Year: 2015

Work as procrastination

Lynn

This morning I was supposed to write from 9–1. At 9 am sharp, I opened my computer, looked at the files I had open (I usually hibernate with everything as is) and decided to copy edit the book I finished two weeks ago instead of work on my new story.

This is funny because I only started the new book a couple of days ago to avoid having to do the copy edit, and here I am copy editing that book to avoid writing the new one.

All in all, I’m having a hard time seeing this as a failure to write. ;)

And surprisingly, I reached the end of my note taking and decided to put off reading the rest in favor of some writing after all. I’m down to about 25% of the book left to read through on my Kindle.

So I did a little of both today. I’m thinking I’m going to do more of one or the other after a short break. Maybe I’ll even get the book finished and formatted this evening. That would be a nice accomplishment. :)

I want to be a prolific writer

Lynn

What do I want more: To write a few really good books or to write lots and lots of books?

I actually know how to answer that. I want to write lots and lots of books. One of my lifelong dreams is to be a prolific writer.

If someone asked me if I’d rather look back at the end of my life and know I’d created one book that had dearly affected millions of people or if I’d rather say I’d written 482 books, I’d say “I wrote 482 book!” I have no idea what drives me to make that choice but that is definitely the choice I’d make. I have a feeling that says a lot about me as a person. ;) Oops.

However, if I actually want that to happen, I’m going to have to stop spending so much time fiddling with my writing when I write. A prolific writer can’t spend an entire day coming up with 500 words. The math just doesn’t work out.

Besides which, I have got to start managing my time better so I can fit in all the things I supposedly want to do. I say supposedly because sometimes I have a tendency to hang on to the idea that I should do something when I don’t actually want to do it. I really need to get over that.

Also, I need to clip my nails. Just typing this is driving me crazy. :D Ah, the rituals I must go through to get into the writing zone, even when it’s just my blog!

Here’s my plan: Start writing more freely! I know I keep saying that. I even read a book about it (Writing in Overdrive covers the topic quite nicely). But yes, I’m really going to have to commit to doing it. I can’t really define what’s stopping me most of the time, except maybe fear that I’ll write something terrible or stupid or inconsistent with something I wrote earlier in the story (which does happen!). Whatever the reason, it’s time I stopped.

One thing I’m going to do to practice this is to stop rereading these posts and editing them so much before I put them up. From now on, expect to see a lot more of my natural writing style here. Practice. That’s where it’s at. Time to break some habits. ;)

 

My telephone cooperative is more responsive than I thought

Lynn

My phone is fixed.

The repairman showed up at 9 am sharp when I was supposed to start writing so I’m getting a late start today. Apparently the lightning fried the filter that separates data from voice transmissions, which also explains why I still had internet service but no phone service. Once that was fixed, I discovered that my two downstairs phones had also been fried. I do have working phone service now though, using my old upstairs phone that’s probably 25 years old. I do miss my cordless! I’ll have to replace it ASAP, but I’m relieved that I won’t have to worry about this any longer.

Stressed (and frustrated)

Lynn

I didn’t succeed in writing much today. I ended the day at 393 words. I spent a lot of my writing time reading sections of a previous book in the series for one of the books I’m starting next. For the moment, I’m working on two books, because I haven’t decided which one I want to dig into. I know which one I should dig into, but I rarely let that stop me from doing what I want instead. :)

A lightning strike this evening knocked out my phone service. It’s Friday night, so yippee. I have no idea how I still have internet, because it’s DSL (through my phone line) because I definitely don’t have phone service. I unplugged every phone in the house and tried each one all by its lonesome and still no service. Tomorrow I’ll unplug the modem and see if any of the phones work while it’s unplugged. That’s the one thing I forgot to try.

I now have a headache, because I hate stressful things like the phone thing. I won’t stop worrying about this until it’s fixed. Considering where I live and how small my local telephone cooperative is, I’ll probably be lucky to get it back on Monday.

I still haven’t finished the copy edit of my latest book because I can’t bring myself to sit down and read my book for more than half an hour at a time, followed by a 5 hour break! I have no idea why this is a problem.

I’m ready to just go to sleep and wake up tomorrow and start over.

Yep, that’s right. I’d like a do-over, please.

Tomorrow I make my adjusted schedule work for me.

