Category: The Writing Life

The Writing Life- Orginizing Submissions

You should know by now that I have a thing about organization. Especially when it comes to my writing, keeping order is keeping my sanity.

Submissions are a pretty big thing to keep organized. If you haven’t started yet, start right now. If you’ve only got one submission, set up your process anyway. Those suckers will multiply like ferrets if you’re doing your job right. Get ready now, because you need to keep track of a lot.

Who did you send this project to? This is a no brainer. If you sent your manuscript to an agent and they politely pass on it, they are going to be less polite when you lose track and send it to them again. You have wasted your time and theirs.

Now, an often overlooked portion of this step is making a distinction between the agent and the agency. When you submit a manuscript to an agent who is part of an agency, they probably showed it around to their fellow agents who might also want to look at it. So don’t, unless informed otherwise by the submission guidelines, send that same work to a different agent. You also need to keep a list of agents by name. It is absolutely plausible that when you sent your manuscript to agency A and agent 1 read it there, then moves to agency B, they still read your book already.

You will also want to track what sort of reaction you got from agencies and publications. If you have a lot of short stories you’re selling at once, you’ve going to have some cross over. I have a few markets that I often send my work to. When you do that, you are going to see some trends. This magazine likes your work, but this one never gives you a positive response. Maybe it’s time to look at magazine B. Either you need to step up your game, or decide that this isn’t the market that’s going to appreciate your voice.

If all this isn’t enough to keep track of, I’ve got one more important piece of data for you to track. How many submissions did you send out in a month? When I’ve got a lot of active projects, I love to play the beat my own high score. Remember, when you’re a writer, you are your biggest competition. Don’t worry about what any other writer is doing. Be a better writer than you were last month. So, try to send out more work this month than you did last month.

Now that we know what we’re tracking, we have to have a system to track it. Now, this is something that I have struggled with over the years. I started out tracking agents on index cards. That was concise, but messy. Then I tried to incorporate cross indexing, and it was such a mess.

Then, when I tried and failed to sell my murder mystery, I wrote down every agent I sent it to by the month. At the same time I had this complicated, color coded chart of short fiction, markets and reactions. It was a huge ball of highlighter

So now, I am working in Open Office to create a super simple list. I love this because it is searchable. I can look up an agents name with a simple control F. I list the title of the project, then under that the market, date I sent it, date I got an answer and what that answer was. It is taking a lot for me to do this, because I am really addicted to paper. But it is so much easier, that I’ll just have to get over it.

Whatever style you like now, don’t be scared to move it around and change it up. The important part with this is organizing data. You need to see the patterns this data will make to make better decisions about your writing business.

This week’s affiliate sponsor is Share A Sale. If you want a great starter way to incorporate adds in your writing that’s not pushy or skeevy, check them out.

How do you organize your submissions? Are you happy with it, or do you think it could be better?

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The Writing Life- Reading to Learn

There is a ton of things that go into being a good writer, as we’ve discussed here. You’re not just writing, or just editing, or just revising. You’re also learning all the time. This business changes all the time, and you’ve got to keep on top f things. The good thing is, you’re keeping on top of something really fun, reading. That’s right, you’re best tool in writing is to read and read and read.

You’ve got to read in your field and out of it. You’ve got to read short stories and long novels. Read good books and bad. Banned books and socially acceptable ones. There is so much to be learned from reading.

When Reading Good Books–

Soak up grammar rules. A lot of our rules are confusing and hard to remember. But if you’re accustomed to looking at our language for long periods of time, really hearing it in your head as you read, you’ll find yourself knowing when it’s right and when it’s wrong. You might not know the rule something’s breaking when it’s wrong, but you will know that it is wrong.

By the way, if you are interested in learning some grammar, read Elements of Style. It’s short, but madly useful.

You’ll also develop an ear for good storytelling. You know when you read something, and it resonates, because it’s honest, or because a part of your heart just jumps out at it? You learn to spot that, and with luck, you can learn to write it.

