I really think that the ability to change your mind..or your goal..is what I like best about #ROW80. Good luck with your goals this week!

Tia Bach said...

Thanks, Lauren. I need to do some plotting/outlining on my novel this week. It's important but might greatly affect my word count goals. We'll see.

I appreciate all the encouragement (one of the other great parts of ROW80).

Cate Morgan said...

Sounds like you had a great first week! I highly recommend The Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass--I found it inspiring as well as incredibly helpful. Good luck the rest of the week!

Tia Bach said...

Amy, Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it!

Tia Bach said...

Thanks, Cate. I'll have to check out The Fire in Fiction... sounds like a great one. Good luck to you, too!

Sonia G Medeiros said...

Congrats! You did so much!!!

Tia Bach said...

Thank you so much, Sonia!

alberta ross said...

I reckon you did well this week - smile girl - and reading as well - oh to be able to write and read at same time - good luck with this week

Tia Bach said...

Alberta, Thanks so much! I love to read, but it also makes me a better writer. I seem to find more time to write than read these days, though. ;-(