Write-A-Thon Halfway Point

I am now approximately halfway through my current Write-A-Thon project.  During one of my breaks, I decided to look up the concept of Write-A-Thons on Google.com.  I was not too surprised to find other write-a-thons in existence, but I was quite pleased to see that none had undertaken a 26.2 hour stint of writing.  Some were only a few hours or days of intensive writing and creativity.  Some were accomplishing entire novels in 26 days!  I may need to try that one.  But none were exactly like mine.  I find it nice because I feel like I've infringed on no existing idea. 

Before I update on my previous goals and establish my new ones, I feel impressed to mention a few things I must remember for my next Write-A-Thon (and a tip for any reader interested in taking this on themselves):

1.  Start in the morning, or rather, when you first wake up after a full sleep.  You will have more effective creativity and writing flow for longer periods of time.
2.  Create more stream-lined official goals with more specific outcomes.  This allows for more efficient use of your time.  Creativity is never the most efficient engine, but it can be more so when you come to the table with a proper idea of what you want to receive out of your given time.
3.  Come to the table prepared.  I've spent too much time looking for things that have turned out to be missing (as in a 3 hole punch, my schematics, and location drawings of important places within my novel).  They were here a minute ago...  I still have not found them and it is slowing my writing down immensely because I have nothing but my own sleep deprived memory to pull from. 
4.  Have a more structured itinerary prepared including breaks to save yourself from burn-out and fatigue.  If you find yourself writing more than following, that's great.  But if you're stuck, a coming break can ease that wall a bit.

And now to update on my previous goals and how those are coming along:

1.  Write a solid hour from a writing prompt.
2.  Complete Chapter 3-8 of E. (Chapters 3 & 4 are complete.  Working on Chapter 5 at the moment.)
3.  Work on E.C.
4.  Do not fall asleep or give up! (So far, I've accomplished this)
5. 5000 words down.

My next goals are as follows:

1.  Don't give up.
2.  15,000 word total by Write-A-Thon end.
3.  Complete Chapter's 5-8 of E.
4.  Work on first free write once again. 

By 8:32 am, I had written a total of 7,720 words with only 7,280 remaining.  This is just over half of my goal.  With my wits only dulling more and my walls becoming ever present, I am already in a scramble to keep up. 

This is slow going, but I know now that a few hours writing in a day is nothing compared to this.  Yes, I do believe myself insane to be doing this.  However, I am enjoying this, no matter the difficulty.  Ask me again in a few hours, I may have changed my mind.  But up to this point, I have been rather a bit of fun.  It is exciting to see a story come to life in front of you.  And even more, your own.

And so comes and goes the halfway point to this insane marathon of writing.  I am off into my mind once again.  Wish me further luck and encouragement.  

1

It Begins...

...so at 8:03 pm, my Write-a-thon officially begins, giving me an end time of 10:15 pm tomorrow night.  I apologize for the 3 minute delay, but you try explaining to an 8 1/2 month old that Mommy will be working for 26.2 hours straight.  She is my biggest supporter and my largest obstacle.  Missing her hurts already.  And yes, I am being serious.

Let's get down to it.  Goals for this section of the write-a-thon:
1.  Write a solid hour from a writing prompt.
2.  Complete Chapter 3-8 of E.
3.  Work on E.C.
4.  Do not fall asleep or give up!
5. 5000 words down.

I'm petrified, but it's time.  I will update via twitter and Facebook approximately every 4 hours.  My twitter account is bookishbethany, if you are interested in following along and are not a Facebook friend.  Thank you all for your support.  I'll need every grain to defeat this. 

What is a Write-A-Thon?

Okay, so as far as I know, it's something I only just recently invented.  Sure, it may exist elsewhere, but I have no knowledge of anyone else attempting what I am about to attempt, so I'm claiming it as my own mini-revolution.  There are several read-a-thons and novel, blog, journal, or poetry writing weeks, months, et cetera that tens to hundreds of thousands of people take part in every year.  I tend to get busy and either completely forget or simply relent and let it beat me.  So I'm creating my own mountain to scale.

I wanted desperately to follow the National Novel Writing Month this past year in November (or NaNoWriMo to you knowledgeable folks), but school, family, and my own demons kept me from even attempting it this year.  This is my retaliation now that I have a few days before everything starts back up again. 

I was going to await the New Year and ring it in strong.  However (and I do not know how this happened), my husband convinced me to ring out the old year instead.  It made sense when he explained that writing shouldn't start with a specific timeline other than the one we create.  And possibly, it will make me stronger and more eager to take on 2012 if I know that I've accomplished a few major feats in 2011.

So to celebrate the last of this year, I will have a few major accomplishments to look back on and remember fondly (even if at the time, I felt more crazy for doing them than after the fact): having my daughter, our first child in April 2011, going back to school in September 2011 and surviving with a 3.73 cumulative GPA with an infant, and now the Write-A-Thon.  Maybe there weren't several accomplishments, but each of these will significantly impact my future, and that makes me excited to see this old year out with a bang, and ring in the New Year with all the opportunities it could possibly contain!

So what is a Write-a-thon exactly?  I'm glad you asked.  A runner's marathon is 26.2 miles long, from start to finish.  So in respect to that, a writer's marathon is 26.2 hours long.  That's right: 26.2 hours straight (with bathroom breaks, of course) of writing and all the things that go into writing.  And for me, this begins at 8:00 pm tonight (Eastern Standard Time).

In doing this, I hope to jump start my creative mind, opening the doors, forcing the flood gates, and allowing my mind to re-establish its relationship with the writing world.  So come writer's block or no, I will write whatever it is I can in whatever way I can, until 10:12pm tomorrow night, December 30, 2011.  Then I will get some much needed sleep, wake up and go about my day, implementing new goals into my life that will sustain and enrich my writing as much as possible.

I will kick off my writer's marathon with a blog update here, I will update on my twitter and facebook page as often as I can (the goal is about once every 4 hours).  I will also post a midway point blog here at around 9:00 am tomorrow morning, and will complete my writer's marathon with a finishing blog at 10:12 pm tomorrow.  If you were lucky enough to know about this and care to follow me as I take on this mountain, I would be honored and I hope you would enjoy the opportunity to see how much I accomplish and how much I lose my sanity.

Feel free to comment or ask questions, should you have any.  As I said, this is a new project that I've recently created and I will try to fill you in and share as much as I can about what I accomplish in these 26.2 hours of creative flooding.

My next entry will outline more of my initial schedule and goals for this feat.  They may be loose as I've never done anything like this and I have no idea what to expect of myself.  But goals give me a direction, and heaven knows I need some if I'm going to write for 26.2 hours straight. 

For now, I'm going to get a few hours of sleep and I will return here at 8:00 pm.  Join me if you will!

Good luck to me.  Until then, adieu.