Purple Nose Accountability

Welcome to this week's Monday Meeting, and Sunday check-in. (I'm only late on one of those counts!!)

I drive around town with a purple nose on the front of my car:

A couple of years ago, my husband decorated my car as a bat for Halloween. Black wings flew from the top, and a the purple nose classed up the bumper. :)

Pretty soon I realized that I enjoyed the purple nose. I like being a bit different, I love the color purple, and most of all, I love that when I pull up in front of the school, my kids know that it is me. They never approach the wrong car.

But, driving around with a purple nose means that I have to be accountable for my driving. People know it's me. I can't drive aggressively, or cut people off. I drive respectively because I can't hide in anonymity.

I feel as though having these goals during the next 80 days, as a part of the ROW 80 community, has given me purple nose accountability. I have to own up to my progress.

So far, so good. I have been using my two hours a day to revise the first 2/3 of my manuscript, looking closely at each scene, with the aid of this Scene and Sequels technique. My friend Marisa gave me the link while in the Practice Room (we'd love to have you there to talk writing--it's great fun). In fact, I need to go and sign up to run a session over there to fulfill this week's goal!

So, I'm basically on track--I've been noting where all my writing and exercising time is going in a daily calendar.

It's really illuminating, and what I spend my time on is as clear as the purple nose on my face.

It's not all coming up lilacs--I couldn't keep up with my writing time over the weekend. Weekends are family time, and I'm going to try to carve out time to write, but if I can't, well, I'll just revise my goals.

How are you keeping yourself accountable? What are you working on this week? Do you have goals? Would you drive around with something weird on your car? Do you have purple nose accountability?

Honk if you see me cruising with my purple nose!

Monday Meeting Accountability

Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair. Let's weigh in on what goals we have this week for writing! It's the first Monday Meeting of the New Year! A new year, a new start, for me, an exciting (if not new) project.

This is not a Resolution 2012 post, although I have to say, I loved my Resolution 2011. Last year, I decided that every day that I didn't write, I would donate to the charity, Room to Read. I think I'm going to continue that this year--because even when life got too challenging to write, I knew that my charity benefitted. Last year, I gave over $100 to the charity. :)

Instead of looking at year long goals (although I just made one, didn't I?), right now I am looking at goals for the next 80 days. I am being held accountable to these goals by all the lovely people participating in ROW 80. I'm very excited.

Goals:

1. To track my writing progress. In order to fulfill this goal, I set up a OneNote calendar, where I write down what I do with my writing time. I also started a notebook for each project, so I could have my notes and ideas at my fingertips. I love handwritten calendars and notebooks, but I can never put my hands on them when I need them. So, this way, I keep myself accountable. For instance, right now, I'm logging this time in as blogging time. :)

2. To write each day, either 2 hours, or to a 1K wordcount. I am revising and drafting as I go, so it's not as speedy as fast drafting can be for me. I think this goal will be challenging, but doable. If I don't write each day, my charity will gain a dollar.

3. To host a Practice Room session once a week. I got out of the habit of doing my part in TPR last year, and I feel the loss. I love the Practice Room, and miss it when I write in the library, or places where I can't open the chat room. I invite you all to come and write there as well!

4. To be honest and realistic (with others) about how I want to spend my time. I am dedicating this next 80 days to try to complete my current WIP. I am not including this as a goal--to finish it--because my novels take as long as they take. However, I want my writing time to be used for that purpose. I always have a lot of projects in the wings, some involving other people. I want to make sure that I am dedicated to my focus.

5. To exercise five days a week. I write better when I get moving, and the winter is a time when I sometimes slack off. So, I am pledging not to slack off during this time!

6. To post at least one Friday Feature interview a month. If I had my druthers, I would set the goal to do one per week, but since this involves others, I never know what is going to happen.

Welcome, and let me know some of your goals--for the week, for the next 80 days, for the year. Do you have a fabulous way of keeping accountability? Are you super organized? What methods do you use to track your success? What writing project is keeping you up at nights? Will you meet me in the Practice Room to write?

Tour de Writing Check in, Week 4

Before I put out the call for wordcounts this week, for the big Tour challenge, I just want to take a moment out to spotlight a friend of mine, Tina Laurel Lee.

I talk about building community on-line, and then I tweet or throw up a blog post, or play a silly game. But Tina is out there, seriously doing it. She created The Practice Room, a blog open to all, designed for writers to pledge to unplug for an hour, and then come back in real time and chat. Actually talk with a group of writers about...writing.

Last Wednesday, Tina organized for the Practice Roomers to all get together and video chat, oh, and write. It was amazing--I got to meet people that I had been chatting with for months. Tina--thanks for the wonderful community that you are building! I encourage everyone to check out The Practice Room--there will be further google+ video get-togethers, and other crazy wonderful stuff happening soon. And, as always, everyone is invited--no--encouraged to come. And if you need some hand holding, just email me (hegkelly at gmail dot com). I'm always happy to help.