Change of plans

Lynn

I’ll keep this short. The summer isn’t turning out to be a great environment for my schedule. After some consideration, I’ve decided to scale back to a 9 am to 1 pm schedule. Out of the last 31 days, I’ve held to the schedule 4 days total. The other days have been scattershot and fairly unproductive. I had to face the fact that the schedule just hasn’t been working since the summer school break started (just about 30 days ago).

Also, strangely enough, the change in my lunch time pattern has contributed to me gaining a few pounds that I don’t want. I’m taking this opportunity to fall back into my former eating pattern of larger breakfast and larger, later lunch, and little or no supper (because I don’t usually get hungry before bedtime with this pattern). I loved the schedule I had, but that meal time disruption has kind of turned out to be a big deal and I do blame it for the weight gain, so instead of getting rid of the schedule and falling back into the wrong kind of habits, I’m just making a necessary adjustment.

Better than before? Absolutely

Lynn

The “no internet” before 4 pm worked. It was SO HARD, but I did it, and I wrote during my scheduled writing time and ended the day with 2,910 words. And I think I wrote the end of the book I’ve been stuck on. :D I need to write the wrap up chapter tomorrow, so I’ll probably read at least the last couple of chapters tonight or in the morning and see how I feel about them. If I’m right, and I wrote the ending today, I’ll be ecstatic. I’m ready to get this one published and move on.

I feel so relieved. I just hope I’m not jumping the gun on this and that I’m really done. The wrap up chapter will finish tying up loose ends and set the next book in motion.

I learned something today. I learned that all that anxiety and angst I was having about something being wrong with my book was bullshit. :D I just didn’t want to sit down and write. I couldn’t sit down and write, tbh, but that’s still an issue with my brain and my ability to concentrate, stay on task, and overcome procrastination issues brought on by my impulsive nature. I was placing blame where it didn’t need to be placed. The book was fine.

I hope I remember this next time I have this problem. Obviously wasting a lot of time worrying about my book didn’t help at all and won’t likely help in the future.

Better than before? Not yet, but maybe soon

Lynn

I finally finished reading Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives (by Gretchen Rubin). I liked the book overall, and I’m trying to decide what I can take away from it that might help me get back on track with my writing. I’m so far behind right now!

The end of this month will mark the halfway point in this year. I’m sitting right on the 100,000 word mark for the year; that’s about 400,000 words shy of where I’d like to be. No way I’m making that up. But that doesn’t mean I have to give up the second half of the year. I can still end the year strong if I can just get back on track.

I’d blame the summer break for this, but I suspect the blame belongs on a few bad habits I let slip back into my life. May was a great month for me with the latest book release, and instead of using the 7–9 block of time in the morning for reading fiction, I fell back into an old habit of checking sales reports first thing in the morning. That led me to spending time on the internet when I should have been reading fiction and getting myself into a creative frame of mind before I needed to sit down and write at 9 am.

While on the internet this morning, I watched Garrett Robinson’s latest Writer Wednesday video and I think he’s got the right idea about the internet. I have no illusions that I’ll EVER write 50,000 words in 3 days without a miracle happening, but I do know I’ve been letting the internet distract me.

In Better Than Before, Rubin talks about the “four tendencies” which she calls Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, and Rebel. Although I have a few traits from all of them, I’m without a doubt a questioner. I don’t have the book in front of me, but I believe it means I need to believe in the reason(s) I have for adopting a new habit before I’ll be able to make a new habit stick. That makes sense.

I have a lot of really good reasons why I should stay away from the internet during the day, especially when I should be writing. None of the reasons I have for not staying away from the internet trump any of those good reasons.

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to stay off the internet until after 4 pm every day. No internet during lunch. No quick email checking. No checking sales reports, or distracting myself with forums and blogs.

After 4 pm I can do what I want. Before 4 pm? I don’t use the internet.

If I need to research something to keep going in my story (something that’s very rare), I’ll just switch to another story and write that instead, then research after 4 pm. I think the fewer exceptions I allow, the better.

For the questioner in me: The internet is my go-to drug of choice when it comes time to find a distraction to keep me from having to push through tough spots in my stories. If I want to be prolific, I can’t make it easy for myself to find these distractions. At least with what’s left (doing dishes, washing laundry, watering my garden), I have a tangible benefit to allowing the distraction. With the internet, I usually have nothing to show for the distraction except frustration. :D

This is going to be one tough habit to create—at least as hard as my schedule habit has been to maintain these last few weeks, but I think I can do it. :D If I do, it’ll be so worth it. Less stress, less guilt, more writing!

