A Full-time Writer...

...for four months, at least.

I had some good news this week: MPOW granted my request for sabbatical leave, to allow me to pursue writing on a full-time basis. So, for four months beginning September 1, 2008, my (temporary) full-time job will be writer! Sabbatical leave isn't a benefit most employers offer, and I'm incredibly lucky MPOW does.

The goal of the sabbatical, as stated in my application, is to produce a book-length manuscript for a scifi/fantasy idea I'm developing. Obviously, four months isn't nearly long enough to crank out an entire book. I've a lot of research and planning and writing to do before my leave even begins. And I'm recruiting all of you to help me!

Hey, procrastination runs in our family, and I definitely inherited the gene. Since most fiction writers aren't fortunate enough to have a book deal that sets a deadline for a finished manuscript, we control our own schedules and set our own deadlines--which we're free to meet or blow off as we feel like. That lack of accountability is dangerous for a well-practiced procrastinator like me.

On January 30, 2008, the Write to Done blog published a post called "How to Hold Yourself Accountable as a Writer" that suggested the idea of a "virtual boss"--someone, perhaps even a blog audience, you answer to about your writing:

Blogs work great for this. If you tell your blog audience that you're going to post your writing one section at a time, every day, then you'll have pressure to actually write, or you’ll look bad in front of a large crowd of friends. No one wants that. Ask your blogging audience to hold you accountable. Of course, if you're looking to publish this writing elsewhere, you might not want to publish it on your blog, but instead you could just give them a word count or some other update like that each day--as long as you’re honest!

See where this is going, blog audience?

I'm going to set some goals and deadlines, and share them with you on this blog. I'll also report my progress, and (this is the important part) you'll call me on the carpet if I don't post when I'm supposed to or fail to meet one of my goals or deadlines. Fun, right?!

Now, I probably won't be saying much about the content of my writing. Writers are warned against talk about their ideas too much, because you risk depleting the creative energy of those ideas: Don't talk about your ideas; use them to write!

None of us have been very diligent about keeping up our blogs. I mean, there's a whole basement remodeling I never posted for you to see. But to be honest, my life usually isn't so extraordinary to tell you about. Using this blog to let you share in my writing process, and to keep my writing on track, seems a lot more fun and exciting anyway.

TIA for your help. I'll list you all in the acknowledgment of my first published book. :-)