Making Time to Write Monday: Be Accountable

Writing is a lonely job–typing into a box, scribbling onto a blank notebook. Being pre-published means that I have no deadlines. No agent or editor tapping the calendar at me. But I eventually WANT to have a book deal, which means I have to write the books. Being accountable to some of my writing friends has helped me write several books.

Critique Groups

Before I had my writing groups, I didn’t have deadlines. I also didn’t get as much writing accomplished. In 2009, I joined a writing group. I had a new baby, a five-year-old, a full-time job, and I was trying to finish my M.F.A. My plate was full.

But once a month, I had a deadline. I had to make progress on my M.F.A. Thesis (a young adult novel), and my writing group was there to read it in installments.

Over the next year, I added two more online critique groups—one for my picture books and one for my novels. They each serve different purposes. But now, instead of once a month deadlines, I have three deadlines a month. Stressful? A little. But if I know I have to turn something in, I write. Instead of browsing the internet during my writing time, I look at what I want to turn in to my writing group.

No one gets after me if I don’t turn things in. I’m much harder on myself than they’d ever be. I’m the one who needs to know there’s a deadline.

Daily Accountability

Even with deadlines three times a month, there were days that I wrote more than others. I tended to binge write just before my deadlines. I don’t think this is a bad thing, but I knew that I could produce more if I did a little bit on a daily basis. I still like to do binge writing when I have a larger chunk of time.

In September, I took the Naturally Creative online workshop with Anastasia Suen. Several of my critique group members did too. It only cost $20 and was money well spent. One of my favorite parts of the class was the daily accountability aspect. Everyday we were encouraged to send an e-mail to the group updating them on our current project and the steps we took that day to accomplish the goal.

When the month was done, I knew I needed to continue with status updates. So, my writing group agreed to endure a daily e-mail from me reporting my progress. The good thing is that with Gmail, we can keep it in the same thread, so it doesn’t junk up their inboxes. I don’t expect a reply at all. I just think it’s helpful for me to see that little by little, I am making progress.

Using the daily status update as my accountability piece, I rewrote/revised my young adult novel in two months.

Don’t have a critique group? Send yourself an e-mail and create your own e-mail file folder for your status updates.