Another reason you want to read, especially your own genre, is to know what other people are doing. It’s not to mimic what they’re doing. It’s to know. You can’t know if you’re doing the same thing as everyone’s doing if you have no idea. You can’t know what’s already been done a million times, and what might actually be cutting edge. After all, everything is new if you’re not reading those kinds of books.

When Reading Bad Books–

And you should read bad books. (Maybe not Twilight, though. Just saying.) I make a point of picking up random books in the horror and fantasy genres. Some are great, some are really bad. I learn a lot from the bad books. For instance, I learn what doesn’t work. When I read a bad book, and I say, “Wow, that blows,” I then take it a step further than that. Why does it suck? Is the story line poor? Is the dialog bad? Do the characters fall flat? These are things to avoid.

I also like to ask myself, why did this get published, if it’s so bad. There’s a book that’s going to be made into a movie this year, that a lot of people really liked. I did not. But it’s being made into a movie anyway. So, I ask myself why. There’s something in this bad story that was so good that it was published even though it was really bad. What might happen if I learned how to do that, and put it in a good book? I’ll tell you what, best seller!

There’s also a big dose of optimism in a bad book. After all, if this trash got published, surely I’ll be eventually. You too, I bet. I mean, Twilight was published, after all. So was Ann Rice. Just all of her books. They were bad, and I thought they were bad when I was a creepy goth chick in high school.

If you learn nothing else from this blog, learn to fit reading into your everyday life. I read every night, at least a half an hour. I read in the bath, and on the way to work. I love my tablet because I’ve always got a handful of books with me. My love of reading is something that has always been with me, and it’s something that I share with every person in my life. If I’ve got nothing else to talk about, I talk about books. Someday, people are going to be talking about mine.

What book have you read that you’ve learned the most from?

This week’s affiliate sponsor is Shutterfly. I got a great calendar for my mother in law last Christmas, and it’s how I get all of my pictures published. They’re fast, great quality, and really inexpensive. Especially if you collect Coke caps. I generally get my prints for the price of shipping.  Oh, and if you click on this link, you can get a special deal.

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The Writing Life- Keeping a Sketchbook.

Characters, (you remember that we’re talking about characters this month, right?) are a complex creation.  They must walk like real people, talk like real people, behave. This all takes time and hours of study. You must learn about psychology, language, and behavioral patterns. History doesn’t hurt either, along with a working knowledge of insert the thing your character knows more about than you do here. You’re going to be awfully busy, is what I’m saying.

With all of that to learn, it’s easy to forget one simple feature of a character; what they look like.

Now, this is a tricky one for me, so I do what everyone should do when things are hard for them. I practice a lot. How do you practice describing people? With a writers sketchbook.

A writers sketchbook is yet another theft from visual artists. They are never found without a sketchbook, after all, and you shouldn’t either. It can be a portion of your notebook if you like, doesn’t need to be a different book. In fact it probably shouldn’t be. After all, there is a limit to how much you can carry with you.

One thing to consider, though, is having some unlined paper with you for this experiment. If you’re the sketchy sort, you might want to have some illustrations go go along with your verbal sketches. Unlined paper isn’t required for this, but if you like it, you should use it.

Of course, you’re not relying only on visual sketches. You’re writing out a description of what someone looks like.

Sketch one- the basic description. Not a lot of explanation needed for this one. Look at someone in public. The old man sitting next to you in the coffee shop. The bus driver. The really irritating woman in the back of the bus who won’t stop having really personal cell phone discussions. They are all objects just waiting for you to describe them. You don’t have to be nice. Just describe what you can about the person, realistically. Try not to be flowery right now. That will come later. Just tell us how this person looks, good or bad.

Sketch Two- the flowery description. Now let’s have some fun. We’ve got our basic description, essentially what you’d give a cop who was looking for this person if they’d killed somebody. This time, we’re going to describe the person in a very poetic way. Fortunately, you’ve already got the basic description to work with, so you don’t need to have the subject in your sites while you write this one. Talk about hair that fell like straw, and the doughy skin that looked as though you could press your finger against it and leave an imprint. (I think I’ve mentioned before that I ride the bus a lot.)

