I have to admit that today's post is kicking my butt. I've tried writing it twice, but there are things going on in my life that I just want to share, so it keeps coming out every time I try to write this post and taking over. The other reason is that this is kind of an important milestone.
On the one hand, it's the middle of the year. It's also the middle of my goal's five-year period after I hit reset on how I approached my goals. So it stands to reason that I should stop and take stock of everything I've achieved.
But... right now, that isn't working for me. At the heart of it, I'm currently busy with some really large-scale things, so it's been months since I've actually "achieved" anything that isn't related to my freelance work.
Still, this doesn't mean I'm failing. Until recently, I did feel like a constant failure. There is always something more to do. There is always something I could do better. So lately, I've started to fall into a trap of not seeing the progress I've made because it kept feeling like I'm falling short.
So I'm getting into the frame of mind of remembering that what I'm busy with right now is just as important as those goals I want to achieve.
With that in mind, this is what I'm working on right now:
Book 3 of The War of Six Crowns
I had really hoped that I could publish this by now, but yeah. Life. I'm making progress, though. It's just taking longer than expected because of its length. It'll be worth the wait, though.
Work
Yeah. That's really something that is taking over my life right now, but despite more than doubling my freelance rates, I've had two (or more) freelance jobs to do pretty much constantly since January. This is awesome, but it does have a massive impact on my productivity. That's why I'm now doing the next thing...
Building My Writing Momentum
My thinking around this activity was what woke me up to how hard I've been on myself. This whole thing of "Three years ago, I could write/edit 2k a day." Yeah. That's true. But the thing is, I don't count the writing and editing I do as a freelancer. If I really were to put a word value to the writing, editing, and research I do as a freelancer, I do 4.5k per day at minimum. (And sometimes as much as 16k.) Still, it's not really good enough for me to rest on my freelance success. The whole reason why I started freelancing was so I could have the security and time I need to work on my own fiction.
So when I say I'm building my momentum, I'm really talking about writing 3k per day on my own writing. Or... about 7.5k per day in total. Is that completely insane? Maybe?
Sorting Out My Communications
Recently, I've had to start studying up on branding and communications for my contract work. And man, did I learn a lot about what I'm doing wrong. So now I'm working on fixing all those things. This was what I've been talking about every time I mentioned the big decisions I'm making. In a lot of ways, the changes I need to make are down right terrifying. But I know there's no point to going on in the way I have been because it's just not working. But because there's so much to sort out, it's taking longer than I wanted to take.
One thing that I am starting to sort out really fast is my YouTube Channel. At the moment, I'm hosting weekly live write-ins on Saturdays at 5 P.M. South African Time (which is 11 A.M. EST). So if you'd like to hang out with me and some writing buddies I made with Camp NaNoWriMo while getting some writing and editing done, head over here and subscribe and hit the notification bell. That way, you'll know the moment I go live. Speaking of Camp NaNoWriMo...
Prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo
As part of my momentum-building effort, I've signed up for July's Camp NaNo. I'm aiming to write 60k words next month, but starting at around 1k words a day and working my way up with small daily increments. The idea is that by the end of the month, I'll be above the 2.5k per day level.
So yeah. Big things are going on here. Pretty exciting, really. What about you? Do you have any major stuff going on as you're going after your goal?
Sadly, the fiction we prefer to write isn't the top priority. That doesn't mean it isn't a priority, but life has demands that must be met as well. Hang in there, keep learning and keep pressing on!
ReplyDeleteYeah, honestly I don't think it SHOULD be top priority, but it does need to be done at some point.
DeleteCool about the You Tube channel.
ReplyDeleteYou have to look for those small successes or you'll never feel like you are making progress.
Absolutely.
DeleteIt can be so frustrating and exhausting, but you're right, the little successes have to be counted and the words you write in order to be able to write your fiction do count.
ReplyDeleteYeah. It all adds up, if one keeps a bit of perspective when thinking about it.
DeleteLittle steps build up and so do the success. Hang in there. So grateful you found that freelance job. You will find your balance.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope you're doing well. :-)
DeleteI do not believe that you are a failure. I know you feel it, and I often feel it about myself. We are hard on ourselves--perhaps harder than most other people are.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
That's very true. I'm my own nightmare boss.
DeleteHi Misha - getting the YouTube channel up and running, realising you need more brush time on your branding and commerical works - makes so much sense ... and you're achieving loads. The writing is there ... so it'll come. Good luck with all and with the CampNaNo ... take care and enjoy - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's sometimes hard for me to step back and realize how much I still need to do. But I'm trying to keep a good perspective about it.
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