NaNoWriMo 2011 - Day 16

I am not pleased.

My writing has continued to slow more and more and more on each and every front this week as I struggle to make progress on not just NaNo, but also schoolwork, and blogging.

Obviously, seeing as this post is going up the day after it was due.

*grumble*

So, yeah. No quote today. No kitties. Barely even an update. I just don't have the time. (Or, rather, I've told myself I don't have the time, but that's a separate issue.)

Instead, here's a series of posts from Dean Wesley Smith (yes, again) about setting goals for your writing. Not only what types of goals you should be setting, but also how to set them and break them down into manageable chunks, as well as how to follow through with them and trick yourself into getting the work done.

They were a surprising find for me yesterday, and managed to teach me  few new ideas. Considering and setting goals for next year is just about the one thing I have made progress on this week, so I hope I can pass on that productivity to you through these thoughts from Dean. I realize it's a bit early for many of you to be considering goals (or "resolutions") for the new year, especially since we're waist deep in the midst of NaNo. But like I said, this is about the one thing I've managed to do well this week.



Here're the links. Note that, unlike many of the "link lists" I post, these really should be read in order. (And if you don't, you're going to have Dean constantly harping on you to read them in order throughout the series. You've been warned.)

Here We Go Into a New Year
GOALS. How to Even Think About Them
Goals. Making Them Real
A Personal Example of How to Set Goals
Goals, Attitudes, and Numbers
Doing the Numbers to Find a Goal
Avoiding Goal Failure
More Than One Goal
Goal Motivation
Fear and Your Goal
Craft Goals
Streaks and Goals
Last Minute Goal Help

I've previously linked to Dean's website in reference to his "Killing the Sacred Cows of Writing" series, which is an exhaustive, alternative look at the many assumptions aspiring authors have about the industry. It's really helped me to get more work done and to begin looking at my career as my career (even though it hasn't gotten started yet).

All that being said, it's a long series, and hits some heavy topics, and challenges many of your long-held notions about the job. It can be difficult to get through.

This series, I'm pleased to report, is all about getting the work done. Better yet, it repeats many of the nuggets of wisdom that Dean shares in his "Sacred Cows" posts that I found so immediately helpful to my work.

So, if you want to "get serious" about writing or even simply want to understand why I keep recommending this Dean Wesley Smith guy as a teacher, you could do a lot worse than to check out the above list.

Until next time...
-josh k.
a little late