Now, you do sketch one and two over and over. Do it on the little kids playing in the park and the old man reading an old magazine at the doctor’s office.

Remember, people are all characters. And in spite of what we say, you can tell a lot about a person based on how they look. A girl in sneaks and jeans is a different person than the girl in the heels. And skirt. For instance, guess which one’s more likely to cuss up a storm if they’ve got to walk a long while.

Carry a sketchbook with you for a week. Find at least three people to sketch. See how much it helps the next time you sit down to describe your character.

By the way, if you’re running low on notebooks, The Pen boutique is having a special, and right now they’ve got free shipping.

Rhodia LD 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 Webnotebook

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The Writers Life- The writing bag

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my affiliate disclaimer, here.

There is just no way to get around it. If you’re a writer, you need a writing bag. I mean, in a perfect world, we could always write at home, with all of our wonderful tools around us. But this is not a perfect world, and there are lots of places that we work that are not our desks at home. Maybe you’re craving a mocha and don’t have an espresso machine at home. Maybe you’re house is full of noisy kids that cannot understand that when mom says, “I will be unavailable for twenty five minutes unless you’re bleeding puking or found something on fire.” (Yo) Or maybe you’ve just noticed that you’re so sun deprived you’re starting to wilt like a fern in an office. Whatever the reason, you’re going to sometimes work outside of the home, and you’ll need a well stocked writing bag when you do it. It means the difference between a productive writing session, and a frustrating one.

Now, over time, you’re going to learn what you need to have a good writing time. I know that every writer has something different that they consider to be essential to the process. But there are some basics that you should always have with you. So, it’s time for one of my favorite things, a shopping list. Now, I’m not going to go into a ton of detail on these, because I’ve done it before, and I hate to repeat myself. I do that enough with my children.

Shopping list for your writing bag-

1. Your Writers Notebook
2. A sketchbook for more visual inspiration
3. A thesaurus, or a smart phone that’s got a link to one.
4. White out
5. Your current project, and any mobile materials you need to work on it if you get stuck in some waiting room.
6. Index cards. Also useful for leaving helpful notes to people who don’t know not to park in the road.

Here are some other things I keep in my bag, but you might not need.

1. Advil
2. Antacids
3. Extra $5.00 in case my session runs over and I need another coffee.
4. Some eyeliner, because I’m a vain, vain woman.
5. Lip balm and lotion, because my hands and lips are often too dry and if I’m uncomfortable it’s all I can think about.

The difference between list one and list two is that list one is all about things I need to do my work. List to is to avoid distractions while I’m out. I know it sounds weird, but I live in a really small town, and I know everyone. So I like to look at least a little put together when I’m out. I also suffer from back pain and acid issues. If I’m in pain, writing doesn’t get done.

Once you’ve assembled all f the things you need, you have to have a bag to put it all in. This cannot be a purse, they are not built for this. You need something with pockets and dividers. And you might not want a book bag, if you’re sensitive about being mistaken for a local community college student. Personally, if I’m looking for a new writing bag, here’s my criteria.

It has to have sections. So that I can keep things separate. Though I’ve also found many small bags inside of one big bag can work just as well.
It has to be washable, because I spill things and pens leak.
It has to be big, because writing takes a lot of material.

I found some really awesome writing bags at the Pen Boutique. Actually, I found a lot of cool stuff on the website. Check it out when you get the chance, there are some seriously drool worthy pens and bags on that site.

Have some fun with your writing bag. It’s basically your mobile desk, so take some time to make it just what you need.

What do you put in your writing bag? Post it in the notes.

Don’t forget to join the Thursday discussion on Facebook.

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The Writing Life- People Watching

What are characters? Your cast, your actors, the most important parts of your story? Well, yes, that’s all very true. But there’s a more basic answer than that. Characters are people. Or at least, they are the way we either wish people were, or secretly think people are.

To learn to write great characters, you need to learn about people. To do that, you must master the art of people watching. Once again we are borrowing from the habits of our fellow artists, visual artists. Sit near an artist in a coffee shop, and you run the risk of ending up in their sketchbook. So it should be with writers as well. If you’ve never practiced people watching, here are some steps to help you get started.

