I’m taking a different approach to this novel just because I can—I strongly recommend working to a deadline even for writers who don’t have contracts because it clarifies the work and forces decision over the habit of endless indecisiveness to which many writers fall prey. For me, an experiment in consistent but small word counts with no particular end date set is a simple luxury bought at the price of a whole lot of work elsewhere.

I apologize. I never meant that you should choose a deadline that was constrictive. If I implied that, forgive me. My intent was that boundaries can be helpful. From your comment to me, and the replies you made to others following it, I believe you’ve found it.

As an aside, 250 words: I did that recently on an 8 1/2″ page, single spaced (double space between paragraphs) with 3/4″ margins, and 12pt Arial font in OpenOffice.org. It was done in OO.o simply because it’s easier for me to do spell checking, and has a larger field of vision. I later transfered it to a text editor (GEdit), then copied and placed it in a blog. For you to say that you did 250 words in a bit over a page (and the implication is that it’s in manuscript form of double space) impresses me. You must have MUCH better eyesight than I do.

Craig
Tyche

I did the deadline. It was the deadline that gave me the migraines.

I am a workhorse, and my entire writing career has been comprised of ferocious deadlines under pressure, most of them completed early to meet contractual obligations and to get paid. I did the How To Think Sideways writing course under the most brutal deadline of all, because I had to have a new lesson done every week, and some of those lessons are huge, multimedia extravaganzas, and all of them required me to rip my thought processes apart in the same week that I also started and finished the lesson. And no matter how much the lesson needed, it still had to be done that week.

I did all of that so that I could hit a point where I could write a book at the pace the book dictated, WITHOUT being under contractual obligation. I am a tired workhorse, and I wanted, in other words, to shake the yoke.

My pace—the pace at which writing is fun—at the moment is about 250-500 words a night. At that pace, writing is a delight, I have time to consider options, time to explore alternatives, time to play. I’ve realized that it might take me a couple of years to get the book done at this pace. I’ve also realized that it is no sin to take a couple of years to write a book if you have the opportunity to do so. I have the chance to write the best book I’ve ever written, and I’d be a fool not to take it. My personal best novel ever is my objective.

A deadline would be…comfortable, familiar, more of the same. I’m breaking comfortable and familiar to explore strange new worlds in my own existence. I want to see writing from a different perspective, and discover what that perspective offers to my fiction.

Maryse— I have workaholic issues. I am fighting them. It is not easy.

Tori, Bren— I am doing a lot of things. I like doing a lot of things—and I’m enjoying the writing. So, yes, I’m exploring a new way to write a book for me. Because it’s new, I expect from time to time to slip back into old habits that were critical to my previous survival (high wordcounts, high pressure). But I expect to catch myself, and remind myself that This Book Is Different. (My new mantra.)

Texanne, I’m learning top-down knitting. I’m eyeing a guitar course I want to take. And I’m hanging out with my guys every second I get. My version of the lake.

Leah— EXACTLY! If it isn’t fun, you might as well be working at McDonald’s. (Not my favorite of the many jobs I had, though actually, not the worst of all possible jobs, either.)

Ieva— Yeah. My worst day is 250 words. So that’s my baseline. It’s a bit over a page. And it’s good enough. Everything over that is gravy.

It bloody well works and it does not stall the progress – knowing that I can do 500 words with my right hand tied behind my back while the kids are crawling all over me, helps me to do it every day (while taking two days a week off, on average) and most of the time, I write more. But that doesn’t make me to change my schedule. Nothing as good as patting myself on the back when I do more, even if it’s only 100 words more.

And you can still have a deadline. Only a more distant one.

Thanks for the reminder.

Anyway, even in your distress you have helped me: seeing your mind map, I remembered that I have Inspiration and Curio on this computer. They can make great decision trees, something I’m needing for my plot. See? You can’t help being helpful.

Peace to your house.