Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart
What does the future hold for Maggie Lee?
That’s a subject that dominates the beginning of THE HITWOMAN OWES A FAVOR (book number 25 in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series).
Yesterday I started my 101 Days of Effort project. I took it as a good omen that there was a pretty sunrise to start the day.
Hopefully it bodes well for the future of Hitwoman 25.
I got off to a good start by adding 3408 words to the manuscript. (The goal was to add 3200 words.) Only 100 more days to go…
Also Known As: Just how crazy of a writer am I?
I’ve debated about whether to share this. I was worried people might find it to be obnoxious. Heck, there are days when I find myself obnoxious. But there are also days when I’m searching for inspiration. Days when I’m wondering, “How do they do that?”
On the off chance I can inspire one person, or give someone a different perspective on how to approach something, I’ve decided to share.
Earlier this year, when I was in danger of succumbing to the pandemic blues, I decided to spend the 100 days before my trip to North Carolina making a concentrated effort to get a ton done. (The much needed change of scenery being my reward.)
I like big goals that I can get excited about!
Overall the endeavor was semi-successful. And in today’s world, that’s a win. It means I did way better than I would have if I’d gotten sucked into the pandemic blues, even though I got a bit burnt out. I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to, but I still managed to do quite a bit of writing. (Though taking up stepping was a HUGE success. I’ve been told I need to have my knees replaced and I had NO PAIN despite doing a fair amount of hiking. Before stepping, my knees were bothering me just walking around.)
About three-quarters of the way through I swore I’d never take on anything so daunting again. But as soon as it was over, I realized I missed the challenge.
All the medical experts have made it clear that life is not going to get back to normal in the next 101 days, so I’ve decided to use this “downtime” as productively as I can.
This round I’ve spent more time planning what I hope to accomplish during this sustained period of effort. I also scheduled time off…something I failed to do the first time around. In fact I spent a good portion of my time away, just thinking about what I want to do based on what I did “wrong” last time.
How much planning? The bag contains all the clothes I packed for my three week retreat. In addition to bringing my computer, this is how many notebooks and ink refills I brought. (And yes, I used every notebook…my knees might not have bothered me, but there were nights when my hand hurt, lol.)
I’ll be sharing more specifics as I move forward, but my hopes for the next 101 days (through 2/28/21) are to be disciplined about my time (on work days…and to be disciplined about NOT working on non-work days) and write 210,000 words.
The 25th book in my Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series is the first project I’m writing. It’s all plotted out. I wrote the first scene. The blurb is written. I even have the cover already. Needless to say I’m excited.
I’m certainly not advocating that anyone should take on my insane kind of goals, but what could YOU do to move toward something YOU want?