Fighting My Resistance

Working to Achieve My Writing Goals

Yup, it is now November 11, and I have yet to set my goals for writing for the month.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to set goals.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write.

It’s not that I haven’t actually written.

It’s greater than that.

It has to do with resistance and time. It has to do with appointments and scheduling. It has to do with resistance and doubt. It has to do with household chores. It has to do with resistance and lack of self-confidence.

Enough said.

NO MORE EXCUSES!

CONQUERING RESISTANCE: REGAINING MY PERSPECTIVE

For many years, November 1 found me sitting down and getting excited in writing a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. November, after all, is National Novel Writing Month.

Have I ever done anything with those volumes of word written? Nope. Nothing.

This year, I started again. I wrote 767 words on November 1, but I haven’t written any since.

Let me rephrase that. I haven’t written any more words on my NaNo project, but I am writing. I need to realize that.

I AM WRITING!

I’ve written my Morning Pages and articles, but nothing on my NaNo project.

I’ve written articles for Medium, but nothing on my NaNo project.

I’ve worked on the pages of my umbrella blog, Rebecca Kojetin; but nothing on my NaNo project.

I’ve worked on the adaptation of a children’s/ young adult’s tale for the stage for a local arts school, but nothing on my NaNo project.

CONQUERING RESISTANCE: RECOGNIZING THE FORMS RESISTANCE TAKES

Resistance rears its ugly head in different ways with different people, but also in different ways with different projects.

JUMPING INTO A PROJECT FEET FIRST

There is a time to write without sitting down to plan and make clear notes on where the project is headed: your personal journal, your morning pages, your prompt pages, an ideas journal,

but not on a large-scale project such as a 50,000-word novel.

In my mind, my NaNo project has a great premise: A mother gives her daughter the photo box that she (the mother) and her father made together in his workshop when the doctors give her (the mother) six months to live. It contained a lifetime of photographs, and according to the mother, the answers to all her daughter’s questions.

And that’s where the idea stopped.

BUT, I STARTED WRITING.

I started writing in first person. I thought that the story would have a better impact that way. I wrote 767 in my first sitting, but when I went back to the project, I felt limited and frustrated without a complete premise.

Resistance told me, “Go ahead and try to write that novel without a plan. Try to write that novel without knowing your characters. Try to write that novel without knowing the MC’s major want. Go ahead and see what happens.”

Right now, I am 15,903 words behind the collective pace of 1,667 words a day.

Can I finish by November 30?

No. Not maybe, but no, I can’t see myself finish the total of 50,000 words by November 30.

Resistance is sitting behind me right now laughing. “I told you to try. I didn’t tell you that you would succeed. You have now failed at getting yet another NaNo project completed to your standards.” Bhu-ha-ha-ha!

JUST A MINUTE MORE ON THIS GAME

I put a couple of games back on my phone in July when my husband’s health became a 24/7 care-giving job. They were something to pass the time while waiting in waiting rooms and waiting for doctors to appear in the patient room. Then, they became something to pass the time while waiting for my husband to ask for something he needed. Then, they became something to supposedly relieve stress.

Resistance sat there at night as I was trying to fall asleep laughing, “I was able to steal most of your valuable time away again today. Let’s play games tomorrow. You can beat that next level.” Bhu-ha-ha-ha!

KEEP ALL THOSE JUGGLING CLUBS IN THE AIR: CAN YOU DO IT?

Up goes one juggling club, my blog Rebecca Kojetin: Life is for Living, high in the air. Catch it (write the Monday post) and throw it up again. Catch it (write the Tuesday post) and throw it up again.

GOOD!

Let’s add another.

Up goes a second juggling club, the need to create a creative entity separate from my husband’s. We had been under the same umbrella business name, but it was suggested by our tax preparer that we separate our creative businesses.

So, I killed off my pen name and began working to create my own umbrella. First, come up with a name. When I shared my ideas for a name, I was met with negative reviews when I shared my favorite idea: Creative Bones.

Resistance laughed in the background. “And you think you’re creative. Told you that idea sucked.”

I finally decided to just use my name: Rebecca Kojetin. (It is still a work in progress, but it is progressing forward.)

As the first juggling club comes down, the second goes up. Catch the first and throw it back up. Catch the second and throw it back up.

GOOD!

Let’s add another — and another — and another.

Suddenly, I’m huddled under far too many falling juggling clubs as they hit me on the head.

Resistance has been watching. He is laughing to the point of tears. “How did you even begin to think that you could handle that many projects and responsibilities? Might as well quit and admit you just can’t do it.”

WHAT NOW? 2 Ways to Fight Back.

Now that I’ve recognized the forms resistance is taking in my life, I can fight back.

How will I fight back?

CREATE A PLAN

So often, I start a project without a plan, pause, create the plan, and either press on or ditch the project.

It’s a well-developed, learned behavior that began when I first started teaching. I think most teachers have an innate ability to start a unit or project without always having a plan, especially when the teacher’s version of the textbook and the district goals and objectives basically written for the teacher. When you teach several different courses or subjects in one day, this “pre-developed lesson plan” is a relief. Unfortunately, after 34 years, this programming is detrimental to a self-employed writer.

I have been working on developing long range goals and a weekly and daily plan that allows for the varying range of non-writing related responsibilities I have that change day-to-day and week-to-week.

Each morning I sit and decide which projects will get my attention for the day. The responsibilities of the day determine which projects to choose. Do I have the time to really dig deep into working on the novel, or does my time that specific day warrant writing an article or editing something? Then I have started looking at how I will tackle each project on my plate for that day.

I also use a timer and a time breakdown: 60–60 or 60–30 or 50–10 or 45–15. In other words, I set the timer for the time increment 60, 50, or 45 minutes to work on a writing project. It gets me writing. How much can I get done? How well can I focus? When the timer goes off, I reset the timer for 60, 30, 15, or 10 and tackle a personal or household task. It gets me up and moving, which is healthy, and allows me a mental break. Then I am refreshed enough to either return to the same project or move on to a different project. (I wrote about this in “Set Fire to Your Own Initiative.”)

LIMIT GAMES. NO, WAIT! DELETE GAMES FROM MY PHONE

Games on my phone are an easy distraction.

I have found that I don’t have the capacity to limit the time on games. If I conquer a level on a game, I tell myself (or maybe it is resistance talking) that I can play just one more level and then I’ll put it down.

It’s easy to say just don’t look at your phone, but my phone is

my timer

an additional writing tool (Google Docs and Evernote)

a research tool

So, all the games that command my attention have been deleted.

Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.

In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)

After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.) and the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.)

Thanks for reading.

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