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Days Off Count & Matter - The Creative Process

DAYS OFF COUNT & MATTER

I wanted to talk about this here because although I've covered mental health (found here) and talked about schedules and being organised (found here, here, and here) I've never really talked about the fact that days off matter and are an important part of the writing process. I know that as someone who is super productive it's easy for me to say that you should take days off, I know that when deadlines are looming, and it feels like you're not going to get there, there's a part of you that thinks you need to push forward and manage the crash that comes after later. And while there's a place for pushing through, you should still have planned days off. You should still be taking time to unwind and catch up on sleep, or reading, or watching that TV show you love. All of this should be part of your day off.

I also know that I'm pretty bad at taking the whole day off. Like right now, I'm writing this on a white day in my schedule, which is the colour I use for complete days off. That was poor planning on my end, but the point still stands. You're not a robot, you need down time and you need to make time for yourself. Whether you use that time to crash out and sleep in, or just to do things that aren't writing, that's completely cool and healthy. Because that's the thing I'm realising, a lot of people's worth is placed in how much they do, how much they write and how many words and chapters they get finished in any given time. And that isn't healthy.

Hell, I do it to a point when I track pages and all the like in my videos and in my writing schedule. It started as a way for me to get back into writing full time and became something where I kinda competed with myself to try and beat my last score. I do that less now, the competing I mean. I realise that I can only do what I can do, and doubling up on chapters and the like is just going to make me tired, sick and possibly mean more time off where I physically can't do anything more. And I don't want that. I don't want that for me, or for any of you reading this.

It's not a healthy outlook on life, at least not in the long-term. While there is something to be said for pushing yourself when you're up against a deadline or a wall, there's also a part where you need to realise, accept and acknowledge that maybe you need to take a break. And that's okay. That's actually what I'm gonna do with this day off when I'm done writing this blog post. I'm gonna take a break, go spend the day with family and just disconnect. It's been coming for a while and it's something I realise I need to do. Not just for my own mental health, but for my ability to write as well.

I say it like that because I've heard people talk about the creative well, and I find it to be true. You get to a point where you need to replenish what you're used, and a part of doing that is taking the time off and letting yourself relax a little bit more than usual. It doesn't have to be a long period, for me it'll be today and I'll, hopefully, be coming back to work tomorrow, but it does need to be time that you take for yourself. Now I'm not going to say you need to disconnect from social media, you get to decide how you spend your day off. I personally won't be checking in with Twitter and the like, but I will be talking with friends online and I will be doing my insta-stories because they're something that I truly do enjoy.

But I won't be worrying about scenes and chapters, word counts and numbers. I will be focused on just having the time to relax and catch up with family and all of that. Days off are important, no matter who you are. You are human and you need time to chill. That's just the way it is. Now I think I hear a book calling me, so I'll leave it here. If you have any advice about how you spend your down time, let us know in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

The Trials of An Indie Author: Schedules Revisited

THE TRIALS OF A INDIE AUTHOR: SCHEDULES REVISITED
This is something I've talked about before, and it's something that I get asked a whole ton as well. How am I so organised? How do I achieve the output I do? I answered it somewhat in a recent Monday piece, in that I work hard, but I also wanted to touch on the other aspects of it. Now some of this will span the usual scope of these pieces and some will overlap to the other series I post here. I'll talk about being a spoonie, for example, as well as making the most of what I can do and even sometimes, what I can't.

I am sure you've all seen the vlog I did on being organised (if not you can find it here) and with that you'll have seen these photos before as well. I utilise my time best by scheduling it out evenly. As you can see from the photo below, I make use of the Sticky Notes feature on Windows. It has been a life saver for me and has increased my productivity to a point where I'm very happy with it. The photo is a little old, but you can see the basics. I have a sticky note for every day of the month and I set myself one writing task for that day. So some days it's a chapter, other days it's recording a vlog and other days it's to do absolutely nothing. I generally use the end of the month for tying up any loose ends and writing my blog posts.

