Erica O'Rourke

Summer of All The Words: 2014 Edition

Welcome back, Team #SoATW!

Last year’s Summer of All The Words was a resounding success: deadlines were met, projects were finished, progress was made, and a community was born. End-of-school chaos resulted in a bit of a delay getting this year’s SoATW up and running, but YA author Clara Kensie and I are ready to reboot and make Summer 2014 even more successful! If you’ve got writing goals, we want to help you meet them.

We're making a few changes, all with one purpose in mind: We want to make this even more flexible for people to meet up and check in, and we want to make it as low-key as possible without losing our beloved SoATW community. Read on for more details!

For the next twelve weeks – until Labor Day weekend – we’ll be meeting up on Twitter Sunday through Friday for an hour of work. As before, we’ll be using the #SoATW hashtag.

The key difference is that this year, we’re offering TWO times, to accommodate different time zones and schedules.

• Erica will be handling the regular nightly Twitter meetup. From 10-11pm CST, Sunday through Thursday, she’ll be cheering you on and handling the celebratory post-writing check-in.
  
  
• Clara will be handling a “flex-time” meetup during the day, Monday through Friday. The time will vary from day to day, because summer is unpredictable. You can keep an eye out for it, or start your own session by using the #SoATW hashtag at any time.

Whichever session you choose (or both!) you can work on whatever you want: drafting, revising, proofreading, synopsis-writing, query letters, blog content…it’s totally up to you. You don’t have to work on the same project every time. You can write in any genre. The point is to give you a small, dedicated block of time each day to focus on whatever aspect of your writing is most pressing.

Participation is completely voluntary – you can show up only on Tuesdays, every day, or every third Wednesday. You can do your during the nighttime meetup, the daytime meetup, or a combination of both. If neither time works for you, feel free to use the hashtag at any time of day. We’ve got a great community, and you’re bound to find another #SoATWer online. We want this to be helpful, not stressful, so use it in whatever way works best for you.

The other difference is that we will not be doing the blog post check-ins on Friday. We loved talking about writing tips, but it’s not an effective use of our limited summer time, especially since Clara and Erica both have releases coming out in July. (EEEEP!!!)

FAQ:

How exactly does this work?

For the nightly meetup:

A few minutes before 10pm CENTRAL TIME, if you’re following Clara or me, you’ll see something like this on Twitter: Starting #SoATW in five minutes! Who’s in? I’m revising Chapter 8.

At 10pm CST: Time for #SoATW – see you in an hour!

At 11pm CST: Halfway through Chapter 8.  How’d everyone do? #SoATW

For the daytime meetup:

It’s essentially the same thing – but the time will vary, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for the #SoATW hashtag. You don’t have to wait for Clara’s tweet—your summer schedule is probably as crazy and unpredictable as hers is. If you have time to write during the day, go for it! Tweet #SoATW and then get writing. Clara will be checking for the hashtag throughout the day to send you encouragement and congratulations.

Remember: use the hashtag, or we won’t know you’re participating!

Why 10pm?

Our days and evenings are filled with work and kids and various obligations. By 10, life has settled enough that we can head into our writing cave and close the door for an hour. Staying up until 11 won’t turn us into total zombies the next day, though it might require an extra cup of coffee.

That being said, Erica cheerfully admits she’s a night owl: if 10pm is too late, feel free to stick with the daytime meetup. Last year, we also had East Coast participants who started an hour earlier and checked in just as the 10pm  crew was starting. That’s a great way to make the hashtag work for you!

Why Sunday through Thursday nights?

If your summers are anything like ours, Friday and Saturday nights book up pretty fast. We’re not looking to put a crimp in your social life.

Why flex-time on the weekdays?

This summer, we wanted to expand #SoATW by giving daytime writers a chance to participate. Also, Clara’s family is so busy that the only time she has to spend with her husband is at night, so she had to bow out of the late-night sessions this summer. Her summer weekday schedule is erratic, but she can always find an hour to write. Therefore, for the daytime writers, Clara will be running #SoATW sessions Monday through Friday, at various times (Mondays and Thursdays will most likely be very late in the afternoon or early evening). You can watch for her tweet and join in, or write when you can and check in on Twitter when you’re done. Flexibility is key to get any writing done in the summer – you need to grab the time when you have it. Clara may also host the occasional Saturday or Sunday daytime #SoATW, so keep your eye out for the hashtag and join in, or start your own session any time you want!

Why only an hour?

