There’s a lot to be said for asking the right question. As I discussed last week, “How bad do you want it” might be motivating to some, but only served to make me feel like I was never doing enough, and that perhaps a better question was “Am I having fun?”
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I really think that we put too much pressure on ourselves, and that those expectations come from no one else. I’m going to talk about this more tomorrow, so come back. I am not someone who has fun working under pressure. But if there’s not so much pressure, it can be fun.Last week, I did indeed have fun, and I met most of my ROW80 goals, too! Here’s how it went:
- Continue keeping up with writing workshop – Done!
- Some kind of physical activity 3x – even if just for five minutes! – Done! Actually, I did four workouts, for 15-20 minutes each. Would have done a fifth, but came down with a cold toward the end of the week.
- Begin sewing dress through Step 8 of instructions – mostly done. There turned out to be more hand sewing than I thought, and that is time-consuming, so didn’t quite get it all.
- List ten things that could happen in the new book – they don’t have to be good ideas, just something! – Done! And it was fun. 🙂
This week, I’m going to continue taking it easy on fitness, since I’m still fighting off this cold. If I get some workouts in, I’ll consider them a bonus. I’m also going to continue taking it easy on the new book, since I am presenting a workshop on ebook formatting at my local RWA chapter this Saturday, and I need to finish the handout materials and plan the presentation for that. I’ve already watched the videos and done part of this week’s assignment for the online writing workshop, so that helps. So here are this week’s goals:
- Finish assignment for online writing workshop.
- Finish hand-sewing for prom dress in steps 1-8.
- List ten more things that could happen in the new book.
- Finish presentation plans and handouts for RWA chapter presentation, and PRESENT it on Saturday!
What about you? Whether or not you’re doing the ROW, how are your plans going? Have you had to change plans recently? And more importantly, are you having FUN with them?
Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.
I agree. Are you having fun is a much better question. I put so much into my writing, studying my craft, and building my platform that at times I feel exhausted. I can feel like I’m running a marathon on a treadmill, never actually moving forward. It’s easy to get lost in the journey and forget to have fun, forget to laugh. I’m working in it, that’s for sure.
You had a great week, Jen. Hope your cold gets the hint and leaves town.
No change of plans for me, just plodding right along. I am having fun, because I’m passionate about my characters and their stories, so that is cool.
One thing I have to address though, is I often feel the expectations of my fans. I feel like I’m not working hard enough or fast enough for them. When someone writes telling me how much they enjoy a story, then I automatically have this little voice in my head telling me I need to hurry up and get finished already. 🙂
SJ, running a marathon on a treadmill is a great analogy – that’s what it was starting to feel like! Now, whenever it starts to feel that way, I hope I remember to ask, Am I having fun? And if I’m not, ditch the stuff that’s not fun! Thanks for your well wishes!
Kate, being passionate about the stories goes a long way to keeping them fun, that’s for sure! I’m so glad I’m rediscovering that through the writing workshop right now. I haven’t dealt too much with fan expectations yet, because so far, most of my fans are also authors. They’ve told me they’d love a third Saturn Society novel, but they also understand how hard those are to write. Hopefully they’ll stick around for it!
I love your #4 goal from last week! I need to do that as I’m rewriting my novel. More brainstorming before I write! Hope this week is another lovely one for you, Jennette!