Apr 1, 2011

A is for Accountability

As a freelance writer, you probably have deadlines for specific jobs, but you undoubtedly work on your own schedule as well.  If you don't have a client cracking the whip, how do you keep yourself motivated to write and submit for publication?  Who are you accountable to?

For some, seeing the bills that are due every month is enough to keep the pen flowing, while others of us need more of a tangible or physical incentive.  For those who blog, this A-Z Blogging Challenge is a great motivator to keep posting every day.  I hope to come up with similar challenges beyond April to goad myself into keyboard productivity.

Even without a more sophisticated challenge such as the A-Z thing, you can be accountable to your peers in other ways.  Are there forums available on the sites you publish to?  Take the initiative to post a challenge to others - it could be to write a certain number of words each day, week or month on that novel you're working on, or x number of articles each month, etc. Tailor the challenge to your personal needs and the needs of the group.

Your accountability partner can also be a single person, a fellow writer or other friend that you keep in touch with daily.  Email or instant message your buddy and let him or her know what your goals are for the day and check on each other for a progress report.  If you work best on a schedule, you could do a check-in during lunch or another scheduled break in your day so you don't interrupt your workflow.

Prefer to work completely alone and not be disrupted by others?  Be accountable to yourself.  Like dieters who don't allow themselves to have that piece of cake until they've done some treadmill time, don't allow yourself to be distracted by Facebook or online games until you've completed a certain task in your writing schedule for the day.

Look for other creative ways to maintain accountability that will be particular to your own situation.  I'd love to hear what holds you accountable.




I'm taking part in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, where I will post something from each letter of the alphabet on the corresponding day in April, except for Sundays.  I will be posting on at least one of my four blogs daily.

23 comments:

  1. None of my close friends have any interest in writing, but I've made some new friends because of writing. In some ways this is perhaps better, because I get genuine feedback from someone who isn't worried (too much) about hurting my feelings. On the other hand, the better part of my page views are from loyal friends.

    Great topic!

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  2. Very well said. I agree and love your first posting on the challenge!

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  3. I chose 'accountability' for my post too! Funny, because I was thinking of the goal threads you and others would start in the forums.

    A steady mix of checking goals off a list (freakishly satisfying thrill) and nagging works best for me.

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  4. Accountability is an important concept we should all keep in mind.
    Good luck with the blogging challenge!

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  5. An excellent 'A' word to choose.

    I'm pretty good with writing accountability, but I cannot honestly claim the same with regard to working out like I should. I suppose that has something to do with passion...I love writing...I don't love working out.

    I'm your newest follower. *waves hello* Nice to 'meet' you.

    Happy weekend,
    Lola

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  6. This blog challenge is great. I love the accountability aspect. This comes at just the right time. Now we all need to come together and support each other. Thanks for reading my blog post today.

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  7. Great way to start the challenge off :)

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  8. I'd like to say that would be accountable for myself, but I'm not. None of my friends are writers (or readers) so I depend on the on-line communities. Great start to the challenge.

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  10. This challenge is definitely holding me accountability. Since I'm a new blogger it's especially easy to let other activities crowd out blogging.
    Social Science Medley

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  11. Great tips. Discipline is essential for making progress. Nice to bump into you. :)

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  12. It feels great when you are accountable. I like the buddy system per se even though I formerly relied on other internal & external motivations.

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  13. What a great word for the writer. We work at home, we're our own bosses and it's way too easy to procrastinate and make excuses.

    I'm going to remember this one, my favorite A word so far!

    KarenG

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  14. What a great topic! Like Kimberly, I don't really have many writer friends. I'm a huge believer in being accountable to myself though. I'm also a believer in immersion. When I decided to really start taking this whole writing thing seriously, I really tried to plug myself into the writing world. I listen to writing podcasts, read the blogs, and most importantly, I joined a writing group. I just wanted to be around people with the same interests and motivations. I'm only accountable to them for monthly submissions, but that's enough. It keeps my mind on writing. And when my mind is in the right(write?) place, I rarely let myself down.
    Thanks for the blog! 25 more to go!

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  15. Great topic. I like to have writing goals each month and often I'll post them on one of my blogs. Sometimes my friends on Twitter will help me when I'm trying to get something done. Having deadlines really helps since I'm a procrastinator but till I have something sold, I'll have to make the goals on my own.

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  16. Accountability...great topic. For the most part I hold myself accountable, but I also have a really good friend and a sister who are both writers. We all reach out to one another when one of us is in a slump and usually find inspiration.

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  17. Great choice. Great post. I know I can use a little more accountablity in my life.

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  18. Love accountability. I chose Arkansas legislative update as a couple of important homeschool bills were defeated. My blog is a homeschooling blog

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  19. Loved the post, especially this part: "Like dieters who don't allow themselves to have that piece of cake until they've done some treadmill time, don't allow yourself to be distracted by Facebook or online games until you've completed a certain task in your writing schedule for the day."

    Sometimes I wish physical distractions (i.e. husbands) were as easy to click off of as facebook!

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  20. I'm accountable to no one, not even myself, which is something that I planned to change by the time New Years came around this year.

    Bills have helped me to remain accountable sometimes but after experiencing some health troubles, that (the bills) doesn't always work anymore, because I decided some time ago that I wouldn't let bills worry me or stress me out as much as they have before.

    So now, I'm just trying to be accountable to myself so that when New Year's Eve comes around this year...if I'm still here...I'll be able to be proud of the things that I have accomplished instead of being disappointed of the things that I have not accomplished, which is how I've felt the last 3-4 years.

    Joining this A to Z challenge is a decision that I may have done to soon, as I wondered, after writing my first post, whether I may be in way over my head with regards to the posting frequency requirements, but based on some of the writing goals that I have, this challenge may be just the thing that I need to accomplish other goals and to also keep me productive so that I don't abandon my blog like I did in 2009 and a good portion of 2010.

    So, I'm glad you brought up the subject of Accountability.

    Accountability is very important because it can be the motivation that we need to succeed.

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  21. I'm accountable to myself and my To Do List, and I've learned to religiously make those lists and mark the priorities. Accountability is a great "A" topic.

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  22. Great suggestions! Telling someone else what I'm working on is always the best way to keep me motivated. When I told my 12 year-old sister about my current WIP, she started goading me into finishing it!

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  23. I wrote about this the other day before I had a chance to read yours. Love it! Well written.

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