Around of Words in 80 Days

I was supposed to officially post this yesterday but...

I am going to be participating in round 3 of Around of Words in 80 Days! Now see, I like this challenge because you set your own goals and, if your life explodes in your face, you can CHANGE your goals.

This I can do.

So, here are my goals for the next 80 days.

• 500 words per day 

That's it. Here's a funny thing about me. When I set a goal that is completely manageable, one I know I can easily make each day--I do. It's like I tell myself, "All you have to do, is this tiny little bit. It is just this scene, maybe the lead into the next--it's practically nothing." For me, it keeps me from feeling utterly overwhelmed with trying to juggle an entire book (or series) in my tiny little brain. Because this way, I'm not sitting here today trying to write 400 pages, I'm only writing two. The amazing thing is how quickly those just 2 pages add up when you're doing them everyday.

They're drops in a bucket.

And another thing, I often surpass my easy goal (although extra pages do not count against tomorrow's goal...sorry Becky.) But on those days when I only write 500, I still feel like a total success.

Mind games, I know. Did I mention my day job is in psychology?

For me, when a goal is too big, and I don't hit it, even if it just one day, it can be totally demoralizing. I'm suddenly BEHIND and slip into a "I have to catch up" mentality. Frequently, I don't catch up and after only a few days, my target has compounded so much interest and is so big, there is simply no way I'm ever going to get there.

This is when the writing might stop all together.

So, I'm all about little goals. They tend to add up pretty fast for me.

Oh, I also wanted to thank Kate Jarvik Birch for blogging and tweeting about the challenge--I found out about it through her. If you haven't checked out her blog My Next Life, do so right away. She's represented by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg and is super nice. Thanks Kate!