And what internet time I do get, maybe I’ll enjoy it more in the long run and use it more wisely. :D

I’m struggling with the change in routine

Lynn

I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks when it comes to my schedule. I think it’s because of the change in routine that comes around this time of year but it might be the book, or me. Right now I’m about to make lunch, after a very unsuccessful attempt this morning to stick to my writing schedule. I failed. In fact, I never even got started.

I want to have a few successful days. I know that’s all it would take to finish this book, and that’s something I desperately want. I want to finish this book so I can start my next one. It’s a book I really, really want to write. I don’t know if I can do the idea justice, but I’m going to have fun trying. ;)

I did read a great book while I’ve been struggling so hard. That’s good, right?

The Martian by Andy Weir is fantastic and utterly compelling and if you’ve been thinking about reading that book but haven’t gotten to it yet, let me tell you—stop waiting! It’s a great book.

My current read is nonfiction. I started Gretchen Rubin’s Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives this morning. Yep. Another habit book. I’m hoping it’ll give me something to use to help me get back on track with my schedule, because I’m not giving it up. This schedule has been a great boon to my productivity, even counting the terrible days this week and last.

Well, on to lunch, so I don’t end up starting my 1–4 session late. I need to try to stay on schedule at least half the day. :)

Son of a bitch… I’m stuck

Lynn

I’m falling into some really bad habits and it’s all because I’m stuck on this book I’m working on. I’m over my word count goal for the book. Yeah. I know. This is nothing new.

I wanted to wrap the book up at around 45,000 words. I’m now at 47,560 and I’m nowhere near the end that I can see. I didn’t write much last week and although this week is supposed to be better—a lot better—so far I’m blowing it.

What’s happened?

  1. The school year ended and my kids are now on summer break.
  2. I’m waking later because I’m staying up later, but I’m only staying up later because I keep waking up late. Let’s call this a circular issue.
  3. I can’t seem to stay focused. I sit down, stare at the computer, then my eyes start to cross and I want to fall asleep. Jet lag because of the screwing up of my sleep schedule, maybe? Or boredom, because as I mentioned before… I’m stuck? I loved this book until about a week ago. Now I hate it and I have no justification for my change of feelings.
  4. I have no idea what comes next in this book. Therefore, I’ve lost my momentum, my motivation, and my excitement. UGH!! It’s hard to stay productive and stick to my schedule when the only thing I’d like to do is stick my head in the sand and pretend I don’t have to work for a living.

Okay, this was my whine session. I’m getting through this, and I’m going to do it in a reasonable amount of time. Back to basics. I don’t care how long it takes me to write this book, and I don’t care how long this book ends up being; all I care about is staying on my writing schedule for the rest of this week.

That’s it. Just stick as close to the schedule as I can for the rest of the week.

I’ll make it. I’ll recover and this week will be a great week.

Focus scattershot

Lynn

I’ve been sticking to my schedule but having real trouble staying focused for the entire time. Today’s word count broke 1,000 only because I had a burst of inspiration in the last half hour before 4.

I’d like to keep my WIFI off for the entire time tomorrow and see if that helps. No more sneaking it on to check sales reports (or the weather). :D Just me staring at my document. Nothing else.

I’m having a lot of trouble with impulse control at the moment. One thought flits by and I latch on before I even realize what I’m doing. I’ll be out of my seat, doing something that could easily waited until it wasn’t writing time.

Tomorrow I’m going to practice impulse control. We’ll see how it goes. I’m planning to have a good night’s sleep (I went to bed late all weekend even though I told myself I wouldn’t) and see if that helps. I’ve read quite a bit of material that says bad things happen to willpower and impulse control when a person doesn’t get enough sleep. Wish me luck! :)

Terrible night’s sleep again but it won’t stop me today

Lynn

I’m not really sure what’s been going on with my sleep the last few nights, but last night was terrible, again. I woke at 3 am and couldn’t get back to sleep until after 5 am. Then I was up at 6. So, I’m not at 100% today. More like 60%. I actually feel pretty good at the moment, although I’m not sure why. I’m sure it’ll fade. ;)

In the meantime, I’m going to try to stare at my book and write something before I lose all my energy, and do my best to stay on task from 9–12 and 1–4. I have obligations later, so writing is my only priority today. I’m not going to bother worrying about the rest of those publishing tasks I’m still trying to catch up on.

