We only have two full weeks left of 2022 to go, and I'm feeling pretty good about the pace I'm keeping. It looks like I'll easily break both the month and year word count records for myself and I've been able to put in a lot of quality time into my manuscripts this week.
Have you ever had one of those weeks when you feel unstoppable and can accomplish anything? Personally, I love that feeling and often do what I can to sustain it.
Anyway, it looks like I'll be starting off 2023 doing some incredible things for myself. And not just from a professional standpoint, either.
New Schedule Working Wonders!
I created a new schedule this week that focuses on prioritizing my creative work. This means guaranteeing blocks of time every day to work on my next book and rewriting VII. So far, it's been working out beautifully.
I spent last Saturday really analyzing what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, I'm a successful freelance writer, but it's not all that I want to be. I would honestly love to have more books on my shelf, both on Amazon and in real life. When I received a thorough review of my first draft from a beta reader, I realized that being an author is what I truly wanted out of the next 10 years.
So, I spent Saturday and a good chunk of Sunday working on how I can balance as much as I can while putting time into writing my book. Not to mention rewriting and finishing VII, the story I have on Wattpad.
Needless to say, the schedule worked out amazingly well. I had to sacrifice a couple of blog posts and a video spot throughout the week to balance everything. But overall, it was probably one of the most productive weeks I've had in quite some time. I might do a bit of tweaking before the new year starts, but as it stands, it won't be very much.
If you truly want to accomplish something, you have to prioritize it in your day, somehow. Sometimes this means sacrificing a few minor things to square away enough time, but it's often worth the effort. Otherwise, you run the risk of continuously putting it on the back burner and constantly telling yourself that you'll "get to it later." Time has a way of disappearing on you quickly, and that "later" could become years down the road.
Using NaNoWriMo.org to Track VII's Progress
I like using NaNoWriMo.org to track the progress of my books. It provides me with a shareable platform to help show off what I have coming up, what I'm working on now, and what has been published. But one of my favorite reports is the estimation of when my first drafts will be completed.
I've kind of made a game out of seeing how much time I can shave off the completion date.
When I first set up the goal for VII in NaNoWriMo, it displayed I would be done near the beginning of 2024. That's because I didn't work on the book for about a week before spending an hour writing part of the first chapter. Today, it's showing the middle of 2023. Thanks to the new schedule, though, I'm sure it'll be done probably around February.
I might have to change the overall length of the book in the goal, though. I was going to aim for about a 60,000-word Wattpad novel. However, I've already added more than 2,000 words to the first chapter to flesh it out a bit more. At this rate, it might wind up being closer to 80 to 90k by the time I'm done.
There are a lot of apps out there that can help you stay focused and productive. For instance, you can use something like Asana to schedule blocks of time in the day. And you can use platforms like NaNoWriMo.org that can help you create goals and maintain deadlines for yourself. Just remember that no digital tool is going to magically make you successful. You'll still need to do the work yourself to get the most out of these online apps and platforms. Especially if you plan on paying for premium services and software.
Wrapping Up "Lust" this Weekend...Hopefully
I am almost done rewriting the first chapter of VII. My editor will soon go over the tale with suggested edits, and then, I'll paste it into Wattpad. With the block of time I have scheduled for today and having the house without kids tomorrow, I should be able to finish "Lust" this weekend.
Now, I say "hopefully" simply because I still have quite a bit to do before Christmas and the end of the year. Still, I bet it would only take about two and a half hours to fully finish this chapter.
At the rate I'm going, I might be able to finish a chapter per week. The reason why it's taking so long is that I'm also sharing blocks of time editing Kingmaker, which I would love to have out on Amazon and Barnes & Noble relatively soon. Not to mention all of the other things I have going on throughout any given day.
If you do decide to give VII a read on Wattpad, remember that I'm working on rewriting and polishing up the entire book over the coming weeks. Each time I finish rewriting a chapter, I'll add a new header image stating that it's been rewritten. All of the chapters after that are a bit of a mess.
Getting into the habit of finishing projects can do wonders for your mental health. It can boost morale, self-confidence, and demonstrate how you're capable of making things happen. Many will have collections of things not finished. Why not put a bit of effort into completing them to help create a body of work of which you can be proud?
Getting Excited for 2023!
As I wrap up the last couple of weeks, I am getting more and more excited to start 2023. In fact, with this new schedule, I might actually surpass a million words written next year. That's something I haven't done for quite some time.
But it's not just the writing I am excited to dive into. I'm also looking forward to some of the marketing plans and content I plan on doing for the many brands I'm building. In fact, I'm negotiating for content on ColoradoPlays.com today. It won't be a lot, as I want to make sure I pay the writer well for his efforts and I can only afford one or two posts per month.
Plus, I'm looking forward to getting into the best physical shape of my life. After my physical problems back in 2016, my health has weighed heavily on my mind. I plan on doing some awesome things next year, but I can't do most of them without losing a bit of weight and improving stamina.
So, next year is going to be big for a lot of things.
What are you planning to do for the last two weeks of December?