An hour is enough time to make progress, if you do it consistently, but it doesn’t feel like an overwhelming commitment.

Look at it this way: if you can write 1000 words in an hour, five times a week, you’d end up with 5000 words each week. 5000 words a week, over twelve weeks, means you’d have 60,000 words by Labor Day. For some people, that’s a whole book! (For other’s, it’s a sizeable amount of progress.)

If you’re revising, you can still use this formula: ____ pages per hour x 5 hours x 12 weeks = ______. (Feel free to write your own formula. Erica was an English major and cannot be trusted with numbers.)

Why twelve weeks?

Because that’s how many weeks we have until Labor Day.

I can’t possibly get all my work done in an hour! Can I do more?

Of course! The Twitter meetups function like a virtual writing date, but if you need more time to make your goals, take it! We’re here when you need us, and we’ll cheer you on.   

I can’t make it Mondays!

Totally fine, my friend. Pop around when you can, and we’ll be thrilled to see you.

When do we start?

We’ll begin the meetups on Sunday, June 8.  Clara will lead a daytime session and Erica will be gathering the troops at 10pm CST time.

While you’re preparing, please make sure you’re following Clara and Erica on Twitter. If you have one of those fancy twitter apps that let you track a hashtag, you might want to set up one for #SoATW.

More questions? Hit us in the comments!

 

SoATW Friday: Celebration!

We did it! Thirteen weeks of Summer of All The Words! Congratulations, Team SoATW -- you survived, you thrived, you wrote ALL THE WORDS. I'm so proud of you for sticking with us and making progress on your goals. As we say almost nightly over on The Tweety:

Any progress is good progress.

Even if you only joined us for one meetup, you are still farther than you were before. And that requires a celebration.

You've got Labor Day Weekend -- three long days -- to dance the Giraffe and prepare for autumn's writing goals. If you've got kids, you've probably purchased all of their school supplies by now. Now's the time to pick up some for yourself. I've got two suggestions for fun grownup supplies for you to splurge on.

Papersource: Artsy hipster supplies. They have the most beautiful calendars anywhere, and you know how I feel about calendars. The rest of their stuff is gorgeous, too.

Poppin: Modern, fun, stylish...I think their products would brighten up any office.

Moleskine: Remember my tiny brown notebook? You can find them at Target or Barnes and Noble, but if you want to see the full selection, browse their gorgeous site.

See? Celebration and preparation in one fell swoop. You guys deserve it!

Now, on to our discussion about Fall SoATW: Clara and I are still looking for a way to continue our community going forward, and we should have more information for you soon. You can follow either of us on Twitter or check our blogs periodically, or shoot us an email. And you can continue to use the #SoATW tag on Twitter if you're looking for partners. In the meantime, if you're so inclined, hit the comments to tell us what accomplishment you're most proud of this summer, then head over to Clara's blog for her final SoATW post -- and scroll down, because she's hosting an amazing giveaway to celebrate her book deal.

You guys are the best. Thanks for making this summer a raging success! *squeezes Team SoATW*

SoATW Friday: Winding Down, Ramping Up

Wow! Can you believe we only have a week left in our Summer of All The Words? Our last Twitter meetup will be this Thursday, August 29th; our last posting will be Friday the 30th. As Clara mentioned last week, we've gotten some requests to continue #SoATW, and we're looking for ways to do that while adjusting to the demands of the school year. If you've got ideas, let us know -- this has become such a great community, and we'd love to keep it going.

Today, I want to talk about the week we have left, and how to make the most of it, so you can start the year feeling good about the progress you've made and ready to tackle a new goal.

Think about the plans you had for this summer: in writing and in the rest of your life. Did you meet them?

My goals shifted considerably: a change in deadline for Dissonance 2 meant that I could focus solely on the revisions for Dissonance, and as we've discussed (and with a ton of support from my friends and family) I made my deadline. What I didn't do enough of was have fun with my family. We did better than last year, but I would have liked to make more good memories, especially considering that our summer ended with my aunt's funeral -- a woman my kids loved dearly.

Now, think about the week (and two weekends) you have left. If you've made your goal, how can you set yourself up for success in the coming months? If you didn't make your goal, what can you realistically accomplish?

In my writing, I have a few lingering projects -- a few guest blogs, a synopsis I've been avoiding for months...and a whole lot of office-cleaning. I'm planning to knock those out next week, and make a massive trip to Goodwill. On the family front, we're going to pack as much fun into the next two weekends as possible -- including trips to see family, eating a lot of frozen yogurt, and watching the original Star Wars trilogy. No Jar Jar Binks for my children! I'm also going to spend some time compiling the checklists and tools that keep our house running semi-smoothly during the year.

I think the key here, whether you've met your goals or not, is that you should wrap up the summer with a sense of accomplishment. You want to finish something tangible, whether it's a draft, a chapter, a synopsis, a query, a proposal, your research...whatever it is, the boost you'll get from meeting even a small goal will give you the momentum you need to continue . So choose something that's attainable -- and will prepare you for the next stage of your journey.

Lastly, think about what's next, and set some goals (and rewards).

My next big writing goal is to finish this draft of Dissonance 2. I DO have a reward in mind, but I have to keep it under my hat for now. I'll let you know when I can tell you about it. My family goals are to help my kids get off to the strongest possible start to the year, and make sure we're scheduling time for fun -- something we often forget to do. I've got plenty of techniques for the former, and I'm happy to share them in another post, if you're interested. Our reward is a less-stressed out family and more fun times (which is pretty self-evident).

I've already told you my goals for our final week above -- so instead, I'll close with a thank you. Your kind words and sympathy last week meant more than I can say. Our little community has become very dear to me, and I am grateful for each and every one of you. I can't wait to see what amazing things you do next.

As always, you can head over to Clara's blog for her Friday post. And I'll see you Sunday night for our final, awesome week!

 

SoATW Fridays: Controlled Re-entry

Welcome back, Team SoATW! We're in the homestretch of Summer of All The Words, and I hope you're pleased with all the progress you've made!

You'll be happy to hear that, not only did I make my deadline, I survived! This week has been about restoring order to my house and getting the kids ready for back-to-school. As much as I try to balance life and writing, during the last three weeks of a deadline, I'm pretty much a crazy person, bemoaning the state of my manuscript and my house, holed up in my cave or at Starbucks while entropy has its way with the rest of my life.

It used to be that, when I was so close to a due date, I panicked not only about my book, but all the things I was neglecting at home. Eventually I developed a system that -- while it might not hold the forces of chaos completely at bay -- lets me feel like it's manageable chaos.

During my deadline, I keep a running list of things I need to do, but aren't super-time sensitive. The urgent things, I take care of right away, despite my due date. Things like, for exampe, a Big Marshmallow's birthday presents, or picking up our weekly CSA share. The non-urgent things go in a little brown notebook, and then I put it out of my mind and get back to work.

Once I turn in the book and I'm ready to re-enter civilized society, I do a few things: Scrub the kitchen, deal with laundry, and prioritize the notebook list. Items that are becoming time-sensitive get a 1; less vital but still important stuff gets a 2; things that aren't urgent get a 3, and aspirational stuff -- the things I'd LIKE to accomplish but probably won't -- get a 4. 

Here's a sample of my list, bearing in mind we're preparing for a big, transition-filled school year:

Clean middle girl's room (1)
Clean Marshmallow's room (1)
Redo oldest girl's closet (2)
School supplies (1)
School physicals and dentist appointments (1)
Pick up framing order from crafting store (2)
Clean out garage (2)
Hang pictures (3)
Clean office (2)
Craigslist old table (3)
Put together photobooks: NOLA, San Diego, Disney 2011 (4) (don't judge me)
New desk for living room (4)
Drill hole in back of bookshelf (4)
Back to school clothes and shoes (2)
Doctor appointment for me (3)
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (1)
Wash couch slipcovers (2)
Domain renewal (2)
Central Registration (1)
Return dresses (1)

It's...a really long list. And there's more where that came from -- you're only seeing snippets. But daunting as it is, the list allows me to empty my brain of nagging worries, so I can focus on work. And once I've prioritized it, I have a clear map of what needs to be taken care of first, which makes me more efficient. This means I'm not freaking out at my family about the state of the house or back-to-school preparations.

As for how writing fits in here, never fear: I have projects to keep me busy, and I make time for them each day. But this allows me to regain the balance I've likely lost in the past three weeks.

GOALS!

I've got a few minor projects to finish up, so I'm working on those while I battle the list. That way, by next Friday, I'll be able to resume work on DISSONANCE 2. What are you up to this week?

Head on over to Clara's blog for more suggestions about balancing writing and life, and have a great week!

SoATW: I Have A Book Due In Four Days

Happy Friday, Team SoATW! We've survived another week of Summer of All The Words, and as you can tell by the title of this post, I'm a leeeeeeetle bit panicky right now. Which means today's post is short and sweet. Literally.

