Writing club #pomodorojerk - the rules

This is not a new year thing - I have been working on this basis for a little while - but I just thought today would be a good day to extend the invitation to a writing fellowship I am starting based largely on the ideas of Robert Boice with a hint of Pomodoro-type timer deadline nonsense. 

Boice’s work and research was mainly directed at academics, but the principles apply to anyone with a writing project of any kind, and who feels they don’t have time. I won’t rehearse all of Boice’s ideas here, but he pretty conclusively demonstrated that those who write every day in short bursts rather than bingeing produce (a) far more writing (up to 15X more than those writing under some other models!) and (b) more creative ideas than those who try to write in blocks. 

We are also motivated by accountability to peers - so this kind of thing works best in a fellowship. 

Here are the rules of our adaptation. 

1. Get yourself one of the many free Pomodoro timers. 

2. Every day, do exactly 20 or 25 minutes writing, using the timer. 

3. The writing must be NEW WORDS - editing and research need different daily blocks assigned to them eventually. If you need to check something, mark it, leave it and move on with the new words. Do not self-edit as you write. It is crucial that your daily writing block involves NEW WORDS. 

4. You are allowed to have a one-page plan for your task beside you as you write. 

5. Keep at one task (or chunk of a task - a section or chapter) until you have completed some kind of draft, then put it aside for editing later. 

6. Post your daily times and wordcounts on Twitter with the hashtag #pomodorojerk (thanks to @tobiasziegler for the hashtag) - eg “@jason_a_w: 25 minutes, 520 words #pomodorojerk”

7. At week’s end or beginning (depending on what everyone else wants to do) we’ll get in some kind of chat program (also for 25 minutes or so) to discuss the past week’s goals and achievements, and what we’re going to try to do with our writing for the next week. Eventually, if people are comfortable, we can read drafts etc, but that’s not so important. 

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  1. 247-akhbar reblogged this from jasonawilson
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  3. bhakthipuvanenthiran reblogged this from jasonawilson and added:
    difficult article...an undisclosable publication. So secretive, I’m basically CIA....
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  5. crashcut reblogged this from jasonawilson and added:
    try. jasonawilson:
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  7. tobiasziegler reblogged this from jasonawilson and added:
    doing this. I’ve got...written but this will force me
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