Category: Writing – General

Two Online Pomodoro Method Timers

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Looking for quick and easy timers to boost your writing productivity? I’ve found two online Pomodoro timers that I like.

The first one is here: http://www.marinaratimer.com/. This site also offers custom timers for those of you who can do longer writing sprints than 25 minutes.

The second one is here: http://www.moosti.com/.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Pomodoro Technique, here’s the definition from Wikipedia:

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are called pomodoros, the plural in English of the Italian word pomodoro, which means tomato. The method is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility.

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Writing for Jan 4, 16

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Yesterday’s writing was okay. Funny to call a day with a productivity of over 4k words an okay day, but that is where it falls with my current writing speed. I’m starting to pick up on burning out the little windows of distraction, of what I use to keep from writing. One necessary evil is reading articles on writing. I consider it research, and for those of you who also follow me on Twitter, you know I share a lot of them. The second one is still social media. The only real cure for that one is by limiting my time there, and its funny how you can blink and an hour’s gone by when you’re scrolling through your facebook feed.

I also think I’m going to reconsider the order in which I’m writing to get some of my projects knocked out, instead of giving 4 titles roughly equal treatment. I am thinking I want to have a minimum of 3 hours of writing a day, which is a little bit under 6k words a day, and anything above and beyond is a bonus. I am seeing Spilling Blood 11 nearing completion this week (and I think the cover is ready), plus a short story I’m writing under another pen name. Apocalypse Witch may get some much needed love after Spilling Blood this week. Who knows? 🙂

Word Counts

1/4/16 Word Count: 4,117 (ave. 1,647 wph)

Apocalypse Witch 3 +0. 15,020/20,000

Hungry Gods 3 +1,360. 13,197/60,000

Spilling Blood 11 +807. 11,774/15,000

Pen Name Book +959. 4,679/20,000

Pen Name Short +991. 3,753/5,000

January Word Count: 15,651

For Year: 15,651

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Writing for Jan. 3, 16

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I had a great day writing yesterday, dedicating a solid 3 1/2 hours to my books. I’m using a round robin method combined with a pomodoro timer to keep myself interested, so the day doesn’t go to one single title. While this might slow down getting any single one book completed, it moves numerous titles toward completion at a fairly decent rate. I would also argue that because I am BIC, it’s not slowing anything down. What’s the alternative? Writing a thousand words and deciding I’ve written enough for the day? As you can see by my numbers from yesterday, what I’m doing works for me. So far. 🙂

The week is looking promising. I’m already at 11,534 words, and that’s in only three days. Using the pomodoro technique (using a timer for 25 minute writing bursts), I’m averaging 1500 words an hour, although yesterday alone, my writing average hit 1700 words. I am thinking about going up to a full 30 minutes and see if the extra five minutes will take me to 2k words an hour. Maybe next week. 🙂

Word Counts

1/3/16 Word Count: 6,115 (ave. 1,747 wph)

Apocalypse Witch 3 +0. 15,020/20,000

Hungry Gods 3 +1,713. 12,829/60,000

Spilling Blood 11 +1,647. 10,967/15,000

Pen Name Book +1,037. 3,791/20,000

Pen Name Short +1,718. 2,761/5,000

January Word Count: 11,534

For Year: 11,534

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Writing for Jan. 2, 16

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I put off writing yesterday until late, so I did not hit my word count goals. I still managed to write or an hour, so I’m not behind (well, technically, ~23 words behind to hit 1 mil words). Yesterday I spent most of my day outside, playing in the cold. I think I’ll make some coffee now and put yesterday to shame.

How’s your writing goals going? Leave a comment below. 🙂

Word Counts

1/2/16 Word Count: 1,569. 

Apocalypse Witch 3 +0. 15,020/20,000

Hungry Gods 3 +755. 11,194/60,000

Spilling Blood 11 +814. 9,505/15,000

Pen Name Book +0. 2,754/20,000

Pen Name Short +0. 1,040/5,000

January Word Count: 5,419

For Year: 5,419

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9 Dark Resolutions for Writers

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cc obi won

So what if the other resolutions for yesterday didn’t do it for you? What if you are already a writer, and a jaded one at that? What if your resolutions are about the underbelly of the writer life, the darker, grittier side not often talked about?

