Friday, January 6, 2012

One down

I finished the first draft of my first short story of the year last night. I cheered myself and hugged my muse. I was exhausted after taking care of my husband and son, but I pushed myself to get the story finished. It's those times when you really work that you feel the best about having finished something.

I didn't know how the story would end, but it all made sense when I finally got there. Ooh, that's what happened! Now I have to go through and add in the subtle clues, hints for the reader and my protagonist. I hope the twist is as surprising for my readers as it was for me. I always worry about plot twists. Am I clever as my muse? I hope I'm doing her justice.

I have two days to revise it and send it in to be critiqued at my next writers' group meeting on the 14th. The anthology I want to send it to doesn't have a deadline, but I have to take my chances that it doesn't fill up within the next few weeks while I polish it up.

I have discovered that since I posted my goals for the world to see, I push myself more. I have an audience and I don't like to disappoint. I think I'll create a gadget for the sidebar that keeps a tally of what I've written, submitted, revised, and queried this year. Just a little extra kick for me to get everything done. Do you push yourself harder knowing you have people watching your progress?

22 comments:

  1. Yay about the new story! I'm going to try to edit it tonight or early tomorrow, so I can get it back to you with some time to make changes.

    I think it's an awesome idea to create a tally for it on the blog. I did one for my 2012 goals by creating a page on my blog. I always push myself harder when other people are watching. I think that's why I rocked NaNo so hard, at least until the 50k.

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  2. Congratulations! Now you have to be accountable to us as well as yourself.

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  3. letting everyone see what you want to accomplish is a huge motivator for me, because then I feel like i'm letting everyone else down, not just myself, when I fail.

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  4. Yea on the short story! I had an idea for one the other morning before I got up. Been too swamped to do anything about it.

    On a plus, I only hate a few sentences today. :) Have a great weekend, Christine. Hope everyone is feeling better.

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  5. Good job, Christine! It does feel good to accomplish something like this!

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  6. I don't really push myself at all. That probably either makes me weird or arguably a slug.

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  7. Congratulations, that's a great achievement. Big hug for finishing it:)

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  8. Having other people know my goals doesn't actually push me harder, but just having goals makes me work harder to achieve them, if that makes sense. Congratulations on your first short story of the year! I hope you get some great critiques.

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  9. You go girl!

    It's all about accountability.

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  10. Good for you!! ANd yes, i agree... when I set my goals in concrete, I push toward them better. NaNo is good for that... and ABNA too.
    Good luck with your revisions!!

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  11. BTW.... that pic is the coolest!!

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  12. definitely!
    awesome for you! keep it up!

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  13. Well done! That's awesome. I wish I had the ability to write good short stories, I think I lack that gene, all my short stories turn into short novels instead lol.
    I seem to push myself harder now that I have a blog and actively tell people what I have set out to do. It's the not wanting to admit that I failed lol.

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  14. Cherie, thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly with it. I didn't get a chance to do anything today, so tomorrow I have to give it a quick go-over before I send it in to my writers' group.

    Laura, Lorelei, Elizabeth, Tara, and Alex, thank you!

    Prerna, that's exactly how I feel. It makes me nervous but I do push myself more.

    M Pax, it's a good day when you only hate a few sentences!

    Michael, since you're from the future, you have a lot of time, so you don't need to rush. ;)

    Tania, thanks! I'll be sending it your way this week.

    Shannon, it makes total sense.

    Farawayeyes, absolutely!

    Pk, just that little box in my right bar where everyone can see it makes me have that much more energy! Hehehe, thank you.

    Laura, writing short stories is hard for me too. I love writing novels. Yet I've found writing short stories has taught me a lot about the craft of writing. It's helped me become a better writer. Plus, getting a few published is nice too!

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  15. Congrats on progressing on your goals.

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  16. Congratulations on finishing your short story! :)

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  17. That's so great! Good luck with the final polishing and sending the short off to the anthology :)

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