Now I know that for some people, like me, organisation comes easier than for others. Having said that, it did take me a long while to get to a point where I realised just how little time I was putting into my writing life and how much more work was needed. In the early days it was a matter of not having the spoons, for a while it was also getting my degree and not having the time, but then for a period up until I discovered I could do a lot more in a month, it was simply just not being strict with myself.

That said, I do want to be clear, you need to have breaks. As you can see from the photo, I work in blocks of four and then have both a catch up day and a day where I can chill if I'm not writing. This is a MUST. No one is able to work all the hours they can and never take a break. You're human and you're built to work, but also built to have down time. You need days to lie in bed and read. You need time to not be draining the creative well. So however you plan, remember that you also need to take breaks. That part is not negotiable.

So what are my tips for sticking to a schedule and getting yourself to the point of being productive? Glad you asked!

#1 - WORK OUT MUST-DO LIST
By this I mean, set yourself a list of things that have to be done. You want these things done more than anything else. Those are the things you'll be adding to your schedule as the most important. Try not to overload yourself and make sure they're achievable. It's all well and good wanting to write a novel in 30 days, but it's not always something you can do. In fact it's damn near impossible to have a book written, edited and ready for publication in just a month, no matter who you are!

#2 - WORK IN BLOCKS
Whether this is, like me, four, or six or whatever. Find a way to work that keeps you both on task and allows you to have those much needed breaks. You want to find that sweet spot. You don't want to be working for days on end because the work you do towards the end of that on period are going to be horrible days. You don't want the work to suffer for it. So I suggest starting small, with three-five days blocks before you schedule yourself a day off and/or a catch up day.

#3 - CATCH-UP DAYS ARE NOT OPTIONAL
You're going to need them. There will be some days when despite your best efforts, you are going to be unable to get things done. And that's completely normal and okay. You want to have some safety days where you're able to know you can catch up with yourself, or if you're not behind, maybe get ahead. But before you do that, you should also work out, how much rest time that would cost you.

#4 - REST DAYS ARE ALSO NOT OPTIONAL
You can't really tell from that first photo, but here's one of my current set up. You can see that I have six off days. Those are non-negotiable. They are days when I will be doing no work whatsoever. These can be for various reasons, such as other commitments or needing time away, but I make sure to have at least six each month because everyone needs down time. I sometimes find I use my yellow days for those, but it's good to have them even when I don't have time on the yellow days, which are my catch up days.

#5 - MAKE THE SCHEDULE WORK FOR YOU
This simply means that if you have days when you know that you'll be free to do more work than on others, schedule your time to suit your own needs. As you can see from my photos, I colour code and generally, as I said, work in blocks on four. However there are times, like last month, when I had various doctor visits and other issues that meant I couldn't work in those four blocks, but I could still get the work done because I was flexible with my time. You have to prepare for the unknown and that's a big part of scheduling and all of that.

So that's how I get it done. You have to find what works for you, and I've found that the sticky notes are a major help to me. I love being able to close them when everything on it has been finished and it even keeps me motivated. Let me know what kind of tools you've found will help you keep on target in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

The Trials Of An Indie Author - Juggling Writing & Admin

JUGGLING WRITING & ADMIN

It's been a while since I wrote on this topic, and I thought that for today's Monday post I would touch on juggling both writing and admin work. For a long time now I've been using the Sticky Notes function of windows and have been plotting out my days that way so that I have one thing that needs doing every day. It includes things like book writing, admin work, booktube videos and all the rest. Some days I have a bunch to do and others I leave empty in case I overrun another day.

It really has helped me in getting both organised and juggling the work and the admin duties of being an indie author. I've spoken before about wearing several different hats because of being indie, a piece you can find here, but it's only really been since I got organised that I realised just how much of my time is spent working.

The way I do things now is to stick to the plan. On days when the writing portion of my workday has been easier then I try and get some admin duties done. On days when I have events or other promotional stuff going on, I'll lean off the writing and focus solely on that side of my job. I can easily record a booktube video and edit it, but then on the day it's uploaded, I need to allot a period of time to add the captions before it's published. I balance the two roles pretty well in my opinion, but it can have an effect on how much writing I get done and being that the writing is the best part for me, it can be hard to motivate myself to getting the admin side done at all.

