Milestone Party: How to Survive Fast Draft and Dance Like No One’s Watching
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Helloooo Out There! Come one, come all; we’re having a party today! Most of you know that about a year ago Marcia Richards and I founded the organization called The Life List Club.
What is the Life List Club?
A bunch of us writers got together to create our life lists – those things you want to do in life and never manage to complete. We spent many months touring around each others’ blogs guest posting and getting to know our readers. As the group adapted, we created our own blogsite, The Life List Club! If you haven’t followed us, what are you waiting for?! Click on over and sign up!
In short, you can get involved in the Life List Club in two ways: as a Reader or as a Writer. Anyone and everyone should be a reader. As readers we encourage you to create your own life list of those “to do’s” that are lingering around or big dreams you’ve put on hold too long. Your goals are anything that is right for you. Post your life list on your blog, and share with us via comments and tweets how you’re doing! You can cyber hang with us at the hashtag #LifeListClub. Enjoy weekly posts filled with true stories, inspiration, and humor to boot to keep you motivated on your goals.
Hey Writers out there! You can get involved by becoming a contributing writer for the LLC blog! We’re currently accepting new writers to our rotation of posting and would love to hear from you! E-mail me at jessi(DOT)witkins(AT)gmail(DOT)com if interested! You don’t have to blog about writing. We’re looking for a variety of goals to be covered so our readers can find multiple avenues of inspiration.
Here’s What We’re Celebrating Today!
Since launching the LLC blog, 3 months have gone by and we always have a Milestone party to celebrate the learning lessons and achievements along the way. You can check out how all the Life Listers did by reading and entering our sweet giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift Card.
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Cue the Party Music!
This is my new favorite song! Why? Because it involves splices of Love is Strange by Mickey and Sylvia from Dirty Dancing! Duh!!!
My Goals:
- Write Everyday.
- Read 2 books a month.
- Save money.
- Work out at least once a week.
The Recap:
Write Everyday.
There were definitely days where only my minimum 5 things in the gratitude journal got written down. Examples from the past few months include: reading a good book, meeting bloggers I follow at the DFW Writers Conference, Joe cooking dinner, Bellavitano cheese, iced tea, leaving work on time, hammocks. What really kicked my butt into gear on this goal was attending the DFW Writers Conference. I decided to give Candace Havens’ Fast Draft a try. Fast Draft is the idea that you complete your first draft of a novel in 2 weeks by writing 20 pages/day.
Now before your eyes bug out of your head, know thatI hadto adapt this goal. On day 1, I did get 20 pages written. But once I was back at work, it was too difficult to get to 20. I set a minimum of 10. Ten pages was exactly ten pages more than I’d been writing everyday. And this process takes a lot of planning! I spent the whole week before blogging ahead, reading books, and getting emails sent out so I could focus on my writing.
Then week 2 of Fast Draft came around and I had a really difficult time. I was having arguments with my boyfriend. I was trying to assist planning 2 weddings/bachelorette parties/getting dress fittings for the upcoming marriages of my two best friends. My sister underwent surgery for her third recurrence of cancer and was recovering. We had company stay at our house. The cupboards were getting bare. And I was up until somewhere between 1 – 4 a.m. every night? morning? I’ve lost track.
It wasn’t my week. Still, I always got some writing done! The least amount was one page, and the most on those awful days was eight. But that’s one more page or eight more pages closer to the “The End.” Despite all that happened, I’m proud and relieved I’ve completed this challenge. It taught me what’s important to me. What I’m willing and not willing to give up, and it showed me who truly supports me in this journey and who doesn’t. I would like to give Fast Draft another go for the next round of LLC goals.
Read 2 books a month.
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Right now I think I have 7 books going at once. I’ve had to postpone a few in order to complete others. Books read just this month: Back to Madeline Island by Jay Gilbertson, Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James, and Red by Kait Nolan. I also coordinated an author interview with Jay, and have one next week with Kait!
I’m currently on track to complete my TBR Pile Challenge book Blessings by Anna Quindlen this month, as well as my first Janet Evanovich book, Three to Get Deadly, and the final book in the Fifty Shades series, Fifty Shades Freed.
Looking for more book reviews? Check out my Bookshelf!
Save money.
