The Hunter's Journal

This post, actually, started out in my head as a 'Why I do NaNoWriMo' post. However, I was talking with a friend over IMs, and realized I don't, really, need to get into why I do NaNoWriMo. Mostly, because it boiled down to just a few words:

Because I want to.

Perhaps not the most adult answer, but the most honest one.

However, I thought that I'd answer a question that my friend asked me:

"Why do challenges all year long? Isn't NaNo enough?"

Well, I'm going to answer the latter question first: No, NaNo isn't enough. See; although the franticness of November includes NaNo and Thanksgiving, it isn't enough to keep me going all year long.

So, this past year, I experimented with giving myself guidelines and a schedule to keep. Some of that schedule got skewed along the way (this past summer I didn't have nearly as much writing time as I thought) but all in all, I worked a lot better with the schedule, than I did without.

It's also why my personal journal ends up being more of a 'what needs to be done today' list than an actual journal. Although today I tl;dr-ed all over the place.

Yes, I make lists. If I don't, nothing gets done. No, seriously, nothing gets done. I look down and it's 10am. I look up and it's 3.30 and all I've managed to get done is lose horribly at spider solitaire a lot.

Frankly, that's not a skill that I should flaunt.

The lists keep me on track. But, here's the thing: Even lists aren't enough to keep me motivated. So, I look around for things to keep my brain moving and keep me from getting bored with what I have to do to improve my writing.

That is where my competitive streak comes in. See, I cannot let other people 'beat' me. I cannot roll over and let them 'win' at anything, even if it's something so silly as creating something that I neither have the skill nor the patience to create.

I join challenges to keep me going. I join challenges so that I can point to something and say "I beat that!" I'm sure this points to something psychological or something, but I just use it as a motivational tool.

There are some other pretty hefty reasons, but those are personal and this is a writing blog. Back to the writing:

Challenges keep me from stagnating and playing so much spider solitaire that I explode my computer out of sheer frustration. That means that at the end of the week/month/day/whatever, I have something to point to and say... "I did that."

Now, to give updates on my various challenges: ( Challenges )

So, this entry has become very long and pretty much a big ego stroke for me. However, I believe creators - be it in writing, cooking, fabric crafts or anything else - have the need to stroke their own egos every once in a while.

I know several writers who do it. They do it unashamedly. I'm trying to follow their good examples. Now, if I could just get something published? Then, you'd really see some ego stroking!

Why? Because I need one, and I wrote out an awesome one for next year.

So, this is just to get me to November:

- Do fifth bingo card
- Do Inner Sanctuaries map - not doing the map so whatever
- Look at Knights of Orion 2: Electric Boogaloo*
- Moon!Fic Characters**
- Write Index card of Plot Points for DB.
- Look at Ory'lin Legend short
- World Domination via Dragon Age Origins, or Neverwinter Nights 2. I need violence to get me through the next 17 days or so.

I'm gonna start on this tomorrow. Hopefully all my emo is gone by then. (Ugh, why must I be a tortured artist? Huh? Why?)

* I would totally call it this if I thought for a minute any publisher would let me get away with it. Just because it would amuse me, and really, does anything else matter?

** The Moon folks are sitting up and going OHAI at me a lot. It helps that they're getting face time with all the bingo stuff. And possibly will be getting more. Because that's the way I roll.

WHO WANTS TO WAVE POMPOMS?

Awww yeah. another two scenes done! See, this whole denying myself Dragon Age: Origins so that I can edit is working. Tonight, I'll probably finish a quest on it, and then edit for an hour, and then read until sleep. Because that seems to work the best, since I'm done editing early and can go straight into Dragon Age tonight.



That's thirteen pages done over the last two days. Not bad at all!

I'm rather excited, especially with my new schedule. It's really kinda fast and loose, but it might just be what I need.

Especially with July being dedicated to outlining and research.

So. Tonight is Dragon Age and then more editing. w00t!

Edit: Went ahead and did another scene, just because - it was a short one anyway!

I need lists in my life.

this is my writing journal. Now for writing lists:

THIS WEEK:

- Edit Changes Scene
- Edit Changes Scene
- Edit Changes Scene
- Look at Mira and/or Ari. Finish a scene on ONE of them.

TODAY:

- Start editing scene
- LOOK at Mira/Ari

NOW TO WORK!