PrepEx 5 and 6 -Rewards and Benchmarks

Reaping the Rewards of Success (pg. 42)

List some of the benefits of reaching your goal to write a draft in 30 days aka “When I finish this manuscript in 30 days…”

• ·         I will have the beginning of something to show to and agent and/or publisher.
• ·         I will be able to say I completed the book.
• ·         I will feel accomplished

What’s your Sign? (pg. 43)

Select benchmarks that will show you, your subconscious and your friends and family that you have made great progress aka “My writing benchmarks are…”

• ·         Hitting 150 pages. It will mean I am halfway through it.
• ·         Writing 15 consecutive days in a row, again…halfway there.
• ·          Maintaining a writing schedule for 21 days, at this point it has become a habit.

PrepEx 4 and 5 - Resistance

Resistance Part 1 (pgs. 38-39)

1.      Why don’t I want to finish this manuscript?

Because once I finish it I have to present it to people and I am afraid they won’t like it, or will find it amateurish.

2.      What will happen to me if I finish it?

I have no idea really. Nothing will really happen to me per se, but I think it will change me in some way. I will have to put myself out there for people to judge and possibly reject me.

3.      Why should I let myself write this manuscript?

I should write this manuscript because it’s a great story. Everybody who has read it to this point has expressed a desire to continue reading her story.

Resistance Part 2 (pg39)

Complete the following Sentences:

1.      I’d love to start this 30 day plan, but… I am worried my new job will start right when I am getting to the meat of the project.

2.      If I became a great author…

Shaun and the boys would be proud of me and have something to brag to their friends and colleagues about.

3.      I can’t finish an entire manuscript in 30 days because…it’s a lot of hard work and dedication.

4.      I can’t finish an entire manuscript in 30 days because…I have a hard time finishing anything that hasn’t required a financial obligation.

5.      If I did finish this manuscript, I would feel…

proud and accomplished.

Preparation Exercise 2

K! So from now on I am going to shorten the "Preparation Exercise" to "PrepEx"...because I am lazy. Between now and Midnight tomorrow  I need to get the rest of these completed and posted so I can start the program on the 1st of the year. So please forgive the deluge of posts. Here's PrepEx 2:

Momentum and Commitment

1. Why do you want to write? I enjoy writing, it helps me to escape the real world a little bit. I also want to write to make money doing something I love. 
2. Why do you have to write? If I don’t all the ideas get back logged in my head and I begin to be very distracted in day to day activities. Almost as though my hard drive fills up and until I copy and paste the info from my brain to the paper, I don’t have room for anything else. 
3.  How will your life be different after you finish this manuscript? What will change? I don’t really know, I would like to think I can actually begin to learn the process of getting traditionally published. Additionally, I will have solid writing examples to show people who ask what I write. I will definitely feel as though I have the “right” to call myself a writer. 
4. How will your life be different after you finish three manuscripts? (Will you feel like a “real” writer?) After I finish three manuscripts I will hopefully have an agent and opportunities for developing a “real” writing career. After the first one I will feel like a real writer, but after the third one, I will feel accomplished.
5. How will you feel about yourself after you finish this manuscript? (Will you have more confidence?) I will definitely have more confidence. As it is, I have begun at least three novels and never got past a hundred pages or so. Finishing this will give me the confidence to finish works in progress and future projects. I will know I can do it! 
6. How will this feeling help you accomplish other things in life? It will prove to me I can conquer tasks that seem unmanageable and give me the confidence to push forward. I think the time management and dedication involved will teach me that I can make a schedule and stick to it in order to accomplish goals!

Preparation for BIAM

As I said in my introduction, I created this blog to chart my journey through the book, "Book in a Month" by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, PhD. The purpose of it is to help you to write a draft of a novel in thirty days! Crazy right? Naaaaah. Anyhow, prior to starting the actual...program if you will...there is a lot of self examination one can benefit from in the exercises. I really discovered a lot about myself and have a much better vision of where I want to be as a professional writer and how I am going to get there. I would advise anyone who benefits from these exercises to get the book. The fine Doctor's writing is down to earth, straight forward, and promotes self-examination. This is the first exercise I did, feel free to use the exercises, but if you post them please give her credit because I copied them word for word.

Homespun Book In a Month Worksheets (page 20)

1      How will you feel if you are on your deathbed and never even gave writing a real shot? Will you feel as if you got all from life that you wanted to get? Will you feel like you missed out on something meaningful?

I would feel as though I had stories left untold. Either auto-biographical, fictional, or “based-on a true story”; I believe I have stories to tell that people will enjoy reading; or perhaps even learn something they didn’t know. I already feel as though I have obtained everything I want from life and I busted my butt to get it. Of course, there will always be something better than what I have. You know, the grass is always greener. However, I have chosen to water my grass versus crossing to the other side. Yes, if I did not write, I would feel as though I had missed out on something meaningful.

2.      What events in your life do you remember fondly? (Being in the school play? Helping a classmate? Getting good grades? Being selected for an honor? Making people better? Going to college? Raising great kids? Rescuing an animal? Getting into some program or course?) Why do these events stand out in your memory? Recalling areas of success in your life and focusing on them can keep you moving forward now.

This is weird for me, because I think I value things most people don’t and I don’t value things a lot of people do. For example, when I first read the question, the event that stood out in my mind the most was stirring the batter for French toast for my mom when I was about 4 years old. Not a big deal if you’re 10 or 12, but I am a 41 year old woman and when I read remember fondly, that is the first thing that pops to my head; weird huh? I am very proud of myself for getting my Master’s degree, but I don’t remember it fondly, it was hard and I would not put myself through that a second time. I fondly remember the births of my nieces and nephews; it was amazing and beautiful, and intense. I remember bringing each of my four sons home from the hospital. I loved to rock them to sleep and them snuggling their heads into the nook between my shoulder and my ear and feeling their warm baby breath on my ear; and that deep breath they all would take as the faded off to sleep. Finally, I think fondly of the amazing sights, sounds, smells and experiences I have had in the Rocky Mountains. These events stand out because they are things nobody can take away from me; they are mine and mine alone. Even the events that involved others are perceived differently and may or may not be a fond memory for them, but that doesn’t change the place they hold in my heart, mind and soul.

3.      What goals have you already achieved in life? List everything- even if the accomplishments aren’t writing related. We’re boosting your self-esteem here, so everything counts. After all, there’s just no time for doubts during this 30 day time period. If you were successful before, you can be successful again.

Wow! I am not young this could take a while…

·         I obtained my Associates, Bachelor, and Master degrees

·         I am a good person, and a survivor. I have been victimized throughout my life by others but I refused to stay a victim…I am a survivor.

·         I know what it means to be a good friend, and I practice those behaviors.

·         I have wrote poetry that has made people laugh and cry

·         I have an uncanny knowledge of music, music history, and bands from every genre of music.

·         I have helped people to be successful.

·         I have helped people to be survivors vs. victims

·         I have gotten married and become a mother, but not only that I am a good wife and mother.

·         I have raised my children to be polite, socially conscious, and empathetic to the plights of others.