Like today, I was supposed to have a completely admin day, but it didn't work out like that. I wasn't one hundred percent yesterday so I only managed to write two pages of the chapter that was yesterday's work. Today was supposed to be a green day (I colour code, who'd have thought?!) which basically means anything that needs doing that isn't writing has to get done. I have some guest blogs that need putting up ready for when they get posted and I need to chase up a few emails and answer interview questions.

Except now it's a purple day too, so I need to find the time to do a video (done), write a blog piece (doing) and answer some interview questions and chase the emails and then I still need to find time to write those pages. It's gonna be a busy day! The plus side of it is it's not a whole chapter, and I'm pretty sure how it's going to go. My only reason for not doing it yesterday was that my pain levels were creeping up after an earlier start than planned.

People often say they wish they were as organised as I am. It's something that I've always found helpful. If I know what I'm supposed to be doing then I know when I'm done, right? It makes sense to me to work out how to juggle by making lists and a rainbow timetable because then I don't have any horrible surprises or missed deadlines. I'd put it down to being a spoonie, but to be honest I was like this before I really got sick so I think it's just part of who I am.

In the end, I find it easier to work to a list, and in keeping it nice and organised, things don't get missed and the end of the day isn't a rushed hell hole, but of course, your mileage may vary.

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook, or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

Random Booktube - The Story Behind #JoWriMoGo - April 2016

RANDOM BOOKTUBE

THE STORY BEHIND #JOWRIMOGO

APRIL 2016

Juggling Responsibilities & Staying On Track - The Creative Process

Juggling Responsibilities & Staying On Track

In my last blog post, found here, I talked about the dead zone and keeping motivated whilst not losing your spark during writing. Today I'm going to talk about something similar, which can be seen as a companion piece to that. 

One thing I learnt early on in my writing career, was that if I was going to get my work done and also have a life, I needed to stay on target. I also needed to be sure to maintain a good balance between working, and not working. I've spoken about that in numerous pieces, which can be found here, here, & here. My routine is pretty much dictated by how well I'm doing on any given day, along with a healthy balance of fun activities and not so fun responsibilities. For example, these could be the days which I put aside to do geocaching, or the days in the past that were all for my uni work, as well as the school run, which I do pretty much every week twice a day. These are all things that are important enough for me that I make time for them, although the school run is kinda mandatory! When you add in the disruption that come from living with several chronic conditions, you realise that sometimes it can be hard to stick to any proper schedule. While I'd love to say that I go geocaching twice a week, every week, sometimes it doesn't happen at all. The same goes for my writing, which while being my job, is also something I consider to be fun.

So, how do I juggle my time, along with my other responsibilities, to make sure that I stay on track with my writing? As you are all aware, I like to try and release one book a year, while also writing two at once. I know it's been a source of a lot of questions in the past as to why I don't just release all the written books as they are finished. I have my own reasons for that, but it mostly boils down to the fact that I can't guarantee when I will finish a work and therefore prefer to have books on standby, ready to go without the added pressure of a rigid deadline. It's one of the reasons I find so much of my writing time to be enjoyable, because I don't have the pressure of having to write a certain amount by an exact date, otherwise I'll have angry readers. It's not always something that works for everyone, but it does for me. I digress, anyway, I like to stay on target by planning a lot, and organising my work week around any other duties that may come up.

As a spoonie, I usually have at least one hospital appointment on the horizon, and on top of that I also have parenting duties that need to be met. I find the best way for me to organise my time is to do what started out as a weekly to-do list, became a fortnightly to-do list, and is now (for the time being at least), a monthly one. I set myself four chapters - two of each book - alone with a list of bonus items should I find myself having some spare time, and usually in that list there are four more chapters. Right now, I seem to be just about managing the basic four chapters, but my hope is that as time progresses and I recover from the recent bouts of ill health and surgery, I will be hitting the bonus list more and more. We'll see how things go.

