I use a log too, but mine is simpler with just shaded circles and vertically arranged by month so that I can see the entire year on one page, a 12 x 31 grid, thus knowing how many days of the year I actually wrote. Almost every month I miss about a whole week, but when I start to lag, the gaps encourages me to return so the spaces in the year don’t get bigger.
My goal is to work on the third draft of my memoir. Although I am a bit stuck after revising the entire piece the past year. Going through the piece during the second drafting process was super enlightening. But now how to proceed is something I am thinking about.
I love the breakdown of outcome vs. process goals--something to emulate!
I have one process goal for 2024, which is to write for half an hour a day, on average, over the year. This has been a great lever for my outcome goals over the past couple of years; I’ve found that if I can get myself into the seat, the work is getting done.
(Perhaps most surprising of all is how unevenly distributed it has been. I met this goal in 2023, and in tallying things up this week, I found there were more than a hundred days where I didn’t log anything at all--stepped-up activity on the rest made up the difference.)
I'm excited to start something new but I have a lot of works in progress I need to wrap up: a script I'm co-writing with a friend, "final" revisions on my first book, plus a short story and a novella to revise and send out into the world. I noticed last year that writing fiction always takes a back seat to screenwriting (my main job) so this year is about finding time to honor my new fiction practice while still sustaining my career.
Thanks for this! I have a nonfiction book project in mind, but have been struggling with how to tackle it in small increments. A spreadsheet might be more effective than a hand-written journal for the overall planning.
It’s difficult sometimes to keep projects as “play” in my mind rather than “work” so that I come to it eagerly instead of blowing it off after I come home from my day job. It can be so easy to give in to the routine of that work, the safety of it.
Love this. My goal is to finish draft 2 of my novel ( I'm about 100,000 words and 60ish% of the way through as it stands. I aim for 350 words a day, everyday, and often do more.
But my question is, what happens when you get stuck? Should I just skip those chapters and revisit them in draft 3? I have several chunks of my novel that are just these gaping holes. I know what happens before and after but, try as I might, I just can't get myself to 'land' in those sticky chapters, no matter how many times I go at it.
My Outcome Goal is to get my book through what I'm calling Draft 2.5/3. This thing has gone in several directions since I "finished" Draft 1, but after spending probably too long outlining and brainstorming, I think it's showing itself to me through the rewriting.
My Process Goal is to write for an hour a day, but I think I will track the word count as I go. (Nabbed the template.)
Thanks for this, Matt. You're always good for a shot in the arm.
My non-fiction will come out soon. And I'm working on two novels simultaneously. My daily writing goal is a 1000 words. For me, it's easier to write daily than sometimes. Some days I don't get to a 1000 words. That's okay, as long as I've done my best. Happy New Year! 🎉🤗🩷
Thanks for this newsletters and all that you share about the writing process. I have been mulling over what you wrote about the second process goal. I write a lot of scene fragments as my drafting process and would like to create more change in my scenes. Do you have any suggestions or prompts for how to do that? Thank you!
I use a log too, but mine is simpler with just shaded circles and vertically arranged by month so that I can see the entire year on one page, a 12 x 31 grid, thus knowing how many days of the year I actually wrote. Almost every month I miss about a whole week, but when I start to lag, the gaps encourages me to return so the spaces in the year don’t get bigger.
My goal is to work on the third draft of my memoir. Although I am a bit stuck after revising the entire piece the past year. Going through the piece during the second drafting process was super enlightening. But now how to proceed is something I am thinking about.
I love the breakdown of outcome vs. process goals--something to emulate!
I have one process goal for 2024, which is to write for half an hour a day, on average, over the year. This has been a great lever for my outcome goals over the past couple of years; I’ve found that if I can get myself into the seat, the work is getting done.
(Perhaps most surprising of all is how unevenly distributed it has been. I met this goal in 2023, and in tallying things up this week, I found there were more than a hundred days where I didn’t log anything at all--stepped-up activity on the rest made up the difference.)
I'm excited to start something new but I have a lot of works in progress I need to wrap up: a script I'm co-writing with a friend, "final" revisions on my first book, plus a short story and a novella to revise and send out into the world. I noticed last year that writing fiction always takes a back seat to screenwriting (my main job) so this year is about finding time to honor my new fiction practice while still sustaining my career.
The 500 words, 2 typed pages makes a 130,000 word goal seem much more manageable and tangible. Definitely stealing/borrowing your tracker too.
Also, I’d like to know more about your outcomes/process goals for reading.
Thanks for this! I have a nonfiction book project in mind, but have been struggling with how to tackle it in small increments. A spreadsheet might be more effective than a hand-written journal for the overall planning.
It’s difficult sometimes to keep projects as “play” in my mind rather than “work” so that I come to it eagerly instead of blowing it off after I come home from my day job. It can be so easy to give in to the routine of that work, the safety of it.
Love this. My goal is to finish draft 2 of my novel ( I'm about 100,000 words and 60ish% of the way through as it stands. I aim for 350 words a day, everyday, and often do more.
But my question is, what happens when you get stuck? Should I just skip those chapters and revisit them in draft 3? I have several chunks of my novel that are just these gaping holes. I know what happens before and after but, try as I might, I just can't get myself to 'land' in those sticky chapters, no matter how many times I go at it.
Hi Matt!
Thank you for sharing your tracking template! I appreciate you making your resources available to other writers - I saved a copy of it!
I think I might go for the 500 words/5 days a week myself!
My Outcome Goal is to get my book through what I'm calling Draft 2.5/3. This thing has gone in several directions since I "finished" Draft 1, but after spending probably too long outlining and brainstorming, I think it's showing itself to me through the rewriting.
My Process Goal is to write for an hour a day, but I think I will track the word count as I go. (Nabbed the template.)
Thanks for this, Matt. You're always good for a shot in the arm.
My non-fiction will come out soon. And I'm working on two novels simultaneously. My daily writing goal is a 1000 words. For me, it's easier to write daily than sometimes. Some days I don't get to a 1000 words. That's okay, as long as I've done my best. Happy New Year! 🎉🤗🩷
Love this! Thanks, Matt.
Thank you for this! Happy new year.
I’m deep in non- fiction research. Is it ok to count words on notecards as writing?
Immersion into primary sources has helped me see unexpected connections. 🤞this will pay off when I start to write.
Thanks for this newsletters and all that you share about the writing process. I have been mulling over what you wrote about the second process goal. I write a lot of scene fragments as my drafting process and would like to create more change in my scenes. Do you have any suggestions or prompts for how to do that? Thank you!