Laurie, la flâneuse

I am so jazzed. Saw Julie and Julia yesterday, and started a new habit today. They (have no idea who “they” are) say that it takes 100 days of repetition to develop a habit.  I got thinking about Julie’s 365 days to try all of the recipes in Julia’s book, and things started to gel.

I have been chipping away at a novel. The book has been in my head for a few years and really wants to get out. I love the story, and when I do dare to write it, I feel a scary kind of alive — I am at once the writer and the reader.  But, to stay with the “scary” theme,  full-length fiction terrifies me. It is so wide and there are so many possibilities…and I have so many excuses.

But one session of movie therapy mobilized me. If you want to be mobilized to write your book, watch the movie — and check this out:

I can’t believe how doable it is (much more so than Julie’s 500-some recipes in 365 days). Here’s my plan:

Stage 1: 100 days. 400 words per day. 5 days per week. I’ll be doing my 400 words first thing in the morning, because first things get done. For my plan, 100 days is the timeframe (a little over 3 months), and during this timeframe, I do my 5 days/week. So it’s not 100 days of writing, but 100 days of living a new habit. 

Stage 2: I’m a rebellious sort, so I wanted a checkpoint.  If I commit to stage 2, same 400 words per day, 5 days per week — but also building in 6 weeks off over the course of a year — I will have written 80,500 words in a year.  A novel. I may not even need that many words — or I may need more (doubtful).

Let me know if you want to join in. Keep in mind, if you’re writing nonfiction, you don’t need to write an entire manuscript (gotta love nonfiction!) — but you do need to write a really good book proposal. 100 days might do it for you!

Oh, and nonfiction doesn’t scare me. Five books and I think I’ve tamed the beast. If you want help, check out http://www.wakingdesire.com/book_it.html. I’ve set up a Get It Published (Not Self-Published) seminar in Columbus — not even posted yet, but it will be Nov. 6 & 7 with only 10 slots available. 

btw, today was my first day. a little over 400 words. I use Anne Lamott’s advice — I always carry a pad and pen and jot down content as it comes to me. The 400 words are computer words, so on some days, I might just type and fill in my notes.  So today, rather than letting my notes wither in yet another notebook, I transformed the scribbles to prose. Felt good. And it was EASY. Much easier than thinking about it and feeling guilty about not doing it. Join me — and let me know where your 100th day falls. Mine is November 14, 2009.