Always have your notebook with you.

You should already have a notebook with you at all times, but try to keep some pages open for taking notes on the people that surround you. When I started paying attention to the people around me, I was shocked by how no one ever seems to be aware of the fact that anyone else is around them. People will have amazingly personal conversations while shopping in the grocery store.

Wear headphones with the music off.

Like a spy, you don’t always want to be observed observing others. That’s when headphones are your friends. People assume that when you have headphones on you can’t hear them, so they’re not so self conscious. Pop on some headphones and settle in at a local coffee shop. People will go about their business, letting you take notes.

Listen more than look

You can see how people look on the internet. You’re watching people to learn how they act, but more importantly how they talk. Remember, I talked about how important dialog is in this post. So, when you’re people watching, you’re actually listening. Close your eyes and listen to how people talk to each other. Talking is like music in a way. You have to listen to a lot of it to develop an ear for it. If a piece of dialog strikes you, jot it down. Why does it strike you? Take notes on how that line made you feel, and how it would have felt if a friend or loved one had said it to you.

Take a walk through the park

Especially if you’re writing with children characters. Kids gravitate toward parks, and so do a lot of other sorts. Besides, it’s probably a good idea to get out of the house when you can. We don’t need anymore of the sun deprived pale geek stereotype.

Take public transportation

If you’ve never ridden on a bus or subway, do it. I have sat on long bus trips and just wrote notes on everything people around me were saying. Yes, all the rumors about people on public transportation are true. Yes, a woman once petted my chest while I was on a bus. Go try it anyway, you will not find a better place for people watching, I promise you.

If you want your characters to sound and act like real people, you’ve got to study real people. So practice people watching every chance you get.

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The writers Life- Research Pt 2, Now that you’ve got it.

Assuming you went ahead and did a ton of research after reading part one, you’ve got a pile of facts and figures now. The question is, what do you do with it all?

Part 2.1- Organizing your research.

First you need to organize it in a way that makes it a quick reference. Nothing is going to be helpful if it’s scribbled on a sticky note that ended up on your kids shoe and made its way out into the driveway. Personally, I go back to my book bible. I’ll need it with me anyways, what with its accurate dates and details about my series, so I commit a portion to my notes.

This part I will tab as much as possible, so that while I’m editing a chapter and need to remember what that really cool word I learned for what the feather on an arrow is called, (fletch) I don’t have to sort through five pages of spinning diagrams to find it.

I also color code the hell out of everything. The major color code for me is based on the character pov. I put research notes for that character in his or her section. I do not need to have my krav maga notes out while I’m writing about Victor, and I don’t want to be troubled with them.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of charts and graphs, so I add a lot of them. This is why I’d advise a three hole punch, and a big ass binder.

So now we have all of our notes color collected, color coded and sorted by character. Now, keep it with you while you’re writing. This is why it’s so important to have this all in a binder, and make friends with a nice big writing bag. Also lower back pain.

Step 2.2 Now, what are you going to do with all of this?

Add realism.

Yes, even in a fantasy setting, it’s important to remember that suspension of disbelief is a funny thing. Readers will accept your fantasy world rules if you’ve expressed them clearly. They won’t accept if you’re talking about something simple like baking a chicken and you screw it up by making it in the microwave.

Set the scene.

One of your biggest jobs as a writer is to describe things. Your reader needs to know how things around your characters look to be properly sucked into the story. Well, how are you supposed to do that if you don’t have any idea?

By the way, here’s something I started doing recently that has helped me a ton. I got a tablet for Christmas, and the first thing I did was download the Pintrist mobile app. I started making a pin board for each of my fictional worlds. Then, when I’m writing for that country, I pull that page up for inspiration.

Open yourself up to new ideas.

