Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I'm Hanging Up My Shoes! November, Day 2

If you were here yesterday, you know that I'm doing short, mindless posts this week. I'm blogging about five words that my friend Deb at Ranch Girl Ramblings gave me. Today's word is: MILESTONE So, you are writing along, the rain falling on your paper (or keyboard, these days), and BOOM!, you've got nothing. You trudge along anyway, just so you can make it to the end. The words are slow and labored, but eventually, you get to the last chapter, the last word, the last period. You, my friend, have hit a milestone. You have completed a novel. Whether it's your first or your fifteenth, it still feels good. But every milestone comes with a life lesson. It's up to you whether or not you learn from it. What milestone have you hit during your writing career? Join me tomorrow when I share the lessons I've learned.

34 comments:

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

Hmm... I've completed five novels, but wasn't ready to pursue publication until the fifth one came along. I guess that's my newest milestone. :0)

Have a great day!

Paul Greci said...

I think completing my second novel was a big milestone b/c it showed me that writing a novel wasn't just a one time thing, that I had more than one idea and had enough self-discipline to follow through with it.

Julie said...

My biggest milestone was putting myself out there to get that first rejected letter. I actually smiled when I read it because I knew immediately I would still keep writing. But i couldn't possibly know that until I experienced it for myself.

Rae said...

Milestone. Hmmm? I can think of several, but none related to writing a novel. That would be a pretty impressive accomplishment though. I guess my little blog with pieces and parts of my journal is my writing milestone. I really like these word posts. Nice!

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Just finished #3 and I'm fighting, fighting, knockdown, drag out fighting not to get at it, but I've been advised to wait at least a month...so I'm waiting. In the waiting time I got smacked with a concept for #4 that is blowing me away. I'm taking furious notes. This writing thing is mindblowing fun!
~ Wendy

Julie said...

Wendy - I hear ya! the wait is so hard, isn't it?

But it really does help. Unless you are one of those people who spends months outlining each chapter I don't see how you can truly revise with out that wait.

Kristi Faith said...

I think the biggest milestone I have reached is that I finally learned to write every day, whether I was 'inspired' or not. It's been a most amazing and freeing experience. I find that my inspiration sometimes just needs a little coaxing.

Melanie's Randomness said...

I had a milestone actually writing my papers in college. I realized that I hate writing things that are pointless to me, like the characterization of a poem that I didn't even like. So I made a promise to myself that if I was to write a novel that it would be something I liked or something fun & not just to follow an editor's deadline. My biggest fear with writing is to have to finish a novel by a certain date & just rushing through it & it being just garbage. Writing should be fun to the person writing it.

L. T. Host said...

I have a lot of milestones, most of them recent, all of them good. It would take me a while to list them, so I'll just say that figuring out I could finish a novel or two is my biggest overall milestone.

Angela Ackerman said...

I think milestones don't mean as much as I hit them as much as in retrospect. Which is good in a way because sometimes I need a boost to keep going, and thinking of the milestones I've hit is just the ticket!

Joshua McCune said...

First milestone was getting a short published in a professional publication. Took awhile to get there -- hopefully won't take as long to reach the next one :)

Natalie said...

I think my most meaningful milestone was completing my rewrite over the summer and sending queries out with confidence that this would be the one.

Patti said...

I thinking finishing my book was a milestone and letting someone other than family read it.

Carolyn V. said...

My first milestone was when I actually finished a book. It wasn't good, but I did it. It was an awesome feeling. =)

Roni Loren said...

I think finishing a novel is one of the best milestone feelings. I've done it twice now and the feeling was even better with the second than the first. Something about typing those two words: the end.

Nancy said...

Several milestones in my writing career are getting my first rejection letter with a comment on it, then getting the first actual letter of rejection. Another milestone was finishing my first novel. Another was giving my first speech to an audience, which I consider a part of writing. Then there's starting a blog. That's a true milestone!

Tara McClendon said...

My milestone--I've started submitting query letters. Keep your fingers crossed for me. :]

Stephanie Thornton said...

I had to learn to write every day. In my book. It was hard, but now I'm in the habit and I know that while I won't keep everything I write, it's important to make a little progress every day. Eventually it adds up!

Dara said...

I think my milestone is setting a deadline for myself to get things done. Before, I'd never be able to finish anything because I had no "set" goals. I've found that by putting it in writing, it helps me envision it and get things done.

Hoping that this helps me finish my first draft before the first of the year.

Amanda A. Ebokosia said...

This is nice-- I love it. Well, my milestone was completing my first book at 19 and self-publishing it.

Stephanie Faris said...

Getting an agent...but that came after years of trying to get published. And once you have an agent, all you do is wait...wait for her to hear from publishers. Well, that and start working on your next book!

Kelsey (Dominique) Ridge said...

I recently finished revisions on one story. It was a milestone for me, because I'd actually made significant changes to the book, which I hadn't much experience doing.
I'm looking forward to my next milestone: editing that thing into awesomeness.

Jade said...

Finishing my second ms at the start of this year felt damn good because there was two years and alot of unfinished ms littered in between.

Also finishing the first draft of Charms because it was the first story that I was really proud of and also sticking it out with the editing.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I think my biggest milestone, after actually completing a viable novel, was taking the brave step to ask for beta-readers. What a colossal help!

Terri Tiffany said...

For me it was actually writing a query letter and sending it to an agent--not just a publisher. That was scary!

Angie Muresan said...

Susan, good luck and much success with your revisions. The biggest milestone for me is finding two hours of uninterrupted time daily to just write. Can't wait to hear about yours.

Anonymous said...

Ummm, I don't think that I have a writing milestone. Ahhh. Graduating college was HUGE! But that is not about writing. I really need to get it together. Huh? lol. I guess when I finish my first novel - that will be my big milestone! :o)

Ronald L. Smith said...

Finishing my first novel.

Getting my first full request.

Still waiting for the Big One: Landing an Agent.

Tabitha Bird said...

No really great big milestones yet. I am still writing and breathing... does that count? :)

AiringMyLaundry said...

Getting past 400 pages in my novel was a bit of a milestone. Granted, I'll probably have to trim quite a bit of that but still..

Dawn Simon said...

Each novel I've finished has been a milestone, and each one has taught me a ton. Sometimes what I've learned is that the novel isn't finished--that was just the completion of another draft! Ack!

The next milestone I'm hoping for: getting an awesome agent. :)

Kelly H-Y said...

I'm still working on meeting the milestone of not second-guessing myself before sending manuscripts out!

Sherrie Petersen said...

The current milestone I'm celebrating is multiple agents asking to see my work. Next milestone: land one of those fabulous people!

Stacey J. Warner said...

I'm catching up...I didn't read yesterday because I didn't have time...my milestone was finishing "Looking for Cowboy" a screenplay and being a top ten finalist in the UCLA screenplay competition.

much love