Every time I manage something - because EVERYTHING goes on that list - I cross it off. It's a nice way for me to apply a little gentle pressure to myself, since I'm indie and don't have a deadline for the two novels I'm working on now, without it turning into too much pressure and causing me to work myself into a case of writer's block or worse, a health flare. I've been doing it this way for a good couple of years and in the years past when I was still a student, there wasn't much time for writing. However, having graduated last year with my BA Honours, I feel like I can devote more time to writing and other admin duties. That also leaves more time for fun things, which is always a good way to prevent becoming too burnt out by life.

Now, with health as fragile as mine, there are some weeks when no writing gets done. How do I keep myself on track when it feels like I'm blocked beyond belief or worse, in the dead zone that I spoke about last time? It's not as simple as just opening a word document and trying to force yourself to type. Sometimes it can be remedied by writing a blog post, or catching up with a friend on Skype or through email. Or even doing, as I said last time, something different with my characters to see if I can persuade them to actually do what I'm asking of them. The idea for me at least, is to keep the end goal in sight while not focusing on it too much. The best laid plans and all, and being somewhat flexible in the outcome means that I have something to work with when going down one path doesn't seem to provide much in the way of words.

So, my way of juggling responsibilities and staying on track with my writing is pretty simple. I write to-do lists, I allow myself some time to relax - even a whole week if needed - and I'm flexible with my planning. That's something I've learnt as a spoonie for the past fourteen years of my life, but it can be true for anyone. If you focus too much on one goal as the only acceptable outcome, you can burn yourself out, you can miss other paths that take you somewhere just as good, if not better, and you can find yourself getting very frustrated with your work. While I don't enjoy every aspect of being an indie author, I do like the writing part and I think for as long as that is true, it's going to be what I do with my life and my time. I hope the same can be said for you and your own work.

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Spoonie Writer: Learning To Say No

Spoonie Writer: Learning To Say No
 
When you're first diagnosed as having a chronic illness and you face the prospect of having  to live your life counting spoons, you quickly realise that there are going to be some things that you just can't do no matter how much you want to. When you add in a job like being an indie author into the mix, you'll find yourself running into problems as you try to achieve all the things you need to do. What do you do when your career needs you to do something, but your body is saying "nope!"?
 
The first thing to do is to face the fact that you will probably never go back to the person you were before you got sick, and realise that if you're going to accomplish things on both your good and bad days, you'll need to have some idea of just how far you can push yourself before it all comes back to bite you in the arse. For me, it was a big thing to accept that despite how much I wanted to take part in a blog tour or convention, I just couldn't do it all. I had to learn to listen to my body and I had to learn that I could say No.

If you're anything like me, you'll know that saying No to someone can feel like a bad thing. It can feel like saying no is telling that person or that opportunity that you never want their help again. I know in reality it isn't like that, but it's taken me a long time to get to this point. Before, saying no just wasn't something I felt comfortable doing. It felt like I was being rude, like I wasn't grateful for the opportunity being offered to me. But of course, it's not that at all, it's about knowing that if I do this thing or this promotion or push myself to write those chapters, in a few hours I will pay for it dearly.

My body will rebel and I will end up spending precious time either in bed, or worse, in hospital where I'm too unwell to do anything. The feeling of wasted time, for me at least, is worse than the feeling of saying no. So over the past few years, I have learnt that sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and tell someone that it was great to be thought of, but you just can't commit to that event. It's not a bad thing, it doesn't mean that you've let someone down and it's all part of being a spoonie.

There will be some people who won't see it that way, and honestly, those people are not worth the worry and anxiety. Those who understand will see that you need to have time to rest, to take some time away and that you are unable to commit to something that may make your condition worse, cause a flare or land you in the hospital. No one else can tell you how you feel, it's your body and your conditions and you will get to know them oh-so-well, and it's about learning to read the signs and know that although you are desperate to do a book tour or a book signing or a guest blog, you just can't at that moment in time. As someone more insightful than me said, the people who matter won't mind and those who mind...they don't matter!