Speaking of inspiration, you’re sure to find some while doing research. Maybe even the helping hand your plot twist that wasn’t twisty enough needed. Maybe an explanation for why your character does that weird thing. Or maybe you’ll just find out that it used to be common practice for Norsemen to put butter in their tea, and decide that this has to go in the book. Anything you learn about any subject has the potential to inspire your writing, but obviously if you’re looking into things that inspired your stories to start with, the ideas are going to multiply like rabbits

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The Writing Life- Research, Part One

Research is a part of any editing process, no matter what kind of book you’re writing. Unless you’re writing a story about your own home town and a person who does exactly what you do or used to do. This isn’t a good idea, because you’re going to be bored writing it. Even if you’ve got a super exciting job, you don’t want to write about it. If you were that interested in your day job, you’d want to be doing it and not writing.

So, get used to the idea of researching. Let’s start, with your shopping list.

1. Highlighters
2. Notebook paper
3. Tab dividers
4. Lots and lots of writing materials
5. Coffee, always
6. A strong and reliable internet connection.

Once you’ve got your materials in order, take a look at your book, and decide what you need to research. I can’t tell you what you’re going to need, because it depends entirely on your book. When I researched my first Woven book, I learned about weaving, spinning, Italy, Japan, rivers, Pittsburgh, archery, basic medical education and Krav Maga.

No matter what you research, you’ll want to keep this in mind; you don’t have to be an expert, but you need to find one. What I mean by that is when you’re researching, you want to make sure you’re learning from people who actually know what they’re talking about. In other words, don’t use Wikipedia as your only source. It’s a great starting point, but not an end point.

Speaking of sources, I like to use the same rules I learned in Journalism. Two sources are needed for any fact. I mean two reliable sources. Not everyone thinks or my friend said, unless your friend’s an expert.

Now, when you’re doing your first read through, keep a list of things you need to learn about. Then, start studying. But not the way you’d study for a test. Remember, the point isn’t to track facts and figures. It’s to evoke a feeling. You want to know enough about a fact to paint a back drop. If you’re learning about a country, look for things that make you say, “Oh, that’s so cool!” Those are the things that readers want to read. Not exactly when the land was first settled.

This process should take some time. How much time is going to depend on what you’re writing. If at all possible, do more than just read. For instance, one of my fictional countries is based on the middle east. Guess who’s learning to cook middle eastern food so that I know what my characters are eating. It’s spicy, by the way. I also bought a loom and learned how to weave. I don’t like it, but I can talk about it now and not sound like an idiot.

Oh, and be prepared to look either like a fool or a terrorist. I’ve got a secret, Broken Patterns is not my first book, it’s my fourth. My third one was a crime drama that included male rape. I had to find out how a rape kit was preformed on a male victim. It made me squirm a lot. In fact, it almost made me throw up. But I had to know.

To sum it up, here are the ground rules.

You’re writing a work of fiction, not a paper. If you’re bored, the reader probably will be too.
But when you have a fact, be sure of it. Otherwise you’ll come off as unprofessional and sloppy.
Immerse yourself in the thing you’re learning as much as you can. Hands on experience is great if sensible.
Just because you learned something cool in your research doesn’t mean you have to put it in your book.
Don’t be afraid to learn about something uncomfortable. If it makes you squirm, it will make your readers squirm, and that may be just what you’re after.
Remember, quality sources, or it’s not true. And I mean the quality part. As my husband just added, I can find two sources to prove absolutely anything from the Kennedy assassination to how the moon landing was ‘faked’.

As a final thought, remember that research can be consuming. It’s fun to learn about new things, or at least it is for me. But at the end of the day, we are writers, not researchers. We want just enough to get the idea, and then get our asses back to writing.

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The Writing Life- The useful desk

As I write this, I am sitting in my armchair,  with my tablet on a lap desk.  I am the poster child for not sitting at a desk when I write.  Really, I sit at a desk all day at my dayjob, and the desk I have at home is not a great one.

Which is why I am in the process of making plans to build a new one.  Because I need a desk.  Every writer needs a desk.  But it needs to be one designed for your use.  Specifically,  your writing use.

While you might not need to write your rough draft at a desk (I don’t,) you will want to do any other work there.  Here are some things go you want to keep in mind while setting up your writing desk.

