What's Up Wednesday: October 22

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. Saw the first frost of the season this morning and snow over the weekend, though thankfully it didn't stick. I know winter is going to hit us hard this year, but I'd rather it wait until after Halloween at the very least.


What I'm Reading: 
Uh. I'm determined to move on from Blood and pick a book off my shelf today. I just haven't decided if I want to go for an old favorite, the next book in Game of Thrones, or something new that I've had for a while but haven't read yet.

What I'm Writing: 
After a week's hiatus, I'm back to working on LP, though with a word count goal of only 250 a day again because my to do lists are getting lengthy and I need to focus on other things. It's up to 55k and I'm starting to get the feeling it's going to end up being closer to 80k now all told.

What Works for Me: 
Reward system. I usually use episodes of whatever TV show I'm working my way through at the moment. This week is Stargate SG-1, season six.  If I finish a certain number of tasks on my list, then I get an episode. Short tasks (like writing this post) mean that I have to do more than one. Longer tasks (like reading a chapter for class) get a reward by themselves. Some days, when I'm easily distracted and work takes a backseat to binging episodes, I have to finish all of the tasks on my list before I can watch. It all depends on the mood I'm in, exactly how much work I have to get done, and whether the episodes have cliffhangers.

What Else I'm Up To: 
Grad school applications. November is roaring up like a train and I was not prepared for that. I got all my letter of recommendation stuff in order on Monday and now I'm working on my materials. Hoping to send in my first application as early as Friday. It's a horribly nerve-wracking process. 

Have a great week, everyone!

Comments

Melanie Crouse said…
I love the idea of a reward system, and it seems so obvious, now that you've said it, but I've never thought to reward myself before. Especially for onerous tasks, that might work!
October 22, 2014 at 12:21 PM
Alison Miller said…
Rewards are the best! And yes - must have a carrot dangling for me to get through revisions sometimes. Right now, it's Blue Lily. :)

Have a great week!
October 22, 2014 at 1:23 PM
ELAdams said…
A reward system is a great motivator! Have a great week! :)
October 22, 2014 at 3:54 PM
Rachel said…
A reward system sounds so great. I try but I cheat anyway. Oops. Hope you have a productive week!
October 22, 2014 at 4:51 PM
Kris F. Oliver said…
Reward systems are great! I love that you reward yourself with TV episodes. I would probably write more words if I made myself hold off on Netflix. (Tough Love)

Hope you have a great week!
October 23, 2014 at 7:10 AM
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