I finished the paperback format for my last release yesterday, and I now only have 3 more books to get into paperback. Whew. :)

Now, it’s 9 am and time to write!

Update: Twenty minutes later, it totally stopped me. I took the day off. :)

There’s a pattern here…

Lynn

Yesterday was the second time I’ve failed with the schedule. I still wrote 662 words, but I spent most of my schedule time trying to distract myself from my work. The one thing I know is that the night before, I didn’t get enough sleep. There’s a pattern there. :)

Last night I tried to do better, but I still didn’t get to sleep on time and I woke up too early, from one of those weird dreams where you’re crying while asleep. I don’t do that often, but when it happens, it always throws me. And let me tell you, I was bawling when I woke up. :o I can remember why, but it was just a dream.

I’m probably stretching too far with this but I wonder if it isn’t related to the sudden lack of enthusiasm I have for my new book. The book was speeding along, and I’ve been thrilled by how fun it’s been, how easy the writing is, and then, for no discernible reason, I just … lost it. Same book, same events, nothing much has changed except I’m about to reveal something to my main character that will really push the book forward and the relationships, and boom, I suddenly start thinking the book sucks and my interest and ability to stay focused while writing has nosedived.

Also, I’m really sore all over after doing more physical activity than I’m used to the day before yesterday. It involved me, a rake, and a huge pile of gravel in my driveway. My back hurts, my ribs hurt, and I probably needed a good deal more sleep to recover instead of less! ;)

I do feel better today though, and I’m not going to let any of this get in the way of me trying to stick to my schedule today. I have about an hour and a half until it’s time to write and I think I’ll do something besides work during that time today. :D

Today wasn’t a bad day for writing

Lynn

I had hoped to get to stick to my schedule today, and I’m happy to say I did, mostly. I cut it short a bit and started working on a book cover. I’m not even sure why, except that it was hard to concentrate. I still ended the day with over 2,000 words and I’m glad to see the backside of all these distractions for a bit. :)

Oh my, I’m having a rough couple of days

Lynn

I really don’t like holidays that much. They mess up my plans and throw me off my routine and just make life harder in general. I’ve done well with my schedule, but I admit the last two days have only been so-so and tomorrow doesn’t look to be any better.

Still, I’ve written words I wouldn’t have written otherwise (I’m sure of that) and gotten things formatted and covers made and overall just been more productive than I might otherwise have been. I still have a daily average of 1,347 words for May so far, and that’s not bad at all! It’s a bit on the low side, but I’m happy because I have a feeling I’ll do better over the coming week when all these holidays and birthdays are behind me. :D

Right now though I’m a bit stressed. I don’t like company and I’m about to have a houseful in less than forty-five minutes. I guess that means I need to wrap this up and get busy with the stuff I didn’t do because I’ve been writing for the last hour and a half.

Recovered quickly

Lynn

I stuck to my schedule today (mostly). I probably got in 4 hours of writing time today. That sounds short, but I had to quit early because of an outside obligation. Other than that, I did well. Yay! :D

Today was a fail

Lynn

Today was my first real failure with the schedule—again, however, it was a lack of sleep that got to me. I managed an hour or so of the morning session and none of the afternoon. I think this is telling me quite clearly that if I want to keep things going the right way, I need to make sure I get enough sleep. Period.

 

Another successful day with the schedule

Lynn

I fall down sometimes with my start times, and I did that today, starting almost half an hour later than 9 am, and then an interruption knocked out about 45 minutes of the 1–4 session. And yet… my word count came in at 1,806 today and I still find myself writing more than I’ve been writing in a long, long time.

This schedule is an outright success. The attitude change is the #1 reason it’s been successful, but I absolutely do believe the timing of the sessions has also played an important role.

I might write more later, but I do want to do some more formatting too. But first, a break. I think I’m going to watch a movie I added to my Amazon watchlist last week. Sadly, I’m missing something I need to finish my potted garden so that’s going to have to wait. :)

Back on the schedule today

Lynn

I got back on the schedule today, and although I got off to a slow start with the writing, I stuck it out and ended with about a thousand words. The low count can be blamed on the fact that I started at the beginning of the book and went through adding and deleting words here and there to get the story moving after so long away from it. I’m actually very happy with how things went today. :)

Now I’m taking a break and then doing some formatting of some stuff I want to update, and maybe I’ll even start formatting the paperback for that book I finished last week. :)