A Round of Words in 80 Days...Colour Me Signed Up!

A Round of Words in 80 days (ROW80), or, as author Kristin Lamb called it in her blog, "Everybody was Kung-Fu Writing–A Round of Words in 80 Days" has officially begun.

As Kristin put it, author and originator Kait Nolan "has come up with a new writing challenge that appreciates that most of us have a life".Indeed, we do and thanks, Kait, for starting it and thanks, Kristin, for your work that made me aware of it.

Interested? Can't wait? Want to join in?  Sign up here.

Since it officially opens on July 4th and it's technically still July 4th in the US for another hour and 10 minutes (though it's June 5th in Malaysia) I decided that it was kismet that I happened to see it and, as the ToDo Institute on-line class called Taking Action (it's for procrastinators and I qualified ever so easily) ends on the 6th, ROW80 sounds like the next good thing to keep me moving forward on my novel and other projects.

If I've learned one thing in my four months of freedom to write in Malaysia, it's that I need deadlines to work to and challenges to rise to. I've taken three back-to-back courses and all have contributed something to the process.

So, herewith, my goals for the 80 days of this installment of A Round Of Words in 80 Days. Using an online countdown timer, I believe this is September 22, 2011 (or the 23rd for me!)

1. TRAVEL ARTICLE (Ruby's Resort): finish the draft, edit it, select the photos from my Zenfolio Gallery and submit to MANZA Magazine by 20th July.
2. NOVEL (Coldstream): Write/research/edit for a minimum of two hours per weekday, using the "Pomodoro" time management technique and completing four focused pomodoros minimum each weekday. Weekends are dependent on home schedule but read at least one article or chapter of research materials per weekend day if not actively writing. Probably another 50K words are required, plus extensive research into several aspects of the Crimean War and Victorian England in the 1850s. Ideally, I'd like to have at least 75,000 words by 22nd September. Some text presently in the novel will naturally be cut in the editing process.
3. TRAVEL BLOG (RoadNoise): Post a minimum of twice per month, weekly if possible. Write shorter blog posts than in the past and get in the habit of regular posts. Use own photos, continuing Photoshop training and practice. Promote with weekly tweets and Facebook pages. Grow views per month to 100 by 22nd September.
4. WRITING BLOG (this one!) Update ROW80 progress weekly. Triple follower count (10 to 30).
5. POETRY:  Complete Writing Our Way Home course, "Writing Ourselves Alive". Use poetry from this class, along with ongoing photographs taken in Malaysia, to complete Volume II of "Poems and Photos". Drop photos and poems into BookSmart and (self) publish/print by September 10th.
6. TRAVEL WRITING: Attend Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) Travel fair in Kuala Lumpur for one day, August 12, 13 or 14. Gather information and talk to travel magazines, websites, airlines, operators etc. Within two weeks, have a list of six potential articles to write and pitch for submission. Have two articles in draft form by September 22nd.

Ahhh, the dizzying heights! Ohhhh, the hot air! Well, then, let the adventure begin. Eighty days and a round of words. Yes, please! And if you think YOU want to, click here and see how simple it is.