If you were here right now, you'd probably say that the last thing I need is more coffee. You would be wrong, alas. I need ALL THE COFFEE. And now I have a new way to drink it, courtesy of the lovely April Genevieve Tucholke. (I also have an ARC of her new book, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, which is tops on my TBR pile.)

The link below leads to a recipe for Magical Coffee, and that's exactly what it is. My friend Erin Bowman says she likes to cut down the sugar to one tablespoon, but she's a better person than I am. Four days before deadline, caffeine + sugar is where it's at.

Click here for Magical Coffee!

 

GOALS:

Do you really need to ask? FOUR DAYS. I'll be around Sunday night, of course, but I'll take Monday off to celebrate a certain Marshmallow's birthday and the unique joy/terror of pressing "send" with a giant manuscript attached.

See you on the other side, team. Wish me luck!

 

 

SoATW Friday: Deadline Frittata

Congratulations on surviving yet another week of Summer of All The Words! We've got a bit more than a month left, and I'm about ten days away from a massive deadline, so this is going to be a quick post.

Fittingly, it is about my favorite quick dinner: the frittata.

When I'm this close to deadline, it's just not possible to make a fancy dinner, especially when 3/5 of my crew are getting home after 7. They want food, and they want it right away, and I want them to eat something other than pizza or smoothies.

Enter the frittata: a less-fussy version of an omlette, stuffed with whatever leftovers you have lying around. I can't even give you a proper recipe, because it's just...a mishmash. Google it, if you lack confidence, but I swear it's the easiest thing in the world.

A frittata has only two hard and fast requirements: Eggs, and a nonstick skillet you can put in the oven (no plastic handle!). A regular skillet would work, I suppose, but eggs tend to stick.

Here's how it works:

1. Crack a bunch of eggs in a bowl. For five people, I usually use seven, but whatever you've got is fine. Add a little milk, a pinch of salt and as much pepper as you're comfortable with. Beat with a fork.
2. Pull out whatever leftovers you want to get rid of: small or cut-up pasta, cooked veggies or meat, tomatoes about to go south, odds and ends of cheese (we like goat cheese, broken into clumps). If you have grated cheese, put a little bit to the side.
3. Melt butter or olive oil in the non-stick skillet.  Not a ton, but enough to coat the pan nicely.
4. Pour in the eggs. Swirl them around. When they start to set but are still very liquidy on top, mix in your leftovers. Leave the pan on medium heat.
5. Let it cook. There's no real point in poking at it, unless you want to pull the edges away from the side of the pan and let the uncooked egg dribble into that space. I do this once or twice, but it's not essential.
6. When it's almost completely set, sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Run the whole thing under the broiler until the cheese starts to get melty and a TEENY TINY bit brown.
7. Wrap a towel or hot pad around the handle and pull it out. The handle will be VERY HOT, and it is hard to type with a giant burn on your hand.
8. Serve to ravenous family with some good bread and whatever condiments you like.
9. Feel virtuous for combining protien and veg in one pan, which someone else should wash.
10. Get back to work.

And work is exactly where I'm headed now. I'll be around for the nightly twitter meetups, and next Friday's blog. Otherwise I'll be pretty scarce for the next week or so. Check in with each other here or over at Clara's blog, and I'll see you Sunday night!

 

SoATW Fridays: Wiggle Room

Congrats on surviving another week of Summer of All The Words! We're about a third of the way through, and it seems like things are going well for everyone. Remember that the twitter meetups will resume Sunday night at 10pm CST.

I've got a busy week coming up -- a visit to my sister, a week of no camp for the kids (and diminished writing time for me), and preparations for the RWA National Conference in mid-July. I'm also expecting a fresh round of revisions on DISSONANCE. All of these things combined will make it harder for me to hit my beloved daily word count.

The good news is, I knew it was coming. When I filled out my calendar, I looked at late June and knew life would get crazy. The only thing that combats chaos is preparation, at least in my house, so I started building in wiggle room -- not just in writing, but in every aspect of my life.

The benefit of wiggle room is that when things start to slip out of control, you're not immediately plunged into a post-apocalyptic state of despair. You've got time to get things back on track, to catch a breath, to avoid the trap of, "If only I had____."

Wiggle room gives you peace of mind, and a cushion to soften the inevitable blow.

