Day 881 Record Keeping
Day 853 Fixed Meditation (30 min)
Day 727 Writing (5/30 min)
Day 267 Rowing (10 min/1500 m)
Day 8 Mobility/Stretching 46 (hip opener, pelvic reset)
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Eating
Day 105 Pantry Check
Day 103 Food Recording
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Early to Rise
Day 36 Bacon & Water
Day 36 Sleep Recording (11:40|12|10:40|11:20)
Day 8 Bedtime Curfew 37
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Good sleep, good wakeup.

Entering and Conquering “The Monastery”

I usually do not talk about the specifics of skill progressions, but that might be something I should change. The last 2 months or so I’ve been on a specific phase in my book proposal involving chapter summaries. I’ve been at a loss on how to do them, because every time I do I end up reworking all of it. Or I get confused and read more about how to do it. I’ve taken a few courses, read a book on plot and structure, and have really gotten nowhere. It all hit a breaking point last week when I had several critical failures to start my writing habit at all.

Some of the classes I’ve been taking are from Holly Lisle, a fantastic resource on the art of writing. She’s one of a handful of people I refer to in my own head as Hidden Progression Masters, people who have dissected and demystified the process of mastering a skill and describe learning it progressively in a cogent manner. Why “hidden”? Because they’re often only talked about in the contexts of specialized groups of people, mentioned in subreddits, or talked about in forums dedicated to that particular craft.

In one of her courses she talks about my particular problem when reworking a book. Her solution is called The Monastery, where you enter a period of contemplation with no notes with only your muse to guide you. She has specifics in her course (How to Revise Your Novel) which I will not go into, but Lydia recently entered and emerged from it with a reworking of her book. I skeptically did the same, and I’ve got to say, it was terrifying. I had to directly face my fears, but I came out with a solid knowledge of what I want my book to look like.

It also appears to have my writing habit back on track!

Check out her site for other classes, some are only available a few times a year.