Thanks Tina, for creating places for us to hang out, learn about craft, and build our friendships. Your contribution to writerly community has been invaluable!!!

It's never to late to join in!

Now, on to the Tour de Writing. With only one more week to go, every word counts. So count carefully.  In today's post, please tell me:

1. Your word count for the week.
2. How many TPRs you attended last week (including the epic video chat!)
3. How many twitter challenges you competed in, hashtag, #tourdewriting
4. Whether you are revising, drafting, or both.

Phew! One more week to go. I'm off to figure out my own tally. Where did those post-its get to?

Coworker Face Time: The Practice Room

Right through this door, everyone!

A year ago, I was writing through the winter doldrums. Well, more accurately, I wasn't writing. That was the problem. I was just stuck inside the doldrums. Enter Tina Laurel Lee. She and I had met through another blog, and struck up a friendship. And when I wrote a blog post commiserating about how little writing I was accomplishing, she asked if there was anything she could do to help. (She's so sweet!) And what she proposed was the essence of the Practice Room.

We decided to meet each morning in gchat, after I had written for an hour (and before she wrote, due to the time difference). I knew that if I didn't write, I'd have to explain to Tina exactly why (she cracks a big whip). And that was motivating enough. Accountability works.

It's so much more fun to write when I have a writing partner to talk to about the pitfalls and accomplishments.

Before long, Tina had created a whole blog site (she's brilliant too!) devoted to writers who write for an hour ("unplugged") and then stop by and chat. The Practice Room. No secrets are revealed--you can say as much and as little as you want about your writing. It's a come as you are, casual Friday kind of atmosphere. And it's lovely. It always gets me out of my doldrums, no matter what time of year. And everyone is always welcome. I'll always be indebted to my friend, my coworker, Tina for creating a wonderful avenue for face time!! Thanks, T!

Do you have a face time experience at The Practice Room? Do you have a coworker that you nudge when you have a writing issue? Who cracks the whip at you when you need it?

And, consider this your invitation to lurk (and join in!) at TPR if you haven't already. Tina would love to have you over!

Giving and Receiving

I always feel as though the months of November and December are the NaNo equivalent of charitable giving.  I try to be charitable all year round.  But in the months surrounding Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, there are so many opportunities.  And, giving at this time helps me focus on the spirit of the holidays.

In that vein, LitWorld is sending books to Liberia and Sierra Leone.  Their goal is to send a 20-foot container filled with thousands of books, which will go directly into the hands of children.  My favorite Christmas memories as a child always included squirreling away in a cozy corner with all my new books.  I can't imagine what my life would have been like without having owned a single book as a child.
 

You may send a gently used or new book to this address before December 31st:

LitWorld Holiday Book Drive C/O
Deacon Sharon Brennen
Christian Pre-School
Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church
43 Ashford Ave
Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522

Or, you can visit the Litworld site, to find out where to drop off books if you are local to NYC.

On the writing front, Tina is whipping me back into shape.  When I have trouble finding time (or motivation) to write everyday, Tina cracks her whip.  She'll do it for you too.  Just come write with us for an hour at the practice room, and see how productive you can be.  It's not scary at all, unless you have a whip phobia.  Join us!

  

Happy Hanukkah all!  I leave you with a message from the LitWorld website:

"Just one book can change a life. Imagine what joy that one book can bring to a child who has never held a book before, and what a difference it can make in that child's life!"

PARTY IN THE PRACTICE ROOM!!

I just wanted to pop in for a moment, and tell you that there will be a FABULOUS Halloween Party at 11 PM EST Sunday night in Tina's AWESOME THE PRACTICE ROOM.  Not enough adjectives for you yet?  Then stop on by!! We'll be chatting about all things writing until the clock hits midnight when we all turn into pumpkins the NaNo-ers start pumping out words.  You don't have to be a NaNo-er to come by and hang out--Tina is open and affirming.  She really is--she's very honest and very supportive.  And, I guarantee a good time and laughs.  So, consider yourself invited!!

And, if you are doing NaNo, come and FRIEND ME already.  I'm HeatherLane over there (the old die hard blog followers will remember that alias!)

Oh, and you are all also cordially invited to another SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS interview HERE tomorrow.  Please stop by!!

If you are unsure about what to expect at the Practice Room, Tina explains it here.  I'm hoping that Tina will leave the chat room up all night, in case I need to go back in for support and silliness.  Not that I'm going to be writing ALL NIGHT LONG. But, yay, so much fun!!  See you here tomorrow, and there on Sunday!!