  1. Drink More. There’s a stereotype about writers that involves alcohol. Live the dream. Drink! Not beer, no, that’s for people who watch football. It’s gotta be the hard stuff. Hard Core Goal: Be done with writing by noon, be drunk by 2 (Thanks, Hemmingway!).
  2. Play More Games. Want time to go by fast? Play games. It’s easy to kill an hour or three, even on something simple like Candy Crush or Angry Birds. What, it’s already lunchtime? Hard Core Goal: Get in at least eight hours of play.
  3. Watch More Movies. Oh man, is there a lot of good movies out now or what? Superheroes, Star Wars, other shit… seriously, you can spare at least 4 to 6 hours a day for a movie fix. At the very least, watch one a day. Hard Core Goal: Movie marathon a trilogy every week.
  4. Watch More TV. Thanks Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix! So many shows, so little time. There’s only one way to get through your fantastic shows, and it involves a tub of licorice, a fresh pot of coffee, the remote, and a recliner. Hard Core Goal: Dedicate an entire day to binge watch a season of a show, especially when a new season is released.
  5. Get a lot More Sleep. Sleep’s good for you. If it’s so good for you, get more. Sleep until noon. Or 1! One is a nice moment on the clock! That is definitely a good time to get up. Hard Core Goal: Balance getting up late with going to bed late. Going t bed early is for quitters.
  6. Spend More Time on the Internet. Right now, there is a cat video you haven’t seen, and you have dedicated followers that need you to share it! It’s funny, dammit!!!! And the memes… ohhhh the memes! Like and share! There’s Facebook! Porn! All of your movies and shows! Games! Writing posts is still writing, as are the emails. Hard Core Goal: Go at least three days a week without leaving your house. There’s nothing out there you need anyway.
  7. Seek Revenge! Somebody make you mad? Did they leave you a bad review? Write them into your next story… and kill them! Laugh diabolically as you watch your nemesis perish horribly through the power of your written word. Change their name and give them a nasty trait so they won’t willingly admit it’s them in the story and sue you. Hard Core Goal: Sell them a copy of the book.
  8. Let Others Know How Much they Suck! Because you’re a writer. You’ve got Social Media. OBVIOUSLY everyone cares about your opinion, and OBVIOUSLY it’s your duty to be a troll. Bash other people’s politics, tear down their religion, bash their music and movies. You have power to abuse. Hard Core Goal: Get a t-shirt with the word troll on it.
  9. Procrastinate. [Note to Self: Remember to write this Resolution later]. Hard Core Goal: …

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10 New Year’s Resolutions for Writers

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4PV6RHjR5OnOhrEsnDyj_Dog Agility

Are you a writer? Here’s a list of 10 New Year’s Resolutions to consider and ideas for implementing them. As a bonus, each includes a Hard Core version for you writing beasts.

  1. Write. You’re a writer, so this one makes sense. Life has many distractions like Netflix, Facebook, Video Games, and our cell phones. Take time away from what consumes your time and move it to writing. Set a minimum goal of finding 30 minutes a day to write, whether journaling, poetry, or a story. Hard Core Goal: Write every day, and find a minimum of 2 hours.
  2. Read. If you are going to be distracted by anything, it should be reading. Decide on a number of books you intend to read for the year. Utilize Goodreads to keep track of your “want to read” library, and participate in their 2016 Reading Challenge. Hard Core Goal: 100 Books in 2016.
  3. Word Count. Set a daily or weekly writing goal. If you have to, start with something manageable like 500 words. When you find yourself exceeding your daily goal with regularity, increase again. Continue to challenge yourself. For some perspective, a novel in a month (a 50k NANOWRIMO) requires 1667 words a day. Hard Core Goal: target 5k to 10k a day.
  4. Become Full Time. Why not write for a living? The challenge here is to make money writing. That means finding markets, a publisher, self-publishing, learning marketing (like Facebook’s ads), and writing more stories. This is a great goal, especially if you like working in sweats. Hard Core Goal: Support your family on this income.
  5. Book in a Month. Some people like to do this in November, but there’s 11 other months to choose from, and 7 that give a precious extra day. Hard Core Goal: One novel every month.
  6. Build your Platform. Make a resolution to get yourself known. Be a regular on Social Media and grow your followers. Check out klout.com to measure your influence and expertise in topics as a writer. Hard Core Goal: Achieve over 20k followers across all social media.
  7. Book Signings. Even if you are an introvert, getting out and meeting people will sell those paperbacks you’ve got in a box in the closet. Find other authors to share expenses with at trade shows and farmer’s markets. Plus you don’t look lonely and ignored at bookstores if traffic sucks. Get to know the bookstore clerks. Hard Core Goal: Set up a signing a month.
  8. Finish your Work in Progress. Stop going back and editing. Stop ignoring it. Force yourself to dive in and get it done. Hard Core Goal: Move on.
  9. Get Fit. Everyone seems to make this resolution, right? At minimum, get out and walk. Get a treadmill. Eat better, cut back on sugar and soda, find a program that works for your body type. Hard Core Goal: Get fit! Spend 4 hours a week in the gym. Show the world what a ripped writer looks like.
  10. Network. Meet other writers, editors, cover designers. Exchange advice. Participate in writer/author groups. Meet in person and have coffee. You’ll learn a lot from others. Hard Core Goal: Be the one who starts a group. Keep it going and growing. Set up book signings for your group.

