Marking Writing Progress...

A simple hack for recognizing one's writing productivity

It used to be that, every New Year’s Day, I’d pull out my whiteboard (I have two, one small, one medium) and write down the projects I hoped to write that year.

I could look at that list, get one finished, and cross it off.

Inevitably, I’d get new assignments or ideas and end the year with less than half of those INTENDED projects completed… and it kinda infuriated me, secretly and quietly somewhere in the round OCD corner of my brain.

And then last year, it hit me what I needed to do. Instead of writing a list of ideas that I intended to write… I’d create a list of COMPLETED projects.

Every time I finished something, I’d write the title on the list. Below is 2024.

So at the end of the year, I wouldn’t look at a list of things I didn’t achieve, but rather a list of projects I FINISHED… and felt so much more accomplished.

And you can look back and, even if you feel you didn’t get what you wanted done, you cannot deny you PRODUCED a LOT of material.

So it’s a good hack for my fellow writers out in the world. Keep a list of things you FINISHED… and look, it doesn’t matter if nothing happens to it, you STILL FINISHED something, and that’s a win.

Of the projects above:

1 - DOMO ARIGATO MISTER ROBOTO - novel… (since published)

2 - THE DANGER - Short story, published in the lit mag AFTER DINNER CONVERSATION

3 - THAT DAMN BEAVER DAM - Short story, still unpublished at this time.

4 - THE MILK RUN - Spec screenplay, will likely be sent out this summer.

5 - ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE - action screenplay (co-written with a director-bud)

6 - FUTURE ROBB - Short story (still unpublished, but one of my favorite things I’ve written in the past year).

7 - SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED - poetry chapbook currently under submission.

8 - RIDE - Spec screenplay, will likely be sent out this spring.

9 - BOUNCE - Short story, since published by DARK HORSE magazine.

10 - BUSTER - Short story, as of yet unpublished.

11 - PRIMA NOCTA - Action screenplay, currently under negotiations with a director and producer, or so I hear.

Last year, I was determined to achieve two specific goals. I wanted to finish DOMO ARIGATO MISTER ROBOTO because I’d been stuck in the middle for two years. So, I cracked that in the first third of 2024. I also knew I wanted to write a few short stories, which, as you can see, I did. And I enjoyed it.

And, of course, the screenwriting will always continue, as one can see above. I honestly do love writing screenplays. It’s such a specific form of writing, so challenging yet so… freeing in many ways. I’m a bit addicted to it.

I originally meant to write this post in January, but things got nuts in the world and at home. Additionally, I had a big writing project that I just finished last week (and it shall go up on my 2025 FINISHED STUFF board), and I am about to begin outlining a project I’ve long wanted to do. But that first project literally took me the first third of 2025 to finally finish… much longer than usual, but for me, it was worth it.

Now, you don’t HAVE to put titles on there. If you’re a novelist, you can list your word count by the week or month. Say you got 20,000 words done on your work in progress in February —that’s a win! You can do it however you wish. The idea is that at the end of the year, you can look back and remember, hey, I wrote a lot.

And that’s why I am a writer… because I write a lot of words, heh.

In addition to the finished stuff board, I have a smaller whiteboard where I put my current projects on… I limit my current stuff to three (more than that is too much) so that when I’m at my desk, I have it staring at me, reminding me that this is something that not only should I be working on, but I WANT to work on it. I usually share nothing about current projects, but I’ll make an exception this time.

The picture of me and my boys (plus my pup) is on the board to remind me of who I work for. For the family.

I hope this little hack is useful to my friends and readers. More posts to come - same Josh time, same Josh channel. Take care, everyone!

Also, please tip whatever you can spare to keep me writing. I’d appreciate it. These are challenging times for everyone, I know. If you can’t at this time, that’s fine, please leave a comment wishing me well; that’s as valuable as cash. Take care and stay safe.