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The Trials Of An Indie Author: 24hrs Isn't Enough

The Trials Of An Indie Author: 24hrs Isn't Enough

I know one big thing for me as an indie author is finding enough time in the day to get everything done. It's one part of it that I really struggle with, not just because I'm disabled and chronically ill, but also because sometimes there is SO much to do and so little time to get it done. Like, right now it's four in the morning and I needed more time to write, I was in the "zone" and I didn't want to stop in case I couldn't pick my thread back up when I'd had some sleep. And now that the chapters are done, I'm left with the thousand other things that I'd been putting off.

One of the big differences between indie and traditionally published authors is that for indie authors, we pretty much end up with a lot of the jobs landing in our laps. I can't speak for those who are with small presses, but I know that those with the Big Six have other people to do some of the smaller jobs for them. Marketing has its own department, as does PR and all the other little things that, as an indie author, I just don't have access to.

I made the conscious decision to become an indie author, and while I don't regret it, it does leave me wishing some days that I could squeeze in a few extra hours here and there without having to worry too much about not getting enough sleep! Right now, for instance, I have about six other blog posts that need writing, four more chapters to do for a new fortnight and a few other jobs that need my attention. There just isn't enough time to do it all and still get my required twelve hours sleep a night.

It makes me wonder how people with a full time job manage it! To me, being an indie author is a full time job! I have spoken in the past about all the different hats we have to wear (found here) as well as how at times it seems that sleep is optional (found here). However, working through on your bad days isn't always an option either and so there is always a serious deficit in time. I know it's not just me either, one part of being an indie author as well as a spoonie is learning not to stretch yourself too thin and learning that saying no occasionally is not a bad thing.

However, when you need to market yourself and sell your brand, as it were (a piece on which is coming soon!), you then find that you do need to work things out and stick to a schedule. Mine is never set in stone because I have other issues that prevent me from spending x amount of hours on one thing at any given time. With a job such as writing, it becomes a case of working when you can and doing the best you can with what you've got. While I didn't plan to spend the night happily typing away at my computer, that's the way it's gone, so why not make it work for me?

Writing, for me at least, is my passion. It's something that I wake up in the morning happy to do, but sadly, sometimes life gets in the way and I find myself scurrying around trying to find an extra ten minutes here or there to be able to get what I need done at the right time. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

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The Trials Of An Indie Author: Sleep Is Optional, Right?

The Trials Of An Indie Author: Sleep Is Optional, Right?

It's amusing to me that not two hours ago I was writing a piece about the trials of a crime writer. I was typing away, happy as a clam, feeling on top of all the work that comes with being both a writer and an indie author. I figured I would finish a chapter or two and then head to bed with a book, read for a few hours and be happily asleep by midnight. Only it seems my body had other ideas. It's now 23:33 and it doesn't look like I'll be getting much, if any, sleep tonight.

It reminded me that I had planned to write a piece on how sleep seems to be optional when you're a writer. It links back to the many hats an indie author has to wear (and I did a piece about that here) and how because we don't have a whole marketing team et al, we seem to have to do the jobs that other authors would be able to delegate. Case in point, it's past my bed time and I'm working on blog pieces and emails. The job is all encompassing and never ending. It feels like every time I've "caught" up with myself, something else comes along and I'm back with a heavy work load.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't dislike my job and I don't resent my choice to become an indie author. It wasn't a hard choice for me for many reasons, the flexible work schedule being one of them. If I lived in a perfect world, I would probably have someone else who could do the 7am starts and the school run, but I don't and I have to do those myself. If I didn't, then I really wouldn't take issue with being up late most nights writing away. Plus there's the added bonus that when I can't sleep because of pain issues or general insomnia, then I always have something to do with my time.