1. It doesn’t need to be huge, but it does need to be big enough for the things you need to do.  Which means you need some elbow room.  Personally,  I need room for the lap top, my tablet, and an open composition notebook.   Also my coffee cup and elbows.  This is one of the things keeping me from using my desk right now.  It is just too small.

2. Drawers, there should be a lot of them.  Because you need the room.  Paper, pens, notebooks, post its, staplers, stencils, chocolate stashes.  One thing I am doing on my new desk is putting in shelves, not drawers.  That way I can find and access all of my tools when I need them.  Also, if I need to ask one of my kids to get something,  they can’t sneak and get some thing else, like my chocolate stash.

3. The chair should be comfortable enough to spend hours in, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep.

Finally, if you can avoid it at all, don’t share your desk at all.  Your space is your space, and you need things to be as you left them the last time.  Besides, there is a good chance that you share every other room in your house, you don’t share your desk.

Personally,  I also don’t use my desk for anything else.  I don’t play games, color, write bills, or anything else.  It is my writing space only.

Take some time this week to set up your writing desk.  Then sit yourself down, and start getting some work done.

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The Writing Life- Editing Shopping List

Don’t lie, you’re going to love this part even if you hate editing.  I’ve never met a writer that didn’t walk into Staples and hear the Halleluiah chorus in their head.

Editing is an intensive process, and it requires special tools.  While it’s true that you only need a pen and a notepad to start your rough draft, you need a little more than that now.  That’s okay, you’re worth it and so is your story.  Besides, if you sat your ass in your chair long enough to produce a first draft, you’ve earned a shopping trip.

So, here’s my suggested editing shopping list.

1. Printer paper and at least two new ink cartridges.  Or, you can do what I do and have your manuscripts printed at a local printer.  It saves me time and money.  It also prevents me from trying to replace the ink cartridge, which I seem to have some sort of mental block over.  Personally, I write out my first draft long hand, then print out my second draft in preperation for the third.

2. Red pens.  As always, I’ve got a great red le pen that I use.

3. sticky notes, to add notes to the manuscript itself while you’re reading it.

4. A legal pad.  I get ideas while I’m editing that I want to address in later parts of my book.  That’s why I keep a legal pad right at my side for stream of conscious note taking.

5. Highlighters.  All sorts of uses for highlighters, and I suggest a five color pack.  I use them for poor dialog, bad phrasing, plot holes, characters acting out of character, grammar mess ups and spelling mistakes.  Some people use them to track plotlines, but I’ve usually got so many of those that I’d need more colors than they make.  Though I will use them to track ploteline importance with the next tool.

6. Index cards.  I use these to make plotline maps, because I can make it bigger as I go along.  What I do, is write the chapter title in the color ink I used for that character’s pov. (one of my org tips for keeping povs in order in draft one.)  Then, I’ll write any plot lines discussed on the index card, higlighted by order of series plot, book plot, sub plot, or character development.  I also make a little note of the last chapter we talked about this plotline in.

7. One big plastic crate, to corral all of my drafts as I go.  I’ll separate them in the boxes I get from the printer, but if you’re printing at home, I advise shoe boxes, or any other box that’s the right size.  No need to get fancy unless you really want to.

8. Coffee, obviously.  At least for me.  But really, I’ll use any excuse to buy coffee.

9. Binder clips.  I use these to hold my pages together in later drafts so I can flip them like a book.

10. Treats.  Editing is hard.  Even for crazy people like me who like it.  I feel better if I’ve got a piece of chocolate after each chapter.

Editing is a big job, and you need the tools to get through it.  I didn’t add any specifics about these tools, because there are a hundred different kinds of high lighters, and you should pick out the ones you like best.

Take some time to pick these things up, and let’s get started.

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The Writing Life- The Writer’s Planner

Do you have a planner? It’s the start of a new year, so you might have just gotten a new one. If you haven’t, you’ve at least seen them all over the damn place.

