Progress on the Journey

Thank you for all of your great ideas on how to balance blogging and writing. I REALLY appreciate all of you who gave advice and shared openly about your struggles.

Now, time to check our progress on the journey. For those who've been around my blog long enough, you know what I ask every Friday: Did you meet your writing goals for the week?

I wrote my usual 2500 words during the week on my WIP. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but if you look at my side bar, you'll see my progress is steady!

What about the weekend? Do you have any weekend writing goals? That's another one of my usual Friday questions! Since I don't have a lot of writing time during the week, I make a concentrated effort to get extra done on the weekend. I know many of you do too. Tell us your weekend goals in the comments and then on Monday I'll ask you how you did!

I want to encourage you (and myself) to keep writing. We will always have other things pulling us from our writing, especially blogging. Natalie Goldberg in Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life says this:

• There is no excuse. If you want to write, write. This is your life. You are responsible for it. You will not live forever. Don't wait. Make the time now, even if it is ten minutes once a week.

• Keep your hand moving. When you sit down to write, whether it's for ten minutes or an hour, once you begin, don't stop. If an atom bomb drops at your feet eight minutes after you have begun and you were going to write for ten minutes, don't budge.

• There is difference between procrastination and waiting. Procrastination is pushing aside or putting off writing. It is thinking the moment is tomorrow. Waiting is when you are already in the work and you are feeding it and being fed by it. Know the difference between the two. Don't procrastinate. Write now.

And remember: Writers write; everyone else makes excuses! Bickman