It’s here, it’s here! A Round of Words in 80 Days, Round 4, is here!
ROW 80, of course, is none other than the awesome writing challenge that knows you have a life. It’s flexible, because it allows us to pick our own manageable goals, and there’s no penalty for having to switch goals up midway through.
As many of you know, I participated in Round 3 and had an absolutely amazing time. Publicly posting my goals, as well as progress updates, really gave me the boost I needed to tackle my various WIPs. I’m proud to say that I accomplished a lot, and I wouldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of the friends that I’ve made.
I want to carry on the discipline that I’ve started to build into Round 4. I have a lot going on in the next few months, and so I’m hoping to use my goals as a way to help me focus on what needs to get done. This time around, I’ve decided to tackle weekly goals, and instead of targeting a specific word count, I’m trying to estimate a certain number of hours that I’ll spend on each goal. I think this will be a bit more flexible, and a little easier for me to complete.
The Goals!
Write, edit, and polish the MA thesis. I have roughly 8-10 hours per week set aside to tackle this project, which is at the top of my priority list for this round.
Write, edit, and develop WIPs. I have another 8-10 hours per week scheduled to deal with my fiction-writing, though I may have adjust the number of hours as we go. For the month of October, my writing time will consist of outlining, plotting, and planning my November NaNo project. I’ll also be editing TELL ME NO LIES, my August CampNaNo story, and toying with an idea for a novella that popped into my head yesterday (not sure how far this third project will go, but there is an outline, and a cast of characters, and an interesting set of problems at stake, so we’ll see). Once November rolls around, I’ll be in full-scale NaNo mode, and my writing time will most likely be consumed with trying to reach my 1667+ words per day.
Tinker with author platform/social media stuff. I’ve made the decision to hold off on declaring a set number of weekly blog posts for the moment, beyond ROW80 check-ins, that is. I’ve just started Kristen Lamb’s “Blogging to Build Your Brand” class (and there are a number of ROW-ers in the mix as well!), which will last through November. The course assignments will help me to further refine my goals and topics for my blog.
Exercise 4-5 times each week. I started making some progress with this goal towards the very end of Round 3, and I’m determined to keep up my momentum during Round 4.
I have a fancy-schmancy schedule that I’ve made myself to help me stay on track, and I’m utilizing Google calendar’s task list so that I remember everything that needs to get done. I’ll also be trying out some techniques to help me stay focused (there are a few that I found here that are really going to come in handy, I think).
I’ve peeked at the linky list to see who’s signed up for this round, and there are almost 100 people listed! I’m super excited to get to know all the new participants, and to catch up with my old friends… and I’m even more excited to party with everyone on Wednesday for our “Rock the ROW” Twitter party! We’ve got loads to celebrate, so I hope that everyone who (1) participated in the last round, (2) jumped in for this round, or (3) just wants to check out our awesomeness swings by. There will be bubbly drinks and dancing for all! 😉
The details:
- Theme: “Rock the Row”
However you want to work that in is great. I leave it to your outrageously creative imagination! - Date: October 5th, 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM ET in the U.S.
This also happens to be the first day of check-in so there should be a ton of ROW80 fun happening around the blogosphere. - Party will be held at the #ROW80 hashtag.
Fire up your Tweet Deck or HootSuite and let’s get jiggy with it. - Photo Competition:
You can start now…we won’t tell. Start digging for or taking photos that reflect the theme. We’ll do our best to gather them and decide on the best to spotlight in a post at the ROW80 blog. One the readers vote, the 1st place winner gets a copy of Kait Nolan’s latest book, Red, in e-book format!! - Friendly Blog Competition
We will also post a mash-up of favorite ROCK THE ROW posts at the Row80 blog.
See you all at the #ROW80 hashtag on October 5th, and in the meantime, visit the other participants and check out their goals!
