Cheeks to Chair (C to C)
In the past GVC has periodically offered
a "BIAW" challenge. BIAW stands
for "book in a week" which is
an incredibly misleading name—at least
the way we practiced BIAW in the Greater
Vancouver Chapter! The original concept
was that you'd set aside a week of your
life and blast through as much original
writing as you could, attempting to get
something like 100 pages written on a book,
and never going back to re-read or edit.
But that's not how we've been interpreting
it, and so the name has now been changed
to Cheeks to Chair (C to C).
Here's what C to C is all about:
- It's a week where we put a high priority
on our writing, and reinforce the fact
that, whatever else is happening in our
lives, we really are writers.
- You challenge yourself
by setting goals in advance. The goals
should be achievable, but demanding. You
email your goals to the C to C coordinator
and, at the beginning of the C to C, the
coordinator emails all participants, listing
everyone's goals.
- Past goals have been things like: write
so many pages a day, write for so much
time a day, write between certain hours
a day, edit a chapter a day, plot a story,
write a short story, prepare a contest
submission, write 3 query letters, etc.
- At the end of each day you email your
day's progress to the coordinator, along
with any insights, joys, setbacks,
frus-trations, or other comments you want
to share with the other participants.
"Reporting in" each day provides
amazingly strong motivation.
- The coordinator compiles all the progress
reports and comments for a day, and emails
the group at the beginning of the next
day.
- The people who participate become a
mutually supportive team, facilitated
and organized by the coordinator. They
share progress, root for each other, cheer
each other's triumphs, share insights
and suggestions, and commiserate over
setbacks.
If you're contemplating doing a C to C, be
aware that preparation is key to success.
Not only should you plan out your writing
goals, but also try to structure your life
to give yourself the best chance possible
of succeeding. Tell the important people
in your life (the ones who think they have
a call on your time!) that this is what
you're going to be doing, and ask them to
respect your time and your goals. Ask your
significant other and kids to do more of
the chores around the house—and, most
importantly, to not bother you during your
writing during your writing time. Don't
schedule social engagements, hairdresser
appointments, anything that isn't urgent,
for the C to C week. Prepare meals in advance
and freeze them. Stock the fridge and cupboards.
If you work on a shared computer, stake
your claim for the hours you need it—and
be gutsy about reinforcing that schedule.
Stock some treats to encourage and reward
yourself (this one's very important!). Do
anything you possibly can, in advance, to
give yourself the best chance of meeting
your week's goals. Most importantly, believe
that your writing is a top priority and
make sure you and others respect that priority.
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