Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Forwarding a challenge

JPG over at JPG Writes has issued a challenge to novel writers: no matter how strapped for time you are, no matter how many excuses you can make, write one page per day. He calculates this at 20-30 minutes; I don't know how I'd calculate it, other than to say I've been keeping up, and it varies. (I have a minor addiction to a computer game called "Spider Solitaire.")

I've signed on and, with the exception of yesterday, I've been writing each day, accomplishing at least the minimum. Booyah.

Still, I have a question: I'm close to a point where the project will need research, planning/plotting, and arts and crafts (long story, involving cut-up posterboard; I'll explain in another post) rather than writing. So how do I calculate what I do? Should I follow the half-hour per day rule?

On a related note, I'd like to further the challenge for poet friends who may be skidding ever-closer to comprehensive exams: five-to-ten lines of iambic pentameter per day. (Please note: the novel challenge also applies to story writers.)

4 comments:

Jim said...

Brah, thanks for the links. To answer your question, I think you've gotta apply the writing time to your research. Half-hour per day. You get your research done, you move foward. Not only that, you'll probably find you get more than that half hour per day done. And you may still have time to google yourself.

To what regiment does General Dougchebaggery belong?

Charlie Green said...

Got it. I'm not quite to research yet, but I'm close. Also, should I keep a tally of progress as you and Mike are doing?

General Douchebaggery actually leads his own revolution: he's Douche Guevara.

Unknown said...

Wait a second . . . is JPG, like, your brother?

I'm quick like that.

Thanks for the link and the challenge. I could definitely use the latter. Too much TV and sleeping these grey winter days.

Anonymous said...

By all means, if you think it'll help you to post a running tally. I know I'm curious.