How To Write a Draft... and How Many Drafts it Takes

How does one write a draft? And how many drafts does it take until a story, blog post, or article is complete? There are plenty of people out there searching for the answers to those questions.

As a freelancer, I have a lot of different projects going on at one time. Not all of them are computer-based, so I don't always sit in front of my computer for long spans of time, nor do I always have the luxury of spending my computer time focused on a single piece of work. This can be very frustrating if I'm trying to achieve a certain goal in one sitting - such as, say, "finishing a first draft." I'm sure the same is true for many people who live and work in the writing world. Whether it's kids, pets, other jobs, or something else that takes your mind away from the draft, it can be hard when you don't know when it's time to "move on to the next stage."

Now that I've been thinking more about drafts in general, and how to get my work done more quickly specifically, I think that the problem is with the carved-in-stone definition of "draft." For example, when I write an article for a site online (such as Trail's Edge Blog), I used to try and force myself through to my desired word count on the first pass. That led to me either staring at the screen angrily when I was halfway through and coming up blank, or just procrastinating until I had that perfect slot of time available. Which never happened, by the way.

June 2011 Goals

A little late to the game, but I wanted to make sure that I wrote these down to hold myself accountable...

1. Write 18 15 Weird Worm articles. I'm not cutting myself slack just because I had trouble reaching my goal last month! I've written three so far, so I've got a bit of catching up to do.
2. Write 8 Trail's Edge Blog posts. I'm liking this gig a lot. Stay tuned for more info! If you're interested in checking out my most recent article, it's here: Best Outdoors Activities for Father’s Day.
3. Four posts per week on You Amuse Me. I've got a formula set up, so this one should be pretty straightforward. Blogging takes less time than writing articles!
4. Keep up with social media/promotions. A little more work with the new Facebook page and Twitter account, but still doable.
5. Launch my new mystery blog. This will also require more scheduling of posts, but I'm really excited about the new niche. We'll see how the timing goes with everything else that's going on.
6. Exercise. I'm going to start going to Ultimate one day a week, and running twice a week. I ran a mile last Sunday and my legs are still sore - that simply won't do!
7. Reduce the number of exclamation points I use! At least, in my articles. It's been pointed out to me that I sometimes use them to excess. I can't help that I sometimes want to convey my excitement about things!
8. Read The Happiness Project. My mom enjoyed it, so I figure it's worth a go.

Yay! I'm pumped up for June!

May 2011 Goals Recap

Wow, May was intense... more productive than I'd hoped in some ways, and less productive in others.

1. Write at least 17 Weird Worm articles. Phew, only managed to do eight. Then again, moving totally threw me off. I'm going to have to recommit for next month!
2. Continue to exercise. Well, I've been spending more time outside, but not exactly "exercising" very much.
3. Work on writing four hours per day. Again, the move made me lose focus.
4. Fully explore niche online markets. The Best Kinect Games niche isn't doing quite as well as I'd hoped. I might do a little more work here in the coming months.
5. Explore new article markets. This actually worked out surprisingly well for me! Sticking with the writing has paid off, as I've been approached by a new market called Trail's Edge Blog. My first article for them is called 5 Tips For Buying Your First Running Shoes, and you should check it out because it's funny and informative and sweet (if I do say so myself).
6. Move. At least this went pretty smoothly. I got to drive one of those enormous U-Haul trucks for three hundred miles, which was quite an adventure. And now I'm prepared for the next stage in my life journey! If "being prepared" is the same as having all of you stuff in boxes and not being able to find any of it, that is...

Stay tuned for June's goals (I know, time to get cracking!)