Just over a week into Row80’s Round 3, and I’m wrestling with a bit of guilt.
I’m not meeting all my goals. You know, the ones we publicly state and try to stick to? Yeah, those. In case you didn’t see my exact goals, I’ve copied them below:
My Round 3 ROW80 Goal – Write 2,500 words on my WIP each week and post 4 blogs/week. If I can meet this goal, which I think is attainable, I’ll have another 28,550 words done on my high-risk pregnancy memoir and the first draft should be finished.
On the blog side of the fence, I’m knocking my goals out of the park! I’ve helped line up AMAZING guest bloggers, both here at More Cowbell and over at Writers In The Storm:
More Cowbell
A Deep Edit Analysis later this week from Margie Lawson (SQUEEEEEEEE!)
I’m so excited to host K.B. Owen, Mystery Writer, later this month.
Writers In The Storm
Our Sensational Summer guest series kicked off with a post by Kristen Lamb.
Connie Flynn broke down The Hero’s Journey in a whole new way.
Margie Lawson shared her 10 favorite Writing Tips.
This Friday, Elizabeth Spann Craig (aka Riley Adams) will be joining us.
Sue Grimshaw, Kitty Bucholtz and Linda O. Johnston are waiting in the wings over at WITS to guest post later in July and into August. It’s a sassy, sizzling Summer on the blog front. Woot!
Then we move to the Work In Progress side of the fence…*scuffling feet*
I get most of my fiction writing done on the weekends and y’all heard how last weekend went. Geesh. I’m getting a page in here or there, but the WIP goals are not even close to being met and I need to just…BREATHE.
I need to repeat after Kait Nolan that “Row80 is the challenge that knows you have a life” and remember to turn over a new leaf each day and focus on the beauty of the 900 words behind me, rather than the 2,500 words in front of me.
STILL BREATHING…
I see pals like Gene Lempp, Tiffany White, Nicole Basaraba and Sonia Madeiros “Rockin’ the Row.” There are others, like Jamila Jamison and I, who are limping along while life steps on our throats, sucking up all our writing airtime.
Last week, Catie Rhodes felt like her Row80 progress needed to move here:
This week, she’s feeling like she might be able to wear her proper sign again:
Julie Glover reached out and gave me some inspiration this week…so did the peeps listed above. With help from the Team (and a little more deep breathing) I think I’m going to get back on track. I can feel it.
What about you? How is your Round 3 going? Which of the two streets shown above are you living on, challenge-wise. Are some goals easier than others? What are you finding the most difficult? Did anyone on Team Row80 reach out and offer some sorely needed support?
~Jenny
Jenny Hansen's Blog 
Stick with the positives, Jenny, you’re doing great 🙂
I like to say: “Every day is a new day and new set of opportunities to succeed”. Keep rocking the ROW!
Peace.
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Thanks, Gene. I HATE not meeting goals (can ya tell??). But with this group, it’s just on to the next week, which is awesome.
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I love the photos of the signs. So funny. Thanks so much for the mention Jenny. 🙂 I’m trucking along because I am working of my first attempt at a draft, so it really increases the word count. Who knows what will happen when I go on my 2 weeks vacation…
Before stating my goals for ROW80, I knew that a daily word goal was out of the question for me. Its harder to force out 500 words when sometime comes up I’m lacking on sleep. But a weekly goal is ok because if I miss a day or have a bad day, then maybe one of the other 7 will be a great one. The ROW80’ers are awesome. A very supportive group.
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Nicole,
You can thank Catie for the whole sign thing. I saw Jackass Lane on her blog and laughed for a really long time over it. My feverish mind will be trying to find a way to use that photo again. 🙂
It looks like you are rocking your goal and I can promise you, if you come to a time when you aren’t, we’ll all be over there propping you up!
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Don’t let the word counter get you down – like you said you knocked it out of the park on the Blog side of your goals! So good job (plus thankyou I didn’t even think about including my blog posts as part of my goals – gives me more that I can feel positive about!) New check-in. New day. All the best for next weeks goals 🙂
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Thanks, Jody….it’s great to meet you!
Yep, we’ve all agreed that keeping up with a blog takes work so I knew that needed to be listed as part of the goals. My wordcount per week is plenty high, as you can tell from my site, but I really want to finish this memoir!
