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Lisa Cooper Ellison's avatar

What great advice, Estelle! While this post is filled with golden nuggets, here's one of my favorites: Instead of focusing on word count, think, "Today, I'm going to nail my opening."

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Estelle Erasmus's avatar

Thanks so much, Lisa. I appreciate you highlighting a favorite from my post. There’s something calming and clarifying about setting a small, focused goal. It quiets the noise so the real story can surface.

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Tess Clarkson's avatar

Love this challenge! I can't wait to send mine to you!! Thank YOU!

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Rona Maynard's avatar

A thousand times yes. No point hitting a word count if the words are not advancing and deepening the story.

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Estelle Erasmus's avatar

Thank you, Rona! That means a lot coming from you. Yes, word count without clarity is like running in circles. Here’s to writing with intention, not accumulation, just like you do!

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Tess Clarkson's avatar

Yes! Grateful how you helped me to stop running in circles!

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Estelle Erasmus's avatar

I love hearing that, Tess. Sometimes we just need a small shift to move things forward. You’ve got this!

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Joy Nicholas's avatar

So many great tips and ideas here! Thank you!

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Roger Talbott's avatar

This newsletter is worth every penny of my yearly subscription. It pulls me out of my funk when I am stuck and gets me going again.

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Pamela McBride's avatar

So many great nuggets here, Estelle. To answer your question: How do you define “success” in your writing time?

The technique that works best for me is planning ahead for small wins towards a bigger weekly goal.

At the top of the week in my planner, I write one goal, beginning with an action verb, and as concise as possible. For example, submit pitch on x topic.

Then on each day, I write one small thing I can accomplish to meet that goal. By doing it weekly, it’s not too big and not too small.

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