Juggling Time

You may or may not have noticed, but I've been absent from my blog (and other blogs) for most of the summer. I had grandiose visions of being a full-time writer and dedicating my summer to finishing my novel.  

But, like some well-thought out plans, my vision failed rather quickly. I discovered that I work better on a tight, rigid schedule. With too much free time (like my summer as a teacher out of school), I tend to fill in the gaps with non-work: reading, playing with my kids, going to movies, etc. It surely didn't leave me enough time to write. In my mind, I was on vacation (loosely translated, no work!). Then it became easier and easier to push writing to my "back-burner."  

Now, three weeks before I have to return back to school, I can't imagine where the time went. Did I write every day? No. Did I finish the first draft of my novel? No. Did I stay caught up on blogging? No.  

But I can say that I had an enjoyable summer. Three months ago, my kids and I made a list of the top 50 things we wanted to do this summer. We didn't accomplish everything, but we did manage to hit 24 activities on the list. Not too bad, I think.  

What I realized this summer is that I tend to accomplish more when I have less time. Surprising, isn't it? I think I prioritize better when there's less time. I'm looking forward to getting back into a rigid schedule again, one that includes time to write. 

What about you? Did you achieve all that you wanted this summer?

Weekly Check-up

Whew!  I did it.  I survived my first week after setting my writing goals.  It wasn't easy, nor did I complete every goal.  But I wrote more than I would've written without the goals, so that makes it all worth it in the end.  Oh, and still no word from VCFA ...

My check-up on last week's goals:

1. Write 500 words a day for at least 5 days on my current WIP. I wrote 500 words for only 4 days, but now my manuscript has 2000 more words than it did a week ago.
2. Work on revisions for chapters 9-11 on my previous manuscript. I'm going to a revision workshop in the near future.  When I told my friends that I was going to work on revisions before the workshop, a wise friend told me that it was like washing my clothes before taking them to the dry cleaners.  So I abandoned this goal ... for now. 
3. Finish critiquing a writing partner's manuscript before my writing group meets on Saturday. I finished all but one chapter on my writing partner's manuscript, but I also read the first chapter of her new WIP (so I think I made up for it).
4. Submit online. I didn't do this one because I'm not sure my manuscript is ready to be submitted (see goal #2).  Maybe after the revision workshop.

 My new goals for this week:

1. Write every single day, but at least 500 words on 4 days.
2. Finish critiquing a manuscript for my group at my upcoming revision workshop.
3. Read The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman (homework for the revision workshop).

What I learned this week: Even with my goals, time has proven once again to be an elusive foe.  I've learned that I give in to far too many distractions.  Of course, some distractions take a priority over my writing (like my darling children), but I learned that my best writing time last week occurred when my kids were in bed asleep.  And I mean really asleep, not in their rooms awake, preparing to come out every five minutes.  

I also learned that it will not be the end of the world if I don't get into the MFA program that I applied to weeks ago.  Everyone had great suggestions of how I can work on improving my craft, namely practice, practice, practice. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

Happy Library Appreciation Day!