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After my first NaNoWriMo, and experiencing first-hand how motivating it was to see my daily progress, I was desperate to find a good way to keep track of my writing once November was over. First, I printed a calendar and kept track through that, but I soon forgot to write down my word count, especially on those nights I stayed up late, had to walk over to my bookcase, grab the calendar…

Once I realised an actual calendar wasn’t working for me, I tried to create my own Excel sheet, and while I was trying to get those formulas right (Excel isn’t really my forte), John Robin, the author of the Your Daily Journal: 100 Day Starter, mentioned his Awesome Daily Writers Spreadsheet in our NaNoWriMo accountability group, and did I want to join that perhaps? I’ll admit I still don’t understand the way the Spreadsheet keeps score, but I always add my word count at the end of a writing session now! I do still struggle with writing every day, which you will see if you join us, and which John never fails to remind me of 😉

Awesome Daily Writers Spreadsheet

Welcome back, John! Tell us, what is the Awesome Daily Writers Spreadsheet?

The Awesome Daily Writers Spreadsheet is an alternative to NaNoWriMo for writers who want to write a bit every day and not stress over word count. It helps writers see the big picture and seed a habit that defines a career, not just get through a novel.

In a D&D-style scoring system, you’re rewarded experience points based on what you write each day, which add up to raise your level over time. You can see what other writers on the sheet are doing, which often gives you that added motivation to spend more time writing than you’d otherwise think to.

How is the Awesome Daily Writers Spreadsheet different from everything else out there?

Most competitive spreadsheets involve minimum word counts. For example, the Magic Spreadsheet requires a minimum quota of 250 words / day, which increases every time you ‘level up’ (inevitable as you keep writing). In many writers, this creates a sense of guilt or competitiveness that throws the whole balance of life out of whack.Read More →

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Hello, everyone!

Yes, I moved the interview to this week instead of last week, because I was busy updating my website and mailing list so that they are in line with the GDPR regulations that are coming into force…tomorrow!

I’m all set now, and ready to introduce you to John Robin, author of the recently published Your Daily Journal: 100 Day Starter. Knowing John, and knowing how ridiculously productive he is compared to any other author/entrepreneur I know, I thought it high time to ask him about his new journal, and whether it will help us become just a little bit more like him.

So, who is John Robin exactly, and what do we need to know about him?

After working for many years in academia and adult education, John left his job to pursue his dreams as a writer. Having cut his teeth as an editor at a small publishing company, John decided that, while he worked hard to prepare his debut novel, he would build a book production business to help connect self-publishing authors with editing, cover, design, and marketing services based on the traditional model. He presently is the creative director, senior editor, and production manager for his company and oversees a team of twelve.

As a writer, John’s commitment to the craft has put him on course for a debut epic fantasy novel, A Thousand Roads (January 9, 2019). He also enjoys writing nonfiction, as an instructor for the lifelong learning website Highbrow, and recently as author of Your Daily Journal: 100 Day Starter. He has numerous other projects in the pipeline, both in fiction and nonfiction, and is also a ghostwriter.

When he’s not writing, John enjoys reading, listening to educational podcasts, playing chess, recreational mathematics, drawing trees or maps with pen, creating vector graphic artwork (mostly fractals), working with textiles, playing classical piano (especially Beethoven and Chopin), long distance running and strength training, gardening, long walks, serially watching his way through TV series’ in the evenings, board game nights with friends, and of course…pandering to the whims of his cat, Wizard, who is the true muse behind his stories.

What is Your Daily Journal: 100 Day Starter about?

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Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s start the year off right with an interview with Elan Samuel, the host of the Write Right podcast. I connected with Elan online through the podcast’s co-hosts John and Craig, who are in my writing accountability group. Elan is a full-time writer, though in very different worlds. By day, he writes for a tech company in Silicon Valley. By night, he writes for himself and for his book review blog, The Warbler Books. As one third of the Write Right Podcast, he tends to ramble about his feelings about writing on an (almost) weekly basis.

Write Right podcast

What is the Write Right podcast about?

Write Right was initially intended to serve as a podcast for writers by editors—and for the first ten episodes (the entirety of the first season), that’s what it was. Those episodes were hosted by a group of editors from Story Perfect Editing Services. After the tenth episode, we looked at the format, cast, and content and decided to take the podcast in a slightly different direction. We still talk about editing from time to time, but the podcast covers the writing life in general—beyond words on a page, how does being a writer affect our relationships, jobs, decisions, and emotions?

How is the Write Right podcast different from everything else out there? How does it stand out?

While I’d like to think that we’re vastly different from all the other podcasts out there, we probably aren’t too far off from the current landscape of writing-focused shows out there. We’re inspired by other podcasts—Writing Excuses in particular—and some of our format might feel familiar as a result. Where we do stand out, probably, is in the meandering nature of our discussions. Often, a seemingly innocent topic will lead to us discussing a tangentially related sociological topic before we’re wrangled back to focus. It’s quite fun to lose track of the thread with the guys.Read More →