Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Word Counting Distracts Me

Well, I've decided that from now on I'm only going to bother about writing every day, and not worrying about word count.  If I worry about that too much then it becomes a chore, and that's not what I want this to be.  I want to be a professional writer, but I don't get enough written per day to do that.  So I'm going to try and reach that stage Nathan is at, where going too long without writing drives one insane. 

I won't be posting word count updates, because I need to trick my brain into thinking that this isn't a chore.  And if I can get myself into the right groove every day, then eventually I will be churning out a ton of words every day.  But only if I can get myself into the right groove. 

There's a lot to consider when writing, and I'm no idiot when it comes to knowing technical facts about writing.  But knowing all that is unimportant if I don't do what every writer should be doing, and that is write.  Despite my professional aspirations, even beginners are currently better than me, because while what they write isn't even close to gold material, at least they are writing.

But don't be too smug for long beginners, I'm not going to let you beat me!  I may not be the most hardworking guy out there, but as soon as I get over my natural laziness I will be a force to be reckoned with!!  Or at least considered!

I know for a fact that I'm much better now than I was three or four years ago, but that does little good when I'm letting myself get bogged down with too much thinking or laziness.  And I have most of the book planned, so I have no excuses to not be working on this.  I do need to sit down and make some more detailed plans, but for now I need to use the planned first act to get some kind of grove together. 

Really it's all just a matter of making it my priority.  The earlier in the day I start, not only do I get more done, but I also feel like the day was well spent.  I'm not about to ignore other responsibilities, such as working around the yard and keeping the house clean...ish, but I definitely need to make it a priority over everything else.  Then I don't feel bad when I take some time to blog. 

And yes, I've gotten some done today, just not very much, so I'll be getting right back to that.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hugo Awards

Well, I've just registered for worldcon, and received my Hugo awards voters packet.  As a writer and reviewer I figured this is a good chance for me to do something relevant for once.  I'll be reading through the submissions, and posting my opinions for them on my Burning Lizard Studios blog.  Some of the books I've already reviewed, so I'll probably just post a quick opinion on which ones I think are most likely to win in their respective category.  I don't know if I'll get through all of them before worldcon, but it's worth the attempt at least.

I think Saladin Ahmed's submissions are first and foremost in my list, I heard him on writing excuses and he interested me enough that I think I want to give his work a look see.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

I am the worst writer ever

Which is why I find myself, up at midnight, having struggled with getting my files backed up so I can try and update my laptop.  It's getting old, and cranky, and after having finder flicker on and off I decided it's time to update.  And after spending most of the day backing up files (itunes was being a bitch), I finally find myself ready to start writing.

Overall things have been going well.  I've got the first act planned, and ready to type up.  Unfortunately my ADD is rearing its ugly head.  But instead of boring you with a post about how I swear this time I'm going to write every day!, instead I'm just going to say, this book will be finished, if it kills me.  I'm giving myself a week, two tops, then it will be done.  And once that's done, it's time to plan my next book. 

Since my writing is pretty dependent on my mood, I think it should be interesting to see how much I get done on any given day.