Day three - Just reached the 1k in that hour...proving to be a little bit frustrating but all I can do is keep going!

I used to think that doing all-nighters staring at a dimly lit computer screen meant I was guaranteed to produce top notch results, but actually when my body is in between consiousness and unconsiousness and absolutely trembling from exhaustion, I ask myself "How useful will I be if I collapse?"

Not very I imagine.

So I've settled for a little drive --just a cruise with no destination-- to allow that break from robotically writing throughout the night. It's maddening when you want to get something done but feels there's just not enough time. That's me. The ever-so-impatient hermit who doesn't see the bigger picture.

Ideas can be collected very easily nowadays, all you need really is your mobile on hand to open up a note app and jot down thoughts or inspired ideas (if the traditional notebook and pen isn't within reach). I even find that recording my narration on my phone is a great way to archive and store ideas quicker. I don't particularly care for the puzzled glances I get from people when I'm walking past them saying something like "He touched her body and she shivered from anticipation, drawing him closer against her naked flesh, gasping when his fingers teased her wet --" Yeah.

My 1k1hr today had me a bit stumped. I hate when I have so many ideas but don't know which one to settle on...especially when I'm rushed for time. So I end up going with one idea hoping it'll fall into place. It's a risk, a bit like a gamble. But when ideas are constantly streaming through your mind I find my brain will consider all possible outcomes until one idea flashes before me, a "light bulb" idea. I love when I get these light bulb ideas...they're occasional, they make me smile, make me feel my the random plot ideas were there for a purpose.

So something to take away from this is don't ever feel your ideas are nonsensical thoughts...every idea has a purpose even if you feel they don't add up, keep a note of every single one. You never know when the light bulb will ping.

Praise for the light bulb!

S.R
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Interesting...I beat my count by 200 words tonight. 
1,219. Better but I feel I can really push myself...but it's only day two, I can't be too hard on myself. Hey, small progress is still progress right?

Free-flow writing is a challenge for me. But, in this circumstance, is needed. 
Do you know how many times I stopped writing because I felt I was no longer making sense? But I think I'm starting to realise that editing and the changing of words comes after not during the process -- this is best just to avoid the distraction of getting caught up over-thinking than getting the story down.

Is it out of my comfort zone? Yes.
Am I going to stay in my comfort zone? No.

I love learning this kind of stuff, it's experience that I can't afford to give up on or push aside. As much as I paused to re-phrase a sentence/paragraph, I had to push on. (To meet my deadline of course). 

Writing with auto-pilot disabled allows me to fully be in the mind of my characters and I find I'm pouring their thoughts out like water on a flat surface. This is why I'm not going to wave the white flag so soon. I love being in the mind of my characters, specifically Ken and Viera. There's so much emotion that needs to be released.
Even if it's just for an hour, it's worth it.

Boyce Avenue helped me get through this challenge. I think I'm in love with this man's voice. I can't write without music, music for me is like what water is to plants. It's just essential. What isn't essential is the distractions surrounding me when I'm in that writing mode, i.e television, mobile phone, tablet, humans. 
So I use my Skullcandy headphones, open Spotify and enter the Ken & V's world. 
I feel like I'm in Avatar.

Anyway time to edit the nonsense I've extracted from my devilishly naughty Jackson J man. 
*winks*
S.R
X

I was recomended the 1k1hr challenge yesterday and was instantly intrigued by the idea. For those of you who haven't heard of this before, it's a daily challenge on Twitter where the aim is to write 1000 words in 1 hour, once the hour is done you post your word count with the hashtag #1k1hr. I've heard it's a great way to motivate yourself on projects, homework and stories, as well as a great way to discover other fellow writers in the same boat.

I did the challenge for the first time today and just managed to get 1,058 words down. 
It's crazy when you're up against the clock and the time ticks away, is it just me or do you find that when you realise your hour's almost up you start to write like your being held at knife point?

I'm highly competitive naturally and beat myself up when I've failed a challenge. I hate losing. The fact that the last ten minutes was spent with me literally free-flow writing shows just how much time I take thinking about re-wording and prettying words up. It's an interesting eye-opener for me and actually I'm more than determined to beat my word count tomorrow.

Give it a shot, I honestly recommend it. You'll find that while it's fun, it's also addictive and very productive, especially when you're trying to meet deadlines!

You can keep track of my challenge progress on my twitter (click on the icon below), but I'll also be making the effort to post my word counts on here too!

Happy Writing! 
S.R 
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