Planners are either something basic that everyone needs, or a really unhealthy scrap booking obsession, depending on your outlook on life. I’m sort of part of the second group, but I’m working on it. You need it to remember appointments, class and work schedules, due dates, the whole thing. The more chaotic your life, the more you need a planner. And if you’re trying to fit a writing career into your life, it’s chaotic.

Personally, I use two planners. My fiance and I keep a google calendar that we both add to, so we’re not planning things that overlap each other. I’ve also got my personal weekly planner that’s on paper, journal style that comes with me everywhere. I use this to keep track of work and school and appointments, but chances are you don’t give a damn about that. More importantly, I use my planner to keep track of my writing.

Here are some things I do with my planner that makes me a better writer.

Deadlines

First thing, of course. I like to try to enter contests when I’m not working on rough drafts. Contests have deadlines. I write the deadlines on my planner as soon as I decide I’m going to enter a contest. Because it’s me, I also put a little bomb sticker next to them, so they stick out when I’m flipping through pages. This not only helps me keep in mind deadlines, it lets me know if I’m about to over commit myself. If I flip to February and see I’ve got two deadlines that month, that’s a big red stop sign telling me to not enter any more contests with deadlines in that month unless I’m ready to sacrifice one of the others or have already submitted a piece for it.

Writing dates

I make a date with myself, at least once a week, to go out and write somewhere that isn’t home. I write better then, and can focus more when I’m not at home with the kids, cat and dishes. Not to mention this great new smart tv that’s got Netflix. My goodness, nothing is more distracting than knowing I can sit down and watch all of Firefly any time I want.

I also block out writing time the same way I’d block out time to take kids to the doctor or work. I have to do that thing then, there’s no getting around it. Seeing it on paper makes me feel committed to it.

Projected final dates for big projects

Once you’ve been writing awhile, you’ll get a rough estimate in your head of how long it takes you to do stuff. Take a really big project like writing a book. I know it will take me about fifteen pages to write a chapter, I can write about ten pages a day, so in a week I write about three, maybe four chapters. Because I outlined my book before I started, I know how many chapters are in my rough draft, 60. So, it should take me about fifteen weeks to write my rough draft. So far it’s been eight. Then I know it should take me about six months to edit it, three to write the third draft, three to write the fourth draft after my beta readers read it, another two for a final polish, and then about three weeks to get together an agent packet and start looking for an agent. So, giving some time in there for your beta readers to read it and some cushion, it takes me about two years to finish a book.

Your time will be different, so take some time to consider habits and productivity levels.

Once I have an idea of when my milestone moments will be, like finishing a draft, I write these moments on small sticky notes and put them on estimated dates. Now, this is something I highly advise. I call it a rolling deadline. These are the dates that I think I should be done. But things happen. For example, when I was writing the first draft of my last book, I realized halfway through that I’d deviated so much from my outline that the rest of the book didn’t make sense anymore. The changes were great, so I threw out the rest of my outline, and spend three days rewriting it. That set the end day back a bit.

Daily and weekly check ins

I try to have my days pretty planned. So, once a week I sit down with my planner, bullet journal and binder. (We’ll talk about binders later.) I put my day job schedule down for three weeks in advance, then factor in any obligations like deadlines, birthdays, holidays or things like that.

Then I look at the time I’ve got, and write in my bullet journal what needs done that week. I have to take that calendar into consideration. If I’ve got five appointments that week, I’ve got to know that I’m not going to have time to also write blog updates, work on Woven and still have time to edit my latest short story. Somethings not getting done, probably the short story, so I know it needs to go on next weeks to do list not this week.

I check in with my planner daily, too. Every morning, I glance over what’s still to come this week, and do a quick review of the next three weeks to come as well. That helps me keep in mind that if that contest deadline’s in three weeks, and I don’t have a rough draft done yet, I need some extra ass in the chair time.

I heard a great quote the other day. It’s not mine, but I’ve been saying it to myself ever since. “Your brain is for processing, not storing.” Don’t expect yourself to remember everything. You can’t, you won’t, and something will fall through the cracks. So keep a planner, and see how much more productive you are at the end of a year using one.

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