Out of Food

When do you know when you're in the zone, writing? When you're out jogging and didn't even notice what music played on your iPod because you're thinking about your characters. When you don't visit facebook for days. When you forget about lunch. When you notice there's no food in the house except for stale cereal and a jar of peanut butter.

So today we're down to about a cup of milk, four eggs and three whole wheat hamburger rolls and some frozen foods. I really need to go to the store, but I hate to stop when the words are flying off my keyboard. As of tonight, I'm over 37K into this newest WIP. I'm feeling a little pressure to get it done. I'll tell you on Wednesday during IWSG.

The Light at the End

I have managed to cook a few meals for my family's dinner the last two nights, but I've barely spoken to them. I just don't want to slow down. It's a pleasant tunnel I'm in and I can't quite see the light at the end, but there's some illumination shining through.

I apologize for not visiting as many blogs as I normally do and my posts have been a little bit sparse. In the meantime, my husband and kids might have to go out to eat.

Feeling any pressure lately with your writing? Do you wait until the cupboard is bare before going to the store, or do you keep stuff stocked up? What's the most words you've ever written in a day?

L: Light at the End

L:  We set goals and work to reach them. Hopefully, we all do that.  Sometimes that goal seems far, far away. If not in a distant galaxy, it's so far in front of us achievement or time wise, we can't imagine being there.  I think it's important to set some smaller, shorter goals, ones we can make and then pass on our way to that big celebration at the end.

I expect the saying, 'the light at the end of the tunnel' had been around for a long time.  Seeing that symbolic end to our toil, inspires us to work even harder.  It's important to be able to see it.  If there's nothing but dark in front of us, we may get lost or give up in frustration. 

Some of my students set fitness goals.  I know a few girls who want to lose weight, for some of them a large amount.  They struggle to accept how setting small goals will ultimately help them reach their larger, long term goal. We can get caught up in the same short-sightedness as writers.

So set some short term goals.  Perhaps rather than say I'll write a 100,000 page novel by the end of the year, I say I'll write an average of ten pages per week.  Perhaps instead of saying I'll sell thousands of books this year, I'll set a goal of a three week blog tour and a certain number of hours spend on promotion per week.  Short goals I can accomplish that could help me toward my larger goal.

We all need to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and when we get there, we enter that next tunnel and work toward the next light.

 Do you set big goals or do you break it down into smaller ones? Do you write down your goals or keep them in your thoughts?