I’ve just topped 40,000 words on the novel I’m writing. My goal is 50,000. I’d hoped to reach that deadline before I leave for London tomorrow. Alas, it was too ambitious of a goal* for me.
I realized I wouldn’t achieve the goal about a week ago. It would be easy to go limp and give up entirely. Like if you miss a day, your focus goes ‘poof,’ and you abandon the goal entirely.
But I don’t operate that way. Deadlines give me incredible focus and commitment. They help me prioritize the project, no matter what is happening in my life. I share this approach with my clients to great effect. Don’t get me wrong – there have been times when I have had to abandon a project due to life’s other plans.
I am confident I will meet my bigger goal of 50,000 words by December 1st. I have five more days after I get home. With only 10,000 words to write, that is completely doable, even with jet lag. I had the image of celebrating a complete draft in London. But no sweat. I will still celebrate those 40,000 words.
Here’s the approach that works for my clients and me.
Use upcoming trips, holidays, guests or other ‘disruptions’ to your routine to accelerate your focus. The question I ask my clients is this: “Where do you want to be with your project when you head out of the office/receive guests/start a new job?” This galvanizes their imagination and commitment. The disruption becomes less a reason to bail and more an ally to help them focus.
By keeping my word to myself to write daily since October 20, I’ve gained an enormous amount of self-trust and confidence. Every day I write, I signal to myself that despite all my doubts and insecurities, this project matters.
I leave the project with a clear sense of where I will pick it up upon return.
I trust the break will give me the perfect amount of distance and perspective. This will enhance the writing and improve the quality of the novel.
I don’t expect to write on the trip. While it would be nice to write on the airplane – nine uninterrupted hours – I know myself. I love to leave it all behind. I love the space and freedom I feel on a long-distance flight. I may read Story Genius by Lisa Cron. I may read an novel. This is ‘off’ time and I have the freedom to enjoy the vacation.
What I want most to convey to you is this sense of how I hold a deadline. I take it seriously, and it galvanizes my focus. But when/if I don’t achieve that goal, it’s not a problem. I know I have done everything I can to get there. I simply set a new deadline and reset the focus.
*I don’t typically go for ‘write your book in an unreasonably short period of time’. Getting a book from idea to print takes time. Writing and revising is not a speedy medium. But to accelerate focus and get a shaggy draft out quickly, NaNoWriMo is handy.
Do you use trips or other ‘disruptions’ to work in your favor? Share your experience below.
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