I didn’t make my goal of 1000 words last night.
I got distracted by updating my contacts in Address Book, upgrading my Mac operating system, and then consoling my best friend on the phone after a very bad hair salon experience. By the time I got all that accomplished, it was well past time to go to bed.
I always feel guilty when I don’t meet my goals, especially when I post them out for all and sundry to see. I need that accountability, but when I put myself out there and then fail, I feel like my failure is broadcast even louder than my success.
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that there is no police force, Internet or otherwise, that is going to come and smack me around if I miss my goal. The only thing I can do is just keep pushing ahead. I can’t go back to yesterday and meet the goal I set for myself–I just have to meet, and even exceed, the goal that I make for myself TODAY. Beating myself up about missing a writing goal, or not missing a day of blogging, is not going to do anything but make me feel bad about myself.
The most important thing is to keep going. When you lose confidence in yourself and in your writing, you’ll start missing goal after goal because you convince yourself that it’s pointless to write anyway–your writing isn’t good enough, or you’ll never finish, or you’ll never get it published. Don’t lose sight of WHY you write in the first place. That’s the important thing to remember as you forge ahead on your project, not the word count or your goal accomplishements. Write because you love to write and forget all the rest.
Word Counts - Today: 0 | May: 4,473 | 2008: 4,473
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The Host: A Novel
One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Buccaneers (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
Jess,
It’s alright. We all miss goals we set for ourselves. The good thing is, you have an excellent outlook about it! And you can always accomplish that goal today!
Keep setting goals, and don’t ever lose confidence in your writing.
You’re a great writer!
Thanks for the encouragement, Eric.
I always fuck up, don’t feel too bad! Remember, there’s always someone else out there that sucks a little more than you do… and even when you don’t reach your goals, at least you have goals… because some people don’t even have those.
and don’t forget - 700 good words is a better use of time than 400 good words and 600 shite words.
Not that you would do that, but you get my point.