Hello hello! If you’re also applying to Pitch Wars (a writer mentoring program) this September, you probably know it’s about 60 days away. I’m not obsessing over this at all; nope, not me!
(Yes me, absolutely me, HOW ARE THERE ONLY 60 DAYS LEFT?!?)
I’ll be honest; it’s hard not to get overwhelmed by that ever-approaching deadline. And in my particular case, my wedding is exactly one month after the Pitch Wars due date, and my full-time career is really taking that ‘full-time’ portion to heart this summer. It can be a lot.
Thankfully, I’m a very organized person (sometimes to a fault), and I’ve been scheduling out everything so I a) can still do it all and b) don’t lose my sanity over it. I made the little chart pictured here; it’s 60 blocks for the 60 days left until Pitch Wars, denoting what feel is a reasonable revisions schedule for myself leading up to the big submission day.
I usually don’t have something visual like this for revisions (hello, Google Docs), but I liked the idea of having something I could physically cross off as I complete items. I’ve seen a few writers do similar things in the past, so I figured, why not?
There are a few important points to note on this little schedule. For one, just because there are 60 blocks does not mean I will be writing for all 60 days. I’ve tried this before, and when I eventually ‘failed’ to meet this unrealistic expectation of writing absolutely daily, I was kicking myself. Nowadays, I’m much kinder to myself. I know life happens and can get in the way. I know that, though I adore writing and have big dreams, I also have other parts of my life that I love. Writing is part of a forever changing balancing act, and I’ve learned to adjust with it instead of trying to desperately fit into a mold.
So there are 60 items, but they’re not strictly scheduled to one item a day. Some days, I won’t work on my book at all (such as my bachelorette party — again, gotta be realistic here); other days, I’ll put in more time. I’ve taken off a couple days strictly for revisions and have cleared everything for those two days.
My biggest takeaway, really, is to find the path that works for you. If this one works, great! If it doesn’t, it can be adjusted. Life won’t live and die over blocks.
If you’re also applying to Pitch Wars, I’d love to hear from you! And keep pushing, fellow writers.
Hugs and high fives, Valerie
valerie c. norton 