Friday, November 7, 2014

ORGANIZE, WRITE, & BREATHE!

Okay, so November have arrived. The challenges are in full swing. PiBoIdMo! NaNoWriMo! Thanksgiving! Family wants! Family needs! Family drama! And the fifty more challenges that will guide your writing career. (Yes, we do not want to forget those.) So how do you keep yourself from getting overwhelmed? The answer is simple. ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE!

If we do some simple pre-planning strategies, we can limit the frustrations and cruise through the month of November like a sailboat on a calm sea. Here are some tips.

PiBoIdMo ~ Picture Book Idea Month
CALENDAR

  •  PiBoIdMo - Get a calendar and jot down your ideas for PiBoIdMo. Write a title, character description, plot synopsis, setting, theme, or any detail that will enable you to draft a manuscript.  jot down the word
  • NaNoWriMo  - Use a calendar to track word-count progress. For instance, if you add 1667-words for the day, add it to the previous day word-count. So according to NaNo standards, you should have 11, 669-words to date.
  • So sit in a quiet place (Mine is the laundry room. No one does laundry during the week.) WRITE down your idea for PiBo.
  • WRITE your new chapter for NaNo.
  • WRITE your shopping list for Thanksgiving.

FAMILY
  • Do not forget to take care of your family. Plan your writing around them. Make time to question their day.
  • Walk With Them ~ Take a walk in the neighborhood.
  • Cook their favorite meals.
  • Help with homework, projects, spelling words.
  • BREATHE! BREATHE! BREATHE!
In conclusion, simple planning can alleviate the stress that finds us in the month of November. Get that calendar and organize your days and times. Then sit back. Brainstorm. Generate ideas. Write. BREATHE! BREATHE! BREATHE!

9 comments:

  1. Pass me a paper bag, I will breathe into it. :) Trying not to hyperventilate. Just kidding. I'm really working diligently at paring down what I'm working on so I'm not in a hundred directions.

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  2. Join the crew, Marcie! Join the crew! I am using these strategies now. So far, so good.

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  3. Yay, sister Jackie, I will remember to breathe and organize. We can do it!!!

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  4. Great ideas Jackie! I always feel energized with creativity this month. So far so good!

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  5. Thanks, Jackie, especially for the reminder to breathe (my lungs and my brain). Easy for me to get overwhelmed in November.

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  6. Finding those moments can be hard. But, it is ok to put ourselves first to make the time to do what we love. This is something I learned when I was running. I made time everyday to get out there. Now I do it with my writing, and my PiBoIdMo as well.

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  7. You are correct; November is a busy month, Jackie. In our family, we work together as a team and look forward to celebrating five November birthdays and time together as we gather around the Thanksgiving table. I am thankful for time to read, write and create every day. ~Suzy

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  8. we're supposed to feed them? I was hoping that free-range grazing would be OK for at least a few days....

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  9. Appreciations, Jackie! Especially needed in this double whammy month (Picture Book Idea Month & National Novel Writing Monty) PLUS all the regular November stuffs! You sound like you are leading the pack in organization. Brava!

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