- For a start, small word count goals. 500 words a day was initially my plan but let me tell you that’s about a chapter a week and whilst some people are superheroes and can achieve such a thing, I have not been able to. So let me make a goal of 500 words a week for now and anything extra is a bonus
- If you head to my Instagram, I have started a weekly post (and by started, as of 6 March 2024, it’s the one post) updating my word count and I will write a post here about what ups and downs of a week of writing. It’s all about the habit and the accountability. I know that I want to write and now you know I want to write and now we all know that once a week I must tell you what I’ve been up to…so I’d better make it worth it!
- If I don’t write every day then I must (try to) read something from the genre I am writing in and/or write in my writer’s journal. It’s important to think about what I’m writing, get ideas and expand my knowledge on the subject.
- Don’t be so hard on myself. Consistency is key and consistency is not the same level every day. So long as I am doing something, even small, towards my goal I’m still achieving something.
This is harder than I thought
I knew writing a novel was hard, but it’s…HARD.
Four years ago, the idea of a book popped into my head. After hearing a
friend tell me a hilarious story of how she met a man overseas, we laughed
naming actors and actresses we would want to play her and her onscreen love and
I thought to myself, this would make a great movie…this would make a GREAT
book. I asked her if she would be happy for me to use her as the inspiration
for the novel I had been longing to write and thankfully she said yes. I called
my Mum straight away.
‘Mum, I finally have the plot to start writing my novel! Let me tell you
all about it…’
Four years later, here I am with no manuscript written and honestly, not
even the first chapter complete; and me, feeling like a complete failure.
Look, I get it. Life gets in the way. A full-time job, social life, wanting
to spend time with my husband, spending ALL THE TIME with my husband during a
series of lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 and then spending most of 2022 buying our
first house and conceiving/raising my now 11-month-old daughter; things weren’t
exactly lowkey. My naivety even let me believe I would be able to sit down and
write a full novel whilst on maternity leave but alas…I have a BABY on my
hands, come on now!
So here we are, four years after this brilliant idea popped into my head and
a phone call to my mother proclaiming that I was finally able to start working
towards being a published author and I have nothing to show for it. Don’t get
me wrong, I have thought about writing this book almost every day for
the past four years and have told myself over and over ‘Once (insert
reason) is done I’ll be able to write’; but sadly, I have produced
nothing. Okay, lie, I have produced 2000 words, so half of the first chapter. But
when you do a cheeky calculation, 2000 words over four years is 500 words a
year and is that a novel? Spoiler alert, it isn’t even a blog post!
Of course, self-pity and procrastination have entered centre stage waving
their little jazz hands and doing a little tap number to remind me I have not
achieved what I have set out to do, and kindly suggesting that I peace out stop
trying, and go back to watching The Real Housewives (and by gum am I a pro at
that). No one need know right? Just bow out gracefully and return to life as
usual.
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Honestly, the whole point of telling my mother was so the
more people who knew, the more people were waiting for me to complete this
project. Now, thankfully everyone is very patient with me, but knowing that at
least 10 of my closest people are aware I am doing this, I can’t let
them down either! Also, when you have a dream, you chase it right? Every day my
return to work gets closer and closer and all I could think of is if I had a job,
I was passionate about, I could stay home and hopefully make a comfy living doing
something I love.
This is when it all hit me, once 2024 started, I realised I was returning to
work this year (September) and now my little one was a bit older and more
manageable in some ways, I knew this was the year I had to start writing, once
and for all, whether it takes me three months, six months, the whole year it
does not matter, a book will be written!
I know this is a really long winded story of saying I haven’t written
anything ‘but I will’ but I guess I hope that if you also have a writing
goal that has slipped to the wayside a little, at least you know you are not
alone and if anything maybe this will also be the motivation you need to, like
me, try again; and I have come up with a plan on HOW to try again.
Into The Wild Words 