Here are some examples of how I use it:

Boosting my word count: According to Scrivener, I need to write 1,173 words every day to finish my zero draft of Dissonance 2 by my target date. But I've set a daily goal of 1500 words, which gives me an extra 300-ish words each day. Over the course of a week, I end up with an extra 2100 words -- almost two days' worth. Four weeks in, I'm almost 10K further than I need to be, all because I force myself to write a measly 300 extra words each day.

Cooking: We belong to a CSA, and while I love fresh, local, in-season produce, it is expensive. Nothing makes me feel worse than produce going bad, so I tend to do all my prep at once: I sautee the greens (SO MANY GREENS) while I roast the other vegetables, wash and tear the massive quantities of lettuce so it's ready for salads. Aside from keeping produce from going bad, it cuts down on cooking time later in the week, and ensures we have vegetables with every meal.

Buying multiples: Our house is not enormous and I don't like clutter, so I'm not a huge fan of buying things in bulk. BUT. If my kids use it more than once a week, or they need it for camp AND home, we stock up: waterbottles, beach towels, socks, hairbrushes, sunblock, so if we run out (or lose something) we can carry on with mimimal disruption. My big girls are picky about clothes, so when we find something they like -- Old Navy's tank tops for the older one, or Lands' End shorts for the midde one, I buy them in every color. (Big Marshmallow has two sisters' worth of hand-me-downs, so she needs nothing.)

Ready the night before: All three girls are expected to have their bags and lunch for the next day ready before bed, so there's no fussing in the morning. I do the same with my writing: once I've met my wordcount, I take a few minutes to figure out the scenes I'll be writing the next day: which characters are involved, their goals and conflicts, how it will advance the plot. It takes ten minutes while I'm eating a bowl of Moose Tracks (see: reward) but it saves me a ton of time the next day when I'm waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

I am always on the hunt for tricks like this, so chime in: how do you work ahead of the need?

Check-in and Goals!

I'm well ahead on my word count, so my goals for this week are to keep it up while the kids are home all next week. Harder than it sounds, but...that's why I have you guys!

Chime in with your goals in the comments, and then hit Clara's blog for more tips!

 

SoATW Fridays: Treat Yourself

Congrats on making it through this week’s Summer of All The Words! Watching more and more people pop in and make progress is so inspiring – thank you all for participating and spreading the word.

I will confess that last night, with a messy house and mountains of laundry and children who were suddenly unable to follow complicated, multi-step directions like “PUT ON YOUR PAJAMAS,” I was sorely tempted to bail. But the thought of everyone else meeting up and making progress without me was enough to change my mind.

Sometimes, a little peer pressure is all I need to get motivated. Other times, I rely on my deep-seated fear of missing a deadline. While both of those are powerful motivators, my favorite method is, frankly, bribery.

I have talked before about how essential rewards are. You should celebrate your successes. All of them. Writing is hard work, especially when there are so many other things vying for your attention. When you meet a goal, treat yourself to a little something.

For example, I made my daily wordcount yesterday, and so rewarded myself with a ginger beer. (I don’t like most pop, but I have an alarming weakness for very spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer.) Sometimes it’s something else: a few chapters of a new book, a walk around the neighborhood; hanging out on the couch while my husband watches Workaholics. It’s an acknowledgment of the progress I’ve made.

As the tasks get bigger, so do the rewards. When I turned in the latest round of revisions on Dissonance, I treated myself to a Blu-Ray player and Wreck-It Ralph (I would have just bought the DVD, but only the Blu-Ray had the special features.) My rule about electronics-based treats requires me turn in a draft of a book, though, so I'm not too spoiled.

Your goal-reward ratio may be different, and that’s fine. Determining the value of your effort and energy is a very personal calculus. What’s most important is that you DO value it – that you recognize your accomplishments and milestones during what can sometimes feel like a long slog. 

Goals!

This week, my goal is actually three: to make my weekly wordcount, as noted on my calendar; to finish outlining Dissonance 2 in detail; and to start work on my next round of Dissonance revisions. My reward will be to finally watch the Director’s Commentary of Wreck-It Ralph. I might even make popcorn with oodles of butter.

Your turn: What’s your goal for the week? And equally important, how are you going to reward yourself? 

When you’re done, head over to Clara’s blog for tips on getting the most out of writing meetups.

SoATW Friday: Flexibility = Freedom

Happy Friday, Team #SoATW!

I hope your week was a productive one. I'm generally pleased with my progress -- I didn't get as much outlining done as I would have liked, but I'm on track to finish up a project I've been procrastinating on since...oh...December. The brain space I'll reclaim once I cross it off my to-do list will be staggering.