Believe it or not, folks, I made myself a sticker chart to save! And it helped! I was able to budget better and reward myself for not buying more clothes or jewelry, etc. and had enough funds to travel to South Korea and to Texas for the writers conference. Next trip I’m saving for is Joe’s and my road trip out west in August!
I still need to visit with a personal banker yet and look into some better savings options at the bank and read Suze Orman’s Women and Money book.
Work out at least once a week.
This goal was a bit hit or miss. I dove back into working out and did so many weighted lunges around the gym floor that I spent a good 3 days walking around like an old pregnant woman! I was literally hobbling and could barely get in and out of my car. I did start up at the gym again, weight training, using the elliptical and stationary bike. Even if I didn’t make it to the gym, I would have a dance party in my room – just to move around!
I did improve my diet. For several weeks I limited the amounts of red meat and cheese in my diet (mostly cause my boyfriend is doing that on his diet), but I also tried several great recipes from Self magazine. I found 2 awesome breakfasts, and made two different chicken curry dishes. I’ve been better about packing my lunches again and eating salads or peanut butter and jelly. For breakfast on the go, I invested in some nut mixes to get protein in my system. I cannot agree to switch to Almond Milk. I still prefer cow’s milk! LOL.
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There’s my Life List recap! Be sure to enter for all the great Life List Club milestone prizes by visiting our blogs! You can find us all in the blogroll on the right. And to enter for the $50 Amazon Gift Card, you’ve gotta get to the Life List Club blog!
But first, enter here! Win an additional $10 I-Tunes Gift Card by subscribing to the Happiness Project and leaving me a comment about a learning moment or success story from your own life list! I’d love to hear what you’re up to!
The Party Don’t Start Til I Walk In
It’s finally here! It’s officially been 3 months for the Life List Club members and contributors working diligently on our goals. And we all know that when we work hard, it means you get to play hard too! Bring on the good times!
What is the Life List Club? The Life List Club is a place for writers and readers alike to share with each other their goals/dreams/bucket list/what-have-you and support one another along the journey. You can join by subscribing to any of the LLC contributor blogs which are located in the sidebar. Anyone can be a member and we encourage all of you to make your own Life List page on your blog as a reminder to yourself what you want to accomplish. We’re here to lend helpful advice, encouragement, and good old fashioned ass-kicking when you need it!
It’s a Milestone Party? Today we’re celebrating our progress on our goal lists since we started 3 months ago. We have music, food, and great schwag to giveaway, so I invite everyone to leave a comment; share with me how you’re doing on your goal commitments, what advice would you offer others, and feel free to dance!
My List and Progress Thus Far:
- Write every day, even if it is only ten words. (Ok, this hasn’t been completely consistent, but it is improving. What’s helped the most is blogging ahead and making a planner where I create and follow through on writing time.)
- Read 2 books a month for fun. (I’m loving this! See what I’m reading by visiting my Bookshelf.)
- Submit my work for publication. (Nina Badzin wrote this post on why it’s important to just do it and not be a snob about your publication opportunities. But I have nothing finished yet, so this goal is post-poned, but not gone away.)
- Learn about the craft of writing. (I’m currently learning about novel set-up through my Fly on the Wall status in Warrior Writer’s Boot Camp. I get to observe others’ writing and edits, offer input, but I don’t yet submit my own. The basis of this boot camp is to prep you well before it’s your turn to start submitting. I’m also signed up for Kristen Lamb’s Author Branding Class to make a bigger impact with my blog and writing. Can’t wait!)
- Learn about social media. (Uh, Kristen Lamb. Best Freshly Pressed post to ever stumble onto.)
- Attend a writing conference. (Madison Writers Institute – Wonderful experience I’m now on the lookout for next year’s conference, and thinking about saving up money to attend DFW in Texas, the conference Kristen usually speaks at! Might see some of my favorite tweeps and bloggers there!)
- Meet with other writers. (Ok, I attempted to start a local writer’s club which didn’t pan out cause everyone is so busy. I did start a critique group with 3 writers I met at the Madison Writers Institute, but we’re not on a regular schedule either. LLC and WWBC have been the most beneficial, which leads me to advise that while in-person groups may be more fun, don’t knock the online ones, cause they’re full of amazing people who can help you get the job done, and probably faster.)
