aepage.net

I meet people all the time that tell me they want to be writers or that it’s something they’ll do eventually. I don’t particularly want to look back and wish that I had pursued writing more seriously. In reading people’s blogs, I feel like the biggest mistake that people make is that they don’t approach writing like a career, something that you have to work on every day.

One of the coolest things that I did this year was attend a TON of  writer panels at Dragon*Con and hear some fanastic, often inspirational things. The best thing that I heard came from Diana Peterfreund at a YA panel. She talked about working another job, being busy and stressed BUT finding time to write one page a day. So, for a year, she wrote one page a day, and eventually became a published author.

In 2010, I plan on writing one page a day, and posting my progress up here on a regular basis. Like all well-formed plans, I too have some personal rules for my writer’s challenge.

1.  Write every day.

Sure that seems obvious, but my main goal for this year to is to be in the habit of writing on a daily basis, even when I don’t feel like writing. The other part of this, and probably the trickiest, is to take this part seriously, but without being obsessive, after all, this is supposed to be fun.

2. Blog my progress on a regular basis

This year, I discovered Cherie Priest,  a writer who blogs about her progress on  a regular basis. All of her blog posts are incredibly fun and interesting, but I love getting these glimpses into her process. She even includes a progress bar with a set goal of how long she wants each project to be.

I am definitely going to copy her habit of posting about my work – maybe even sharing some of what I have written. I found a fantastic html progress bar that I’ll be using on my posts this year (thank you JenHayley.com!). Blogging is definitely something that will keep me honest and accountable for what I am writing.

Also, if you haven’t read Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker, slap yourself silly and go buy a copy. But beware! You might find yourself turning a bit green with envy over the fantastic descriptions, wit and creativity of the story. She’s definitely one of my writer heroes of 2009.

3. Write about what I know, what I like and damn the man!

One of my biggest issues with writing, is trying to please the reader with what I write. I often forget that as the writer, it’s my story and I need to write the story as I see fit. The best example of this was when I wrote an entire chapter (twenty-five pages) and showed it to another writer. He read it and liked it, but panned the entire project since “real writers don’t write in first person because it’s lazy.” I spent the next six months writing the story into the ground using third person. Mark eventually talked some sense into me, but not after I had developed such bad, angry feelings towards the entire story.

I never, ever want to waste my time doing things like that again. One person’s bad review lost me six months of writing time. My biggest issue creatively is learning to ignore trends (vampires, urban fantasy, steampunk…) and find my own story. I never want to pick up one of my short stories and  cringing because I was so heavily influenced by another writer, proofreader etc. I want my stories to be 100% me, even if that 100% totally sucks.

So, if you want to try to write one page, every day for a year, let me know! Leave a comment at the end of this post or shoot me an email so I can start reading your blog. Happy Holidays and be well!

EDIT: Participants can download the image on this post and stick it on their blog, linking back to this post, so people know what we’re up to! Good luck.

Popularity: 44% [?]

This entry was posted Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Internet, Uncategorized, writing. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.