Monday 5 June 2017

What I Loved About 'RWA 50K in May'

by Marilyn Forsyth

Image courtesy of Giphy
I have just enjoyed the most inspirational month of writing, joining more than 80 other romance writers in the ‘RWA 50K in May’ group. I’d often thought of doing NaNoWriMo, but November is way too busy a time for me. MayNoWriMo, though, I reckoned could do!

Image courtesy of Giphy


Being a pragmatist, I knew I would never reach the dizzying heights of writing 50K over four weeks, so I set 20K as my goal. I'm more than happy to report that in May I more than doubled my usual monthly output.


Participating in the group was, for me, a great exercise in discipline. Every day, even when I was pressed for time or lacking in focus, I had to get some words down because I needed to report my word count each night.


A number of participants came up with some great tips to keep track of progress:

*Anne Gracie suggested rounding down the word count to the nearest hundred, checking how close to the next hundred you are and pushing yourself past it. I used a version of this by rounding down and using anything over that hundred as an automatic head start for the following day.

Link to Kendall's page

*Kendall Talbot posted a chart to achieve 30K in 30 days (above) which was adapted by Suzy Jay. I used a combination of both (below).

My version of the Word Count Chart at the beginning of the month.





*The spreadsheet created by Sarah Brabazon was a great motivator! I had to try to get that red line to meet the green line. (Didn't manage until right at the end, as you can see!)






*Quite a few members joined in sprints, which I wasn’t able to because I leave nights free for family time, but it obviously worked well for them.

At the outset, I did tend to compare my own word count to that of others, but there really is no point to that. With something like this you have to run your own race. I salute writers who can produce several thousand words a day but I have to accept that it’s not what I do.

The thing about joining a group like this is that everyone supports each other, urging one another on to meet our goals. The camaraderie was sensational. As writers, we lead an isolated existence, and it’s great to know that there are others out there experiencing the same things we go through.

Image courtesy of writerswrite.co.za



It was also great to have commiserations when the frustrations of life got in the way, when things didn’t go to plan, or when disaster struck. I had a ‘hot wax’ experience (not as kinky as it possibly sounds😉) where I spilled my ‘ritual’ scented candle over the keyboard, traumatizing my laptop into shutdown mode. It was a very anxious overnight wait to see if I’d lost all the words I’d written, but I was still able to access the group via my ipad, and having people out there who understood the way I was feeling really helped. (The laptop had recovered by the next morning and the words weren’t lost. Yay!)




At the end of the month I had written 20 000 words. Yep, I reached my goal!



Image courtesy of Giphy

And altogether our group wrote over 1 million words!

A huge shout out to Delwyn Jenkins for coordinating the group, and to all my fellow participants. I really enjoyed your company and hope to meet in person those of you going to the conference in BrisVegas, in August.

The idea now is to ‘maintain the rage’, so to speak, and keep that doubled-up weekly word count happening.

Wish me luck!

Have you ever dedicated a month to writing with a group? How did you go?


Love to Love the fact that I’m now close to halfway to finishing my current wip.

Love to Laugh at Juanita Kee’s take on participating in RWA 50K in May. Here’s the link: Procrastination and a Mutinous Muse

Love to Learn different ways to increase my word count!

14 comments:

  1. Hi Marilyn. I've had the intention but when the time came other obligations stopped me. But congratulations to you for having a go and getting your word goal! I think for it to work for me I would need to be away. Perhaps a retreat. And yay, I'm going to one in December.

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    1. To begin with, I was a little dubious about it working for me, but once I committed myself and got to know some of the other participants, it was the BEST motivator. Good luck with your retreat in December. Jealous! ;)

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  2. I joined in on the fun ... it was the best motivator. Normally I write in spits and spurts, procrastinate a lot, wander around A LOT! Having to report each day gave me the push I needed to actual stay seated at the computer.
    What I really loved was the camaraderie! There was always someone cheering you on - holding your hand when something wasn't working, patting you on the back whether it was 5, 50, 500 or 5000 words.
    I loved every moment and actually finished the first draft of a MS!
    I surpassed the huge target I'd set myself so big thanks to everyone who helped and to our captain, Delwyn.

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    1. Hi Suzy! Thanks so much for dropping by. Congratulations on finishing your first draft - that's an awesome achievement! I really loved the camaraderie of the group, too, and I'm looking forward to meeting in person those participants going to the conference in August. :D

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  3. Very inspirational Marilyn. I've done a few Book in a Month (BIAM) challenges with the RWA Historical e-loop and always find it a great way to get those numbers up. As you said the plan doesn't always work but when it does it is a great feeling.

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    1. Thanks Cassandra! It was such a great feeling to achieve my goal that I've decided to carry on with some of the group and participate in 'Hoons in June'. Hopefully it'll help me get this short story that I need to do, finished. :)

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  4. I can vouch for the hard yards my bride put into this. Not every day was easy but she kept beavering away and passed the finish line with little to spare! Well done you!!

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  5. Wasn't it brilliant? I ebbed and flowed through the month, but I was there every day cheering people on, and being encouraged to keep on cruising. Increased my expected monthly word count by nearly 10K! Now to continue the momentum with hoon in June...

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    1. Hi Bree! It was great to have your company through the month - you were a wonderful cheerer-onner! So glad the group worked for you, too. I'm hooning in June, but not to the same extent as May. I need to get some editing done! Thanks for dropping by. 🤗

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  6. Hi Marilyn, I've never written as part of a group in this way, but it sounds like an amazing experience.

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    1. It is such a great way to get the words down, Sharon (even when you don't feel in a writing mood).

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  7. This was my third attempt at 50k in 30 days with RWA. I'm always inspired by the daily word counts and it gives me great pleasure to know I'm not alone in the race to the finish line. It's fun cheering each other on, giving hugs when needed and showing that team spirit and support with fellow writers. I'm so proud of all of you whether your achievement was big or small, because words are words and it's hard getting them down when we're juggling life. See you all throughout June! PS: I also love that I get to meet people I don't know or haven't met face-to-face yet.

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    1. Hi Juanita! I can't believe I didn't know this has been a 'thing' for three years! Thanks for your company along the way - I really enjoyed the funny stories you had to tell over the course of the month. And thanks for dropping by, too. :D

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