- Write a fiction book. (It’s my current work in progress. The plan of attack is jump start writing again with NaNoWriMo and follow the WWBC evos to prepare more efficiently.)
- Cook more meals at home. (I’m well of aware of the bologna incident, and the write like potatoes incident, and the double stuff oreos incident in spite of my mother. It’s about progress, and part of progress comes from being aware. Honestly, I’ve made some smart decisions, and have spent more time eating fruits/veggies first before the cheetos. And I vow to not ever, not even if someone dared me, eat bologna again. I couldn’t live down the shame the first time I blogged about it!)
- Be more frugal. (I struggle here, but I’ve got some worthwhile goals and desires to attend conferences and travel more, so I’m going to watch my excess spending and start that “fund” where all the money you didn’t spend on grande green tea lattes and fancy jewelry goes into that fund jar instead which will slowly help me get to Korea, or Finland, or Singapore, or wherever else I want to go.)
- Take a real vacation and leave the country. (I visited Toronto, Canada for a week with my honey, and it was so beautiful and fun. Loved hanging out in the big city, seeing Niagara Falls, and trying Ice Wine for the first time! Mmmm)
- Go to the beach. (I blame Wisconsin weather. And working too much. We still only got to the beach two times this year. But we supplemented our outdoors time with hiking, oh that’s right, we nearly died…)
- Go see live theater. (It’s part of my birthday present. I get to drag Joe to a local theater event! Yay!)
- Keep up with my gratitude journal, 5 things each day. (Here’s what I recently wrote down. Ice water, Joe cooking dinner, fried green tomatoes, taking a late night walk around town, watching Chic music videos on youtube.)
- Track my progress of learning the social media and publishing world. (I’ve been adding a second list underneath my gratitude journal that focuses on eye opening moments.)
- Spend more time with friends and family. (Even though it meant a lot more driving, and therefore less writing time, I took some extra weekend trips home to see family this month. I know it was entirely worth it.)
Rules That Help Me Survive:
Here are the three rules that I’ve come to ground myself with as I work towards my goals. If you want to see how I came up with them and use them, check out this LLC post I did about making my own boot camp to kickstart my writing. I hope these rules help you towards your goals too.
- Life comes first.
- Get up early.
- Feelings lie.
PRIZES!!! To win, you must subscribe (or already be subscribing) and comment below! Good luck!
All of us LLC contributors are giving away FABULOUS prizes today! I’m offering one commenter a signed copy of Bethany Wiggins’ new book Shifting!
After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she’s eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she’s determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O’Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it’s not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.
Learn more about Bethany and her book in my author interview with her! Or check out her blog at Shooting Stars.
Other Fabulous Prizes Include:
Pam Hawley is giving away:
-Winner’s choice of excerpt from my novel-in-progress or a copy of my short story
“Elevated.”
– I will interview the winner on their goals and ambitions for a future post in Hawleyville.
– Option to publish a piece of their own fiction/essay (up to 2,000 words) or do a guest
post at my blog.
David Walker is giving away 2 prizes:
-to a commenter, a copy of a short story, Bubba’s First Cruise
-to a subscriber, a guest post swap.
Marcia Richards is giving away:
-a copy of flash fiction – Night Moves
-invitation to guest post or be interviewed on my blog
-winner’s name used for a character in my trilogy, The Dance and The Dancer
Jennie Bennett is giving away 2 prizes:
-3 books, Oliver Twist, Secret Garden and A Little Princess
-10-page in depth critique
Sonia Medeiros is giving away:
-Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering Ebook
Jenny Hansen is giving away a prize to each a commenter and subscriber:
-Choice of a guest post from Jenny for the winner’s blog OR an interview of the winner on Jenny’s blog
Violeta Nedkova is giving away:
-In-depth Critique of two WIP chapters
Diana Ligaya is giving away:
-a copy of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces
-an in-depth critique for fiction up to 15,000 words
Emily Moir is giving away:
-a 5 piece (4X6) photo series by Kate Moir
Alright folks, put on your favorite party hat and boogie with the Life List Club today! We can also be found disco dancing on twitter at #LifeListClub.
Now tell me, how’s your life list coming along?
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 