Recently I passed the three-year mark on the 2+ pages challenge. I got this from
Julie Hyzy, who's been doing it way longer than I have.
Simple idea, really. Write two manuscript pages a day. More if you want, but at least two.
Every day.
Rain or shine, sick or well, disaster or no.
I wrote on the Katrina days. It helped me remember the world beyond the horrible sadness of that time.
Two manuscript pages equals about 500 words. Some writers have asked me how I manage to write so much every day. Others I know would laugh at how little that is.
What matters is the "every day" part. I learned about this idea long ago.
Roger Zelazny used to require himself to sit down three times a day and write at least one sentence. The idea was that at least one of those times, he'd get caught up in the writing and do more. Regardless, even three sentences a day adds up surprisingly quickly, and what's perhaps more important, it keeps the writing fresh in your mind.
Some writers work in spurts, producing many pages in a short amount of time (like a novel in a month, or in a week), and then take long breaks, maybe a month or two or more. Me, I have trouble getting started again after that long away. If I need a break from one project, I find it's better to write on a different project for a while than to stop writing altogether.
So I write two pages on weekends, on my birthday, my anniversary, and when I'm on vacation. On regular work days I try to write more.
Two pages a day = 730 pages a year = 182,500 words which is about two novels or one really big one. Again, some writers can't fathom writing that much in a year. Others write a lot more than that in a year.
The point is, find a process that works for you and stick to it. Two pages plus has worked pretty well for me for three years.
Wrote 5 pages today (got inspired)
Points in
The Race:
25 for short stories
32 for novels
----------------------
57 total
Pardon my excitement, but today is the release of THE BETRAYAL. Been a long time since I last had a book on the stands. 
Last weekend I attended the Novelists, Inc. Conference in New York. I am still processing all the great ideas and information. What a fantastic conference, and well worth the time and money!
I just received my copies of the October issue of Cricket Magazine, in which I have a story, "On Swan's Wings." I'm so delighted with the artwork by Kat Thacker that I had to post a peek here (there are three gorgeous illustrations--the image below is a detail from one of them). 
This story has its own story, which will come as no surprise to you writers out there. I wrote it with the intent to submit it to a specific magazine (they were doing a Valentine's issue), but the magazine folded before they even read my story. Needless to say, the Valentine's issue never materialized, and I thought I'd wasted my effort. I sent it out anyway, remembering my mentors' advice (thank you, Kris & Dean), and lo and behold, Cricket liked it. Voila, happy ending!
Lots going on in the garden these days. My patio pots are blooming nicely. Petunias and lobelias, also salvia that I grew from seed this year for the first time. Very proud of those. 
This year I'm growing nasturtiums for the first time. They're fun! And edible. I understand the leaves taste like watercress. Maybe I'll try an egg-and-nasturtium sandwich with my tea. They are also good companion plants and repel squash bugs, according to the Wikipedia entry. That's terrific! Those squash bugs are terrible pests. I'm going to grow nasturtiums every year!
One plant that was here when we moved in is pink yarrow, which I had never seen before. Here it is in its bed, along with some spearmint. I also have white yarrow and moonshine yarrow (yellow). 
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeasmymeasure
