Today I will start my writing books with a new schedule. In 2009 I went through three computers and my writing career stopped and started each time I lost a computer. 2009 was a horrible career year for me. When this happened it drained me of any creative thoughts let alone thoughts about how to re jump start my career.
Today here is what I will do for self preservation. I am going to not answer the telephone (I have an answering machine) turn off instant messenger, set a goal of at least five pages a day. I am going to treat this like any other job I've had in other words IM AT WORK, unless it is the UPS man or postman I will not answer the door. Since I am not a morning person I will reserve this time to work on my blog interviews, reviews and send blog announcements etc... in other words work related tasks like answering email. My writing will be from noon to six Monday through Thursday until I get over the halfway mark then I will likely eat, sleep and live my book.
If I find I simply after three months cannot deal with this writing schedule (Wrote at night for the past fifteen years) then I will return to writing at night from ten until three, I'm older now and do not wish to lose sleep but writing is the only thing I know how to do and it's what keeps me going, the good news on going months without writing at a time is that you realize that you can't NOT write. Like Monk would say it's a blessing and a curse. I also learned that I had to learn to love it again and have rediscovered why I loved writing for the sake of writing, for one thing it is why I got out of bed in the mornings. For another thing it helped me since I have a chronic illness to challenge myself. I know if the brain cells are not used they do die and I shutter to think how many I lost in 2009.
I know my writing weakness which are I am not good with PR and promoting because by nature like a lot of author I am a hermit. I need to stick to a schedule and I need to read in order to make my writing better. I also need and must make contact with other authors and develop friendships because by nature I am also fairly shy and I find I am losing social skills. So as of today all of the self pity, procrastination trash and self doubt go out the window. Okay the self doubt comes with the job but you can overcome it and I am lucky to have friends and readers who tell me I have talent and they want to read more of my books so let's go with that line of thought but even if that weren't true I would write for the sheer love of writing. How many people can say that they would actually still enjoy their job or career without a paycheck? Now this doesn't mean I don't want a paycheck it means that no matter what you finish what you start and today starts my journey of finishing my first book and hopefully having it picked up as a brand new series. That is as far as I am allowing thoughts to go but today is truly the first day of the rest of my career.
Pamela James
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sounds like a wonderful plan, Pamela. I am being forced into a much more regimented writing schedule this year because of a short deadline. Like you, chronic illness has been the bane of my existence. Since writing more than four hours a day is exhausting (I used to go 12 without blinking)I must keep to a schedule. You might add something else. Send your word count for the day to a friend when you're done. It helps. Good luck. I feel the passion in your blog post and I know you can do it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leann and told Terri my word count for today. LOL chronic illness is no fun and I can honestly say I used to write much much more in word count and pages before the chronic illness. It's so hard to live in a real world and a fictional one at the same time. Thanks for leaving a message and stopping in and I'll be reading your blog on cozy chicks.
ReplyDeletePamela
How true! I hate going out to teach, but when I don't, I get blase' and don't feel like writing. I was never able to figure out what I really like to do until I started writing. I, too, am basically shy even though it doesn't always appear like it. So thanks! You hit the nose on the head!
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