The Final Reckoning...For January

Back in October, the day after my birthday, I started trying to write every day in an effort to improve myself as a writer.

It's been a process getting myself up to speed. At first, I just tried to write every day, but forgot about my goal almost as often as I remembered. Then I tried to write 500 words every day, and did pretty well, except, of course, for those days I forgot to write altogether...coupled with my dad's death, which threw me for a loop.

Last month, I upped my goal all the way to 1,000 words a day. This was the true kickoff for my attempt to make it to 300,000 words. If I write 1,000 a day, and there's approximately 30 days each month, then I can get 30,000 words a month. There are now only ten months left until October rolls around again, and I finish another loop around the sun. Ten months left to get to 300,000. Of course 10 x 30,000 is 3000,000. So, as long as I keep up the 1,000 words a day for the rest of the year, I'll make it.

But, did I manage? In December I missed 14 out of 31 days writing. In November, I missed 7 out of 30 days writing. At that kind of level, I was never going to make it. How did January go? Well, here's my word count chart for the month:

Yeah, I tripped right out of the gate, missing New Year's Day. Days off have always been my weak point. I have been doing my writing during my lunch break at work for the most part. I've developed a pretty good habit of it now. So, I don't miss writing on work days. But when I'm off for any reason, be it a weekend or a holiday, I have a tendency to forget. There's no lunch break, ya know?

However, I worked very hard not to forget about writing even on weekends from there on out. Rish Outfield called me frequently to remind me about writing as well.

So, the only other day that I missed writing was when I fell asleep on the couch watching the NFC Championship game on TV. I woke up as that game came to an end, and decided that I didn't care that I hadn't written. I was so tired that I was going to just go to bed for the night. The worst part about that was that walking downstairs and getting into bed was enough to wake me from my sleep that I couldn't get back to sleep once I was in bed.

I laid there for hours, frustrated that I wasn't getting the extra sleep I was hoping for, and thinking again and again that I should just give up and go write. Then looking at the clock, realizing that it was super late, and I really needed to get to sleep so that I could be up in the morning to get my son off to school.

I wonder if the fact that I didn't write was what kept me awake that day. Was it weighing on my mind and keeping me from being able to sleep? Or was it just because I'd already fallen asleep for a few minutes, and that power nap was enough to keep me going well into the night?

That second option, judging from past experience, is more likely the reason. I always have problems sleeping at night if I take a nap at any time during the day. I can't let myself wake up all the way or I'm doomed. But it is a kind of romantic notion to think that the guilt of not writing was keeping me awake.

In the end, I didn't write that night, and wound up missing two nights on the whole month. So, I wrote 29 out of 31 days in January. That is by far my most consistent month. I think I'm really getting there.

Since I never write exactly 1,000 words in a day, the excess added up to cancel out those missed days for me. My final tally for the month was 32,194. Which means I hit my goal of 30,000 words on the month. That's exciting. That means I'm 1/10 of the way to victory. Nine more months of 1,000 words a day, and I win.

In fact, I even have a bunch of padding, considering that all the words that I wrote in 2019 aren't included in the ten month plan I've come up with. I did 26,883 words during November and December. So, I could technically miss 26 days throughout the year and still nip in just under the wire. I'd rather not, though. I want to get this habit set in stone.

Here's my year to date chart. Here's what I'm at now:

So, I've got 59,077 words for the year. Let's see what the picometer says that I am at percentage-wise for my final goal:

EDIT:
New progress meter.

59077 / 300000 (19.69%)

Okay, so I'm at nineteen percent. Not too shabby.

This month, I mostly put my time in on the second book of Sunny & Gray. The book is now 59,311 words long. I also wrote a quick and dirty story called "Young Blue Eyes" which I'm not particularly fond of. However, I know that often the author's least favorite story can turn out to be the reader's most favorite story, so I'm not just going to throw it in the round file where I think it belongs. In fact, I think I'll publish it here on the blog for y'all to read if you're interested.

So, since starting this effort, I've written three short stories and the better portion of a novel. I'm pretty happy about my progress.

I think this effort is just going to continue to gather steam. In February, Rish loves to kick his writing up to the next level. He attends a writers conference every year on the Valentine's Day weekend, and it tends to get him all pumped about writing. So, he's started making it a habit to write every single day in the month of February every year.

He always bugs me about it, wanting me to join in. Some years I'm game, other years I just want him to leave me alone. This year, I'm pretty much already doing it, so it shouldn't be a problem.

So, we're doing the February Sweeps Writing Challenge this year, in which the both of us are trying to write every single day of the month.

My goal will remain 1,000 words a day, but this time, I really want to hit every single day, without fail. I know I can do it. I just gotta strap it on, and prove it.

I know it's a little late now, already the 3rd of February, but if you want to join Rish and me in writing every day for the month, we invite you along. Don't worry about the days that have passed, just write from here on out.

Write on!