Here's my current system, FYI. If you don't have a routine that's working for you, I hope this inspires you. If you do have a routine that is working for you, please share it in the comments:
* I write morning pages (three, sometimes two, pages of journaling/brain-dumping) on the train ride into work in the morning.
* Two nights a week I either come home or go to a coffee shop and write my novel, longhand in my notebook, for about an hour.
* One of the weekend days, I also devote an hour or two to the novel.
* In these three focused times, I usually get a rough draft of one chapter done. Once it's done, I'll spend another hour or two typing it up, editing as I go.
Assuming I can stick with this routine, I should be able to have a draft done by March--just in time to celebrate during my 10-day trip to Costa Rica!
6 comments:
I miss writing on the morning train. My routine is all over the place, but I manage to get much of my writing done in the evenings, or at Starbucks on the weekends.
Congrats on your progress. :)
You know, I think you've hit upon the best secret of all: do a little bit of it all the time, and your pages really do mount up. I've been away from my novel tooooo long now, and I can just feel that it's time to get back to work on it. I'm really much happier when I'm taking time to write. Thanks for posting this and reminding me of how necessary that is.
January, your productivity never ceases to amaze me!
Sandi, I think you're right. It's all about slow and steady. And I find that if I'm away from my story for more than 2 days at most, I really lose momentum and it takes me longer to get back into it. Good luck getting back your momentum!
That's awesome, Bug! What a great routine and that's awesome progress. 2010 is going to be an exciting year! If you need a reader as you're going along, I'd be happy to volunteer (but also understand if you're not ready to share). I've been using the pomodoro strategy and you and TI have been talking up, and that's been really helping me this past week. Keep going! :)
Thanks RB! I would love to have you read, but I think I'll wait until I have a solid draft, if that's OK with you. I'm not revising much after I write each chapter, because I think that would stall my forward momentum. But that means that I'm not sure the chapters are ready for feedback yet.
I really appreciate your generosity of time and skill though! And I WILL take you up on it. :)
Sounds like you've definitely found a writing groove that works for you. I do think making a habit of writing is key not only to being productive, but to actually enjoying the process.
I was religious about morning pages for almost three years. Sadly, I've fallen out of that habit. Really need to get back into that routine...
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