What Can You Do in a Month?

 

Yesterday was the last day of National Poetry Month and I'm missing it already.

To close out the month I wrote a new poem, made a tiny origami kimono, and sprayed fixative on one more mixed-media illustration (above) for "30 Days of Kimono." I'm far from finished with this particular project, but right now it's Happy May Day and a brand new month of writing, this time back to my screenplay for 31 days. No rest for the writer!

I like working on month-by-month projects. I think it all started with my first attempt at National Novel Writing Month. Ever since then (gosh, what's it been? 8 years?) I've found that dedicating an entire month to a solid project is a serious way to get things done, mainly because:

1. I can focus. For one month, nothing else is quite as important as the work I've chosen to concentrate on. This doesn't mean I abandon my other writing and art projects; they just don't take center stage for a few weeks.
2. I don't have to think too hard about the month's structure or schedule--usually someone else has decided for me what the month will entail. A good example is my current decision to go with screenwriting this month. I saw a notice for a Facebook group planning to write screenplays in May. It sounded too good to pass up.
3. Even allowing for spontaneity, like finding this FB screenplay group only a couple of days ago, I can still plan out my year in advance. Working with a calendar helps to accomplish my yearly goals.
4. And I do get A LOT accomplished!
5. Signing up for a month of writing is the perfect reason to say "no" to potentially time-wasting activities and energy drains.
6. Month-size chunks of creativity make big projects do-able.
7. They are also great motivators (e.g. "Just five more days until I don't have to work on this horrible manuscript ever again . . .")
8. It's a good excuse to give yourself a special present or reward when the month is finished (no cheating allowed!).
9. You can use the month to complete a single project . . .
10. Or you can  take several months for the different aspects and stages of a longer project, e.g., a month for a first draft, a month for extra research, a month for editing, etc.
11. If you stick to a month-by-month plan, you will actually get where you want to go!
12. And you'll never wake up in the morning wondering what on earth you will tackle or write about that day.

Don't think you have to restrict yourself to "just writing" either. How about giving yourself  a month to explore a new art technique? Or to take photographs of a favorite subject? Or perhaps you want to set aside some time to plan out your creative life with a month-long vision quest and accompanying goal map.

One of my favorite parts of working on projects-by-the-month is that they're often group-oriented. Whether it's just a small bunch of Facebook friends, or an undertaking as huge as NaNoWriMo, everybody gets the chance to be part of a movement much bigger and friendlier than hours of writing alone. The support and inspiration from working alongside other writers is invaluable and highly recommended.

So what are your plans for the month? Leave a comment and let me know--maybe it's something we can work on together.

Tip of the Day: Make a chart listing the current and next 6 months of the year. Assign either an established project to each month, such as NaNoWriMo in November, or create your own, e.g. "July is Edit My Novel Month. August is Market to Magazines Month." See what fits you and your writing and then stick to your given plan.

21 Days to Writer's Fitness

They say it takes 21 days to make--or break--a habit, and after 21 days of inspiration from Leigh Medeiros and Silver Wings Scripts, I can happily say it's true. Leigh is (amongst other creative accomplishments) the creator of "Screenwriter Shape-up", a 21-day program designed to turn your screenwriting wishes (I wish I had more time/ I wish I could follow through with my ideas/I wish I could write every day...) into established realities.

The version of Screenwriter Shape-Up I took started on February 11 and lasted until March 3. The mission was simple: write down a series of do-able goals for the full 21 days and then...well, do them! My goals this time around were fairly straightforward: to write a 1-page treatment of my most recent screenplay idea--a supernatural thriller--followed by a 2-page treatment, and then to outline my various scenes. But after a week into the program, I found the goal-setting was just the beginning of something much deeper . For instance, there was:

• Discipline! As much as I'm intrigued by screenwriting, far too often it ends up on the back burner, especially when I'm working on a novel or even this blog. But now I've learned to carve out a dedicated screenwriting hour for myself every day. And you know what? That one little hour is  helping all my other writing as well.
• Discovering that 21 days goes fast--and it's the perfect time frame for any kind of deadline or project in the future. The 30 days assigned to the more well-known writing marathons such as Nanowrimo or Scriptfrenzy can seem overwhelming, especially to new writers. 21 days is short and sweet.
• I met so many nice new people--wow, there are some great and friendly writers out there.
• I finally grasped how to use Facebook. This might not sound that amazing to my Internet-savvy friends, but Facebook has always been difficult for me to use. Being part of the discussion groups helped me to see the value of the site and fearlessly join in.
• Working every day toward my goals allowed me to  accomplish them, and more--I now have a complete screenplay outline. Current goal: a complete first draft.
• I learned I could use the 21-day plan for other projects, too. For instance, how about 21 days just for art journaling, 21 days for editing, or 21 days to write 21 poems? This could be a good schedule for all those spaces between various manuscript drafts awaiting revision and rewrites.
• Best of all, now that the 21 days are up and I find myself lodged in my new screenwriting habit, I feel I can truly call myself a screenwriter. In the past I used to consider myself more of a screen-dabbler, a person who liked to play around with screenplays but never thought anything I wrote was worthy of entering into a competition or receiving serious consideration. No more! I love my current project and hope to have it contest-ready by next year.

So as you can see, my goals led me to some pretty good places. Which doesn't mean I can rest on my laurels. A writing habit means that once again it's time to stretch those fingers, lift those pens, and start writing. After all, they don't call them "exercise books" for nothing!

Tip of the Day: Set up your own 21-day program for a project you've always wanted to work on but have delayed for some reason. Choose "start" and "finish" dates that will help, not hinder you, assign yourself an achievable goal or two, and go for it!