Comments on: Keeping Track

By: Of Left and Write « OmbudsBen

Of Left and Write « OmbudsBen — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:02:20 +0000

[...] 2, 2008 by ombudsben Yesterday I began a reply to Bloglily on how I plan my writing projects — to the extent what happens is actually planned. Here’s the rest of my [...]

By: truce

truce — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:14:53 +0000

I like plans. I like the fact that, even as we make them and say to ourselves “I plan to finish this piece of writing by October” we know somewhere – slightly to the left of that part of the mind which controls guilty niggles – that really we mean December.

But that’s okay.

Because I suspect if we had actually said “I plan to finish this piece of writing by December” then it wouldn’t get done til February.

That’s how plans work.

By: Planning? What planning? « OmbudsBen

Planning? What planning? « OmbudsBen — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:03:18 +0000

[...] January 1, 2008 by ombudsben My deficiencies in planning are revealed. My friend and coworker Bloglily, she of the bright wit, well-turned phrase and sharp mind, had asked a number of us how we plan our writing projects. [...]

By: patry

patry — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:58:41 +0000

At “normal” times, I try for three pages a day. Hearing Russo writes such long wonderful novels on an even less rigorous schedule is very encouraging. Since my illness, I’ve committed to writing just ten words a day in my novel. It sounds almost silly, but it keeps my sub-conscious involved in the story.

By: Now You Know My Secret Plan « distraction no. 99

Now You Know My Secret Plan « distraction no. 99 — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:34:16 +0000

[...] have a secret plan, or a public plan, or any kind of set “plan,” not really. BlogLily wants to see plans, how we sketch our way to a destination, as she put it. What I have is a lot of hope, and a lot of [...]

By: Keeping Track - The reply « A Golden World

Keeping Track - The reply « A Golden World — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:30:48 +0000

[...] by Jeff on Sunday, 9 December, 2007 How does one plan? Bloglily asked just recently. Well, typically, when I go about it, I try to think of the end point, and work a path back to [...]

By: sandi

sandi — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:18:54 +0000

Well, bloglily, it looks like you’ve inspired all of us to get to work on planning–which is such a good thing. I’m going to work on mine and get back to you. Like healingmagichands, I, too, have had a crazy week but didn’t want you to think I’m ignoring you (or the necessity for planning.) And I so much agree with you that it’s best to work on a novel for a little bit every day. Did you ever read that wonderful essay Annie Dillard wrote about that? I can’t go look it up right now because the book is way over there, but it’s something to the effect of how, if you don’t look in on your novel every single day, it turns feral…and when you next go to check on it, you need to bring along a whip and a chair. I’ve had quite a few pieces of writing go feral on me, and believe me, it’s not worth letting it happen. You have to keep showing it who’s boss!

By: nova

nova — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:34:51 +0000

I’m glad you tagged me for this. I’m working on it, and will post soon!

By: healingmagichands

healingmagichands — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:46:11 +0000

Oh, Bloglily! You tagged me for this plan question. LIke Tai, I am very flattered to be included in such elite company. I will get right to this. Things have been a little crazy this week, I’m afraid. But I am not ignoring you, I promise.

By: LK

LK — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:43:38 +0000

I am still working on my answer, Bloglily!!!

By: mari

mari — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:59:14 +0000

I’m always looking for other writers’ sites and blogs, so I’m eager to find some time and really read through your list. And how on earth did you know it was me in the shadows? I’m glad I stepped out. And thanks for buying the bag; it went in the mail today! xo, mari

By: I Love It When a Plan Comes Together « The Hobgoblin of Little Minds

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together « The Hobgoblin of Little Minds — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:24:33 +0000

[...] 4, 2007 by hobgoblin Bloglily tagged several people to explain how they plan, especially how they plan their writing lives. I [...]

By: bloglily

bloglily — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:06:53 +0000

Oh Pauline, I didn’t know! That’s so wonderful. Congratulations to you. What a lovely plan you have.

Dear Tai, I think you’re exactly right — our desires are sometimes so strong that we almost can’t declare our intentions to have them made real. And I love what you say about how continuing on that path makes you a feather in the wind, which is lovely, but doesn’t always end up where it wants to go.

Debbie — That is a lot, isn’t it, when a picture book is not that many pages! I suppose if you’re a poet, or a picture book writer, the idea would be two stanzas, or two lines.

Susan, I work very much like you, although I have tried for a long time to be consistent about daily writing activity. When you work on a novel, it’s much better to do it daily so you can live in your characters’ world, and not have to keep coming back into it and remembering where they put the coffee and tea, and anyway, who IS that man with the red hair in the back of the kitchen with that grim look on his face.

Oh good Dorothy. I like the sound of you thinking.

LK, It’s fun hearing novelists talk about how they do what they do, isn’t it? I liked his two pages, that’s for sure. I also liked something else he said, about how humor arms us to enter scary places.

Hi Mike, Thank you! And I look forward to reading your scifi story. Percolation is good, and then at some point, out it will come, two pages at a time! xo, BL

By: Smithereens

Smithereens — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:12:08 +0000

Thank you so much for your compliment! I have a personal nice 9-months-plan ahead of me (or rather 6 1/2 now)… watching my belly grow and try to adjust one week at a time until the big event! It’s not easy to plan these days. For the rest (writing, reading), my plan consists mainly in trying to keep on with it, but I wouldn’t commit to any quantity

By: Tai

Tai — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:38:10 +0000

Bloglily, thank you for asking, for the gift of the question. I am so thrilled that I am going to do something I rarely do of late: map out a plan. Planning scares me. A plan requires faith, a belief in the future, a willingness to state one's intentions. The hardest part of making a plan is assuming responsibility for one's wishes, desires, and dreams, which often burn so painfully that sometimes it is easier to have no plan, to refuse to plan. But then we live in the wind, like a fugitive seedpod or a fallen feather. So, I will plan. I'll post it on my blog, soon. I promise.