CJSF3 Round 3 Day 8
Excerpted from ficfinishing
Wednesday! Week 2 begins!
For some people things are going great and that's wonderful.
For those who are struggling it's time to recommit and try again.
Author Tasks for Day 8
It's never too late for a fresh start so if things haven't gone well to date now's the time to forget all that and give yourself a blank slate to work with. Erasing bad feelings and disappointments is key to reenergizing your efforts to get new words.
1. Recommit to your goal
If your drive or motivation have waned in the first half of the round now's a good time to make a fresh commitment to finish your fic by end of month. For some people the act of signing up for a round is the spark that spurs them onward. So consider this your second sign up chance for the same round. Post a comment below stating your goal to finish your fic (or whatever portion you originally signed up to finish) and put it in words to make it real.
Tip: Don't just tell us, tell others. The more people you have in on your commitment the more support they can give you and the less you can hide.
Tip: If you're convinced you can't possibly finish your entire goal at this point don't just give up. Set a reasonable portion, like a quarter or a third or even a half, to finish by end of month. That way you'll be much further along when you sign up for it next month - if you choose to do so - and not in the same place you are now, flailing at how much is left to do.
2. Escape avoidance mode
We all experience it from time to time: that feeling that you don't want to deal with something and you want to slip away into a world where said obligation/task/deadline doesn't exist. The land of denial may be a happy one, but the return trip is where it gets you. There are tools to help you analyze what's behind the dread and to return you to engagement mode (see the Techniques Master List), but mostly what's needed is to reassociate your goal fic with good feelings instead of bad. So after you've done your prep work and faced your reasons with the Techniques, plan a pleasant sandwich for your fic: a brief period of time doing something you really enjoy, a brief period of time working on your fic followed by a longer period of time doing something you really enjoy. By packaging the writing amidst positive experiences you help bring a positive approach to it that may help you stop avoiding it even after you no longer sandwich it.
Tip: Your sandwiched activities should be as close in time as possible, bleeding into each other is deal. If you spread them out over three days it won't work. A gap of even fifteen minutes is enough for the mind to fail to associate the pleasure with the goal task.
Tip Don't try to tackle the hardest part of your fic. Instead pick on the most enjoyable section you have left to write. It may not be the most useful thing to write of what you need, but in this case your goal isn't getting a lot of words: it's an attitude shift. If you can shift that attitude from negative to positive? The words should come later just fine.
3. Dangle shiny things in front of your muse
Pick out the juiciest most fun parts of the fic that you have yet to write and tantalize your muse with them. It doesn't matter if you're not up to that part yet; if you're not getting words you're not going to get there! Not enough shiny in your fic? Make some. Get a little sparkage going between your romantic leads during a decidedly not romantic time for a change. Insert a brush with danger in advance of the big climax. More sex please! Enticing your muse has a great bonus - readers will likely be enticed in the end as well.
Tip: If sex scenes are hard to write for you then don't tempt fate by adding a sex scene to your story you're not sure you can finish. Consider adding whatever you find fun and easy: flirting scenes are good for that since they have a lot of the sexual tension and yet none of the onus of writing actual sex.
Tip: If you haven't made a scene list or Mechanicals at least make a list of any scenes you write out of order. That way you know what you need to fit in later and won't accidentally write the same part twice. If writing the scenes down leads to new ideas for scenes go with it! Anything that moves your fic forward is progress even if it's unplanned.
And if you can, WRITE!
First Reader Tasks for Day 8
As with any day in the round you can offer your services or be asked.
1. Look for Authors who have gone quiet
This is one of the most important tasks First Readers can do on the comm. It can be easy to cheer on authors as they post updates, but what about those who have fallen off the radar? Go back to the Round 3 Participants post and look for any authors who haven't updated in a while or started the round late. They are the ones who might need a boost the most. Offer to read, express interest in the premise of their fic and/or reassure them you won't unduly judge a work in progress.
Tip: Sometimes life gets in the way of fic finishing so don't take it personally if you reach out to an author and they fail to get back to you. For some people it's just not the right time to be making a fic finishing attempt.
Reminder to Authors!
Post your word counts/number of new words on each of these daily posts to track your progress!