Routines.

Thank you guys again for reading my AWP wrap-up posts! I know they were a lot longer than my usual posts, so if you read until the end, I am grateful! This past week, I’ve also had several people let me know that they are really enjoying reading these posts, and I’m so glad that you all are enjoying reading these as much as I enjoy writing them.

This week, I want to talk more about routines.

After listening to the AWP session on routines, I’ve been trying to figure out what works best for me. I feel like I am more of a write-every-day writer, or at least I would like to aspire to be one, but so far, I haven’t been very good at figuring out how to make that happen. 

Something you should know about me is that I am a procrastinator at heart, so sometimes setting daily habits is hard for me, especially since I’ve been out of school and no longer have hard deadlines. 

The other issue I run into is time. When can I write? I think my brain works a little better midmorning/afternoon, but I have a day job, so those times don’t work Monday through Friday.

This may sound crazy, but my dream is to wake up really early (like 5 a.m.) and be able to spend the morning hours before work writing, making breakfast, etc. I tried it for a week back in the fall, and part of me really loved it. I have a desk treadmill, and I would begin by walking on it to help myself wake up. I’d think about the scene I wanted to write while I walked, and by the time I sat down at my desk, I felt like the words poured out of me. 

However, unless I need to be up early for a very specific reason and people are counting on me to be somewhere, it feels almost impossible to wake up that early for something that’s just for me. Not to mention that I ended up trying to nap a little over my lunch break instead of walking my dog. Even though my experience with it was good, 5 a.m. is really freaking early, and I found myself snoozing my alarm over and over again.

I desperately want to be a morning person, but I fear I’ve always been more of a night owl.

“Well, Britnie,” you may be saying, “why not just write at night?”

Great question! It’s one I’ve asked myself frequently.

After I’m finished with work for the day, that’s when I try to get everything else done. Plus, I usually walk my dog after work, and by the time we get back home, it’s time for supper. The evening hours never feel as long as I want them to be. 

Once about 8:30-9:00 p.m. hits, I’m ready to start winding down for the night (either by reading or watching some tv), so my brain isn’t in a good place to be creative. Not to mention that I like to have a little flexibility with my evening routine, so setting a specific time for writing doesn’t work. The minute my schedule gets altered, the writing time is the first to go.

What I probably need to do is try to intentionally schedule out a week’s worth of writing time–picking either the morning or evening–and stick to that schedule for one week, and then the next week, try the other one, and see which routine works the best. 

I also think I need to start setting fake deadlines for myself–but deadlines that have consequences if I don’t meet them. And perhaps rewards if I do. 

Either way, it’s something I’m still figuring out!

Writing I worked on this week:

Since I’m still figuring things out, I don’t have a super accurate word count update for you, but I wanted to give you a more general writing update! While I wasn’t just working on my next novel, I did do a fair amount of writing this week.

I wrote a chapter in Fantasy Pimpernel, which feels like the end of Act 2. I’ve been thinking of the beats of the story in terms of a three-act structure, so I just have the final act left. Total, the manuscript is currently sitting at just about 51,000 words.

I also rewrote my query letter. Again. I have another writing conference in a couple of weeks where I will be verbally pitching Veritas to three agents, and I really wanted to polish my summary before then. (And now I need to work on memorization!)

Another smaller piece of writing I’m working on is a short story! I have been receiving a writing subscription box, and they are doing writing contests for their subscribers. The prompt immediately sparked an idea, so I drafted about half of it this week. The contest closes in a couple of weeks, so I’m hoping to finish the story this week and spend the next week polishing it! I’m planning on sharing it with you guys after the contest winners have been announced.

Last but certainly not least, blog posts! I’m back on track with those, and I’ve got both posts for this week written and mostly ready to go. I typically do a final edit before I schedule them.