FINDING YOUR PACE
I've been writing for many many years. I think if I did the maths it would work out to be more of my life than I spent not writing. I recently celebrated twenty years as an author, which still blows my mind to be honest. In all that time I have found many different ways to write, and many different routines to follow. I've been doing my current routine for about five years now and it works for me. I know what I need to get done every day and I also find that it's easier to sit down and work.
People know that I'm organised, so I won't sit here and tell you otherwise, or go on about it too much, but my point is that even organised people have to start with a lot of trial and error. I dove into writing seriously at nineteen, and while there are some aspects of my writing routine that have stayed the same (my planning levels, writing a chapter a day, etc), others have changed many times over the years (time of day to write, how I write, working on multiple projects etc).
The big thing for a lot of newbies, and even those who've been doing this a while is that life has a way of getting in your way. I know that I will wake up between 1-3am and be ready to work. I know that I will sit with my tablet/computer, and do the work, but I don't know if my conditions will allow me to do the work scheduled. They sometimes do, they sometimes don't.
My point is that finding your pace is something that takes time, effort, and a whole lot of trusting your gut, as well as reading pieces like this and trying to work out how to apply it to your own life. Back in 2001 when I started writing I didn't have things like social media, or blogs (yes I realise I sound like an old person with my 'we walked to school barefoot uphill both ways' but I promise I have a point), so a lot of my finding out was just sitting at my desk and trying this and that, and hoping that something along the way worked for me.
I will say that when social media and everything else finally came along, it gave me some of that knowledge that every writer struggles with this kind of thing. It wasn't that I was inept or doing things wrong, just that being creative is overly personal and linked to the person, as well as the stage they are in life. I say that last part because over the years, with things changing here and there, like college and uni, and having a kidlet to parent, my writing routine and my pace rapidly switched from my tried and true method to something else and I'd be left scrambling as I tried to find out what the new way was.
So don't be alarmed if it does take you time to get there. It's not just you, it's part and parcel of being creative. No one works exactly the same way as anyone else, we all have our quirks and our ways of doing things, and that's normal. If it takes you a while, that's okay too. You will get there, and all this trial and error you're going through is going to help you narrow things down the next time life changes on you.
So keep going, and good luck!
Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!
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