You may (or may not) have noticed my absence during last night's #SoATW Twitter Meetup. I was sad to miss you all, but I had some writer friends in from out of town, and since they're normally scattered across the country, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Even so, I still had work to do, so I decided to run a midday writing meetup instead. I got my work done, and while I missed the usual camraderie, it freed up my evening for a special occasion.

How could I pass up an evening with these ladies? They're as lovely as they are brilliant and talented and funny. Also: SUSHI. (From left to right, Erin Bowman, TAKEN, Susan Dennard, SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY, Sarah J. Maas, THRONE OF GLASS, Kat Zhang, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME.)

One of the keys to successfully managing your summer writing is FLEXIBILITY. Life is going to throw you curveballs, good and bad. It's one of the reasons I build wiggle room into my writing schedule. Giving yourself permission to shift the schedule when necessary -- whether it's writing a horrible synopsis instead of outlining, or moving your dedicated block of writing time, or increasing your daily wordcount so you can take off on a long weekend with the family -- gives you freedom to enjoy your writing AND the rest of your life.

The best example of this I've seen: Mia, one of our regular #SoATW'ers, lives on the East Coast -- which means our meetups run until midnight for her, and like most sane people, she would prefer to be in bed by then. So she very sensibly started up an East Coast #SoATW -- she writes from 10-11 Eastern Time and checks in as we're gearing up. And it's working pretty well, I think, because she hit 50K this week, which was her goal. (YAAAAAAAAY MIA!!!!)

Flexibility is your secret summer weapon. Fire at will.

Remember to check out Clara's post on how to feed people when you'd rather be writing.

And now, I'm turning it over to you: how was your week? What are your goals for next week? Hit the comments, and we'll see you back on Twitter Sunday at 10pm CST!

 

SoATW Fridays: Staying On Track

Congrats, SoATWers! You've survived the first week of The Summer of All The Words. Whether you joined the Twitter Meetups regularly or worked on your own timetable, you've made progress, and that's what this summer is all about.

Our purpose for the Friday blog posts is to share some tips about balancing writing and the rest of your life, especially during summer. The comments are a place for you to share both tips and progress, and set goals for the next week if you think that will be helpful.

Speaking of goals, I suspect by now you've set one (or several) for SoATW. My tip for today is how to keep yourself on track to meet those goals. When I'm trying to balance writing with our summer plans, a paper calendar is a huge help. It lets me see family obligations and writing ones simultaneously, which allows me to manage my time better and keep my focus where it needs to be at any given moment. 

Planning my weekly wordcount is a simple formula. If you're revising, use page counts instead.

1. Set a deadline and count how many weeks until it arrives.
2. Set a target length.
3. Divide your target length by your number of weeks.
4. Write your weekly target on whatever day you decree check-in day. Make sure the total on each check-in day is cumulative.

In my case, here's my self-imposed schedule for DISSONANCE 2:

1. Deadline: Sept. 6 Weeks until deadline: 12 (actually, it's 13 but I'm taking a week to outline)
2. Target length: 100,000 words
3. Division: 100,000/12 = 8,333 words per week.
4. Written Targets:

You'll notice I also include my daily word count -- but that's just a rough estimate. If that level of detail feels stressful, you can just include the weekly goals. I also use Scrivener's Project Target tool to stay motivated, but I'll talk about that in another post.

A few words about math and tricking myself: first, I round up my weekly target to 9000, because it's easier to add AND because it gives me wiggle room. For the same reason, I bump my daily word target (1285) up to 1500. Here's the real reason: It's not significantly harder for me to write an extra 300-ish words each day, but the cumulative effect is an additional 2000 words per week -- it's a painless way to make a big difference.

This system works for me because it applies necessary pressure. October feels far away, and it's easy to think that I can make up the time by working harder once my kids are back in school. But if I see my weekly target tick upwards, and my wordcount falling further and further behind...I realize very quickly how hard it will be to make up that lost ground, and I buckle down.  Equally important, the calendar keeps me from working in a blind, all-consuming panic. I know what I need to do, and I know it's doable, so I can spend time with my family without stressing out.

I'll be the first to admit that this level of structure isn't for everyone, but if you're struggling to keep on track with your goal, you might want to give it a try.

In the meantime, how was your first week of #SoATW? Feel free to use the comments to share your progress and helpful tips; you can also tell us your goals for next week or for the entire summer. (You've already seen mine.)

When you're done, head over to Clara's blog for another suggestion about how to balance writing and family! Happy Weekend, all!