The Magic D20

I have a lot of projects that I work on at any given time. There's the writing, of course, which occupies a good chunk of my free time (as it should.) I have one novel being queried out, another halfway done, and five more that are in some stage of outlining or completion. They range from a YA with romantic elements to a spicy paranormal erotic, but most of them are the sweet steam punk romances I started out with. (And then there's the fanfiction, but lets not talk about that particular guilty pleasure.)

Then there are all the other projects that come with being a housewife, which range from the normal daily chores involved in keeping a house with four adults in it, to wild and crazy projects like refinishing a 1940s desk. (Let me just say, chemical paint remover is some seriously vile and nasty stuff.) Then there are my video games, which take up too much time. (Nothing wastes an evening like The Sims!)

In order to motivate myself, I have a list of 20 things in a spreadsheet. And a special D20.. For those not familiar with tabletop gaming, a D20 is a 20 sided dice. Mine is a pearly purple. It was the first thing I bought when I came to college that I still possess.

I roll the magic D20 dice, check on my spreadsheet, and do what it says I can - or have - to do. Even numbered items are fun things. Odd numbered items are work. So while #12 is "read a chapter of someone else's book" #13 is "Make a blog post."

If one of my books come up, I have to do at least 500 words, or some serious planning in it in yWriter. The net effect is an output of around 2000 words a day . . . just not all in the same story.

I'm only allowed to do stuff once a day, so near the end, I end up rolling the dice many times in a row. #14 just came up, so unfortunately, it's time for me to go work on that 1940s desk some more.