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Focus on the progress, not on the so-called “failure;” blogging is time consuming. It sounds to me like you are doing GREAT, and I love the way you support and promote other writers; that takes time, too. I think you are a rock star! Go, go, go!
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Thanks, Pam! I think writers have to help each other to keep the spirits up (that’s what I LOVE about Row80!). It’s great to see you here. Now I have to go find you and Jody on Twitter…
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Jenny, no matter what the word count tells you, You Rock.
Something to consider: Cannot remember the name of the presenter, but I’m pretty sure I was turned onto the video through CJ Lyons’ newsletter, Marketing with Heart. Whoever it was, his (her?) findings made sense, studies backed up the findings. I’ll do my best to give the the gist:
Studies show that when we tell others, publicly, what we set out to accomplish, our brain considers the task done. In other words, by announcing our goals, we kinda sorta subconsciously trick ourselves into believing we’ve got it in the bag.
Not to say we aren’t fighting a good fight, but if the brain is going to get tricky with us, we need to get sneaky with it. What would happen, Jenny, if, next round, you kept your goals to yourself and your group (for accountability) but only report your success here? Yes, success, because hard work always means success.
Rock on, Chiquita!
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LOL, Sherry. I need to try that next week. I’ve never heard that before but it makes perfect sense.
p.s. I get tricky with my brain all the time….it’s a slippery little sucker!
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ROW80 had been going well so far. But I don’t think my goals were too ambitious, so maybe that’s why.
What I do know is that if I didn’t have the goals I set, there would be days that I would have LET life be in the way enough to write zero.
You’ve been writing – even if it isn’t as much as you originally set out to. For me, that is the beauty of ROW80. It pushes you to at least try. Those 900 words are far better than none. Keep it up!
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Thanks, Amber, you’re a sweetie pie. 🙂
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Jen, Don’t make me put on the cheerleader skirt – I can’t get the damned thing zipped, and no one wants to see that anyway. But I will get out the pom-poms…
GO JENNY GO!
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*weak with laughter*
Oh, I feel the love pouring through! You don’t whip out the cheerleader skirt for ANYBODY. 🙂
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You’re doing great. You’ve got a lot of awesome people lined up to guest blog, and that’s time consuming. As for the writing side, you just need to keep plugging away. The fact that you’re writing every day and moving forward is a big accomplishment!
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Thanks, Stacy! Life has been chaotic lately…probably I needed to post this blog and chat with all of you so I could get rejuvenated a little bit.
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Jenny, I’m right with you. Things are going somewhat better, but it is really hard to get it *all* done. And you have to. You have to blog. You have to tweet. You have to network. But, beyond all that, you’ve got to work on the writing you do with intent of publication. I am floored at how hard I’m working.
I think we will both get our poop together. I am woman. Hear me roar…or squeak. LOL
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I used to have a refrigerator magnet that said, “Having it ‘all together’ is like trying to eat once and for all.” I haven’t found it yet in the move, but your comment made me decide to go dig it out. I might even have to blog about it. Thanks, Catie! I can hear you roaring from here…
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Keep going! I know you can do it.
Thank you for the wonderful encouragement and linkage. I ❤ you!
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Well, you and your <3's and sunshine are what convinced me to do Row80…did you know that?
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Sherry has a good point, I also try not to talk in depth about books I’m writing, ‘cuz then I think I’ve written them.
Give yourself a big old hug and move on. Look at all the good you do for your followers.
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Ooooh, Amy, that’s funny. I find that to be true too. I’m giving my daughter a big old hug while I type this (and she tries to squirm off my lap!)…thanks for the cheer. 🙂
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Awesome. You can do it, you can do it! Wait. You are doing it. That’s what goals are for: to strive toward. Doesn’t mean you’re going to make it, it just means you have a destination. Sounds like you’ve got it hand.
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Angela,
I think I’ve gotten a little more settled as the day has gone on but your gem here caps it. I love the way you look at goals. It is so much more Zen than anal-retentive Jenny has been able to manage this week. 🙂
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Jenny, I hate missing goals, too. Keep thinking that I’ll get caught up, get ahead, and have some leeway but–NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo! And that myth that it’s possible to get ahead keeps teasing me. I’ve finally surrendered and recognized….DO IT ANYWAY!
So I am. So there. *s*
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You always make me laugh, Amy! I’m with you…I do it anyway too. But damn, does the universe have to flog us along the way??? That universe is a #$%^!
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