I also completely understand, Austin, what you’re saying about needing someone else’s eyes on your work. As I’m writing, I know there are hundreds of things that I think I’m getting away with but I’m not. My plan, though, is to finish the first draft, then do an extensive round of revisions. I don’t plan to show the manuscript to anyone until the second or even third draft is complete. I think I’ve relied on other people too extensively in the past for my revision process, and I’m curious to see how far I can get on my own. Besides, there are problems of which I’m consciously aware, even when I write them, so I’ll have plenty to fix by myself.

You’re right about writing every day (or in my case almost every day). I tell myself that I should average 1,000 words per day, but at the end of the week it doesn’t always add up. I’m not really that far from that, though: in the last 60 days I’ve written about 53,000 words. It’s not quite NaNo speed, but I’m at least satisfied with it. I’m hoping to finish this draft before summer. Either way, writing regularly–not going more than two or three days without sitting down to write–is a huge component of my… I guess could call it success. My writing habits used to be to binge several thousand words in one sitting and then not write for weeks. That kind of process just isn’t healthy. Now that I’m writing regularly, I’m having difficulty remembering what my life was like before. I keep asking myself what I did with all my time.

Kelly–I’m glad you like the title. It is very much me, isn’t it? I’m happy to be embarking on this small project. It almost feels like a themed blog. Ever see Julie & Julia?

And, Patrick, I very much like this mini series of articles that you’re doing! It’s a very Patrick-esque title, by the way. Can’t wait to read more, sir.

This process has been one of the most valuable things I’ve taken part in. The reason the teacher does it is because it is often times very hard to see the problems in your own work. It’s not so hard to find problems with other people’s work, which in turn makes you more aware of your own work. If you see something bad, you go “Oh, man, I gotta avoid that.” When you read something good, you think: “Man, I need to be a better writer.” Either way, it’s enlightening and very motivating at times, especially when something is so good that all you want to do is write something better.

Analyzing other works, taking part in critiquing, and, yes, writing everyday, has helped an enormous amount. Having a deadline for turning in helps too. I’m at 25000+ words (not including all the cutting and rewriting), which is over 5x longer than anything I’ve previously written. In fact, it might be more than all the fiction I’ve ever tried to write combined.

How cool would it be if Xenithites got together for a month or so and just did workshops all day? We’d all get so much done.