Way back last December, I did a number of posts about motivation, and then in January started a page here on this web site under the label “Streaks.” Then, at the beginning of every month (with a few monthly glitches on my part) I recorded the writing streaks people were reporting.

Numbers said they were starting and never did, a number of streaks fell to the retired side of things (see the rules at the bottom of the Streak Page), but a number of people have been reporting regularly around the first of the month for almost a year now.

That’s a stunning amount of consistency in writing, and I admire it a great deal, since I have been unable to be anything but a sprint writer over the years. Those of you who can hit regular page counts day in and day out are my heroes.

One writer, who has sold numbers of novels to different publishers, came to one of our master classes just over six years ago and left with the idea to start a writing streak, producing two pages per day without a day off. Her name is Pati Nagle and as of this month she has not missed a day for 2,222 days in a row. That means writing on Christmas, birthday, sick days, and travel days. For over six years.

Stunning, just flat stunning.

There is a real reason she is selling novels regularly. Check out her new book and web site at Pati Nagle.

Congratulations, Pati, and everyone else who has continued streaks this year. As I say with each response: Keep firing! You people are my writing heroes.

Cheers, Dean

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