What are your resolutions for this year? Please share them in the comments below. 😀

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Writing for Jan. 1st, 16

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Yesterday I started off the year about as well as I could ask for. I had time to write, probably in part due to the fact that my internet was wonky. It’s those subtle distractions that free us to write, right? I even had time to play a game with the family. We got the game Munchkins for Christmas, and it was a hit with everyone, except for the three year old.

I also entered 2016 fighting a flu bug. It hasn’t won yet, but neither have I.

Word Counts

1/1/16 Word Count: 3,850. That’s a good writing day.

Hungry Gods 3 +853. 10,439/60,000

Apocalypse Witch 3 +0. 15,020/20,000

Spilling Blood 11 +1,211. 8,691/15,000

Pen Name Book +746. 2,754/20,000

Pen Name Short +1040. 1,040/6,000

January Word Count: 3,850

For Year: 3,850

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2016 – New Goals and New Beginnings

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goal

It’s January 1st, 2016, and that means… GOALS!!! Last year, I did not hold myself to the ones I’d set. I did not meet my word counts or story goals. I’ll go into last year’s goals in a later blog post, but not today. This day is for looking forward, and setting my sights on the future.

Without further ado, here’s my agenda for the new year.

#1: Daily blog posts. With 2016, I’m introducing material not just for readers, but for writers (and possibly other artists). This will begin with Daily Writing Prompts and a Quote of the Day. Along with the self-promotion of my writing, I’ll also be doing a series of articles on writing and story development. There will be at least one article a week.

#2: Writing. I intend to publish 52 stories (short and full length novels) in 2016. That’s one a week. Which brings me to:

#3: Word count! I’m setting a goal of 1 million words, like I have for the last two years, and this year I really mean to accomplish it (~2760 words a day). Better yet, I’m going to push myself for 2 million words (~5500 words a day).

#4: Read more. I’m going to focus on 1 book a month, though a book every two weeks is my ideal.

#5: More stuff. Mainly, I intend to have gswright.com bring more value to you.

Writers (and other artists) – What are your goals? Come back and join me from time to time and share your progress.

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Monday Update #5

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Just a quick update today.

Week 4: No new books completed. I am almost done with Apocalypse Witch 3 (maybe this week, maybe not), and Spilling Blood Season II, the paperback is going through it’s last bout of quality control before I release it. You should be able to hold a copy in your hands by the end of this month.

Last week’s word count total was 3,601. Meh. I spent a considerable amount of time plotting Hungry Gods 3, and am shooting for an end of June release.

Week 4 of 52: 3 written/3 published. Officially one book behind.

This week’s goals: Same as last weeks. Finish Apocalypse Witch 3 and work on getting Soul Sister paperback edition done.

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Monday Update #4

Avenger Dogs
Went and saw the new Avengers movie this weekend. That has nothing to do with this post. Carry on.

A few weeks ago I decided I’m going to write/publish a book a week for 52 weeks. I can cheat (because I made my own rules) and count bundles toward my publishing total. You know the game, now for the damage:

Week 3: No new books completed. I published Soul Sister. Because most of the writing went to editing SOUL SISTER and getting SPILLING BLOOD SEASON II ready for print, I only wrote 1,732 words last week. For all of April I wrote 34,785 words. I actually released a total of 4 books in April, too. Only three of them count toward the goal, though. 🙂 WEEK 3 of 52: 3 Written/3 Published.

This Week’s Goals:

  1. Finish Apocalypse Witch 3
  2. Get Soul Sister ready for a print edition
  3. Write something else

SOUL-SISTER-COVER

 

 

 

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