I sometimes joke with my close friends about how my body seems to think that breathing is optional. As a lifelong severe asthmatic, I've had my fair share (and a few other people's fair shares too) of times when it would be a lot easier if I could quit struggling to breathe and still live to tell the tale. Thankfully I have never stopped breathing all together, though I have come close a few times, but anyone who has fought through an asthma attack knows how terrifying and utterly exhausting it is to fight against your body to draw your next breath. The same, in a way, can be applied to being a chronic fatigue sufferer, along with chronic pain. It's exhausting being fatigued and in pain all the time, it saps away at your strength and at times the easiest things feel like you're running a marathon.

No, I don't regret becoming an indie author and I love the many different parts of my job, but sometimes I do wonder if I could get more time to write if I were able to spend less time trying to sort out my whacked up sleep cycle. It feels like at times I spend precious writing time trying to get back onto a normal 'work during the day/sleep at night' schedule and as you're all aware, I'm not good with schedules as it is. The reasoning behind being up tonight is a mixture of pain, general insomnia and the fact that for a good couple of hours I was in the "zone" (a piece about it can be found here). I was worried that if I stopped for even a short break to do something essential such as sleep, that when I came back to it I would be blocked or would not be able to do the scene justice.

Right now I'm working through my process. Just before I write a death or vision scene, I like to give myself time to work through it in my head. Sometimes it takes only a few minutes, other times I stew over it for days. Tonight though, I am very close to being ready to type it out. It won't be perfect, it never is, but hopefully though it will create less work in the editing stage than if I just went straight ahead and opened a line directly from my brain to my fingers and allowed them to type the first things that popped into my thoughts.

We all have a process for how we do things, mine has been honed over the thirteen or so years that I've been writing and I like to think that I'm getting better at it. Time will tell if that's true or not and maybe I'll look back in another ten years and cringe at myself, but for now I'm happy to declare that right now, sleep is optional as I'm off to create someone's last moments on paper. I can sleep when I'm dead, right?

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A Perfect Writing Day - The Creative Process

A Perfect Writing Day

We all know it's impossible to have a "perfect" day, but as a writer who creates worlds from words, I know that sometimes you can think the impossible is possible. So, what would a perfect writing day look like to me? I've come pretty close in the past, but I've never quite managed it. Here's what a normal writing day is like for me, just for comparison sake.

I get up at 7am and take Miss D to school for 8:40am. If it's a day that includes uni work, that'll be done and finished around 11am. That's when the fun starts! I read through what I wrote the last time I managed to get something done - usually the last chapter or two - and then I start to flex my writing muscles and get going. I write two books at once, so I have to be sure that I know where I am in whichever story I'm working onto make sure I don't start writing about Tara and her visions in a book that has no Tara in it. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to dedicate a couple of hours to writing before I have to do other book admin stuff like updating Facebook or writing these pieces, answering emails and looking for guest blog spots for both myself and for other writers to come to my blog. At 2:40pm, I have to leave to pick up Miss D from school and then once she's home, I'll try to do some more writing, but usually I only manage an hour or so before I have to do other stuff. I'll eat dinner and then retire to bed to watch something while I wind down and get ready to sleep. I'm usually off to the land of nod by about 8pm and then I start again the next day.

So, going off that you can see that on a good day, I'll manage about three, three and a half hours of solid writing. Not all of it will make it into the final edit, but part of being a writer is knowing what will and will not work in your story. Sometimes it's a case of trial and error, but that's a piece for another time. Now, what about a perfect writing day? Let's set the parameters for this perfect day before I explain what I'd like to get done.

In this perfect world, I won't have uni work to take time away from writing. I also wouldn't have the conditions I do which sometimes mean I have to stop and rest and/or nap for a few hours. Miss D would be old enough to get herself to and from school and she'd also be old enough to heed the warning on my office door that says not to enter when you hear typing for fear of being murdered in print! Let's also assume, whilst we're wishing for the impossible, that I would not be held back by writer's block and I wouldn't have to do all the admin work that takes away from writing time. Hey, let's also assume that I don't have to make my own tea and have someone who brings me one whenever I need it, without me needing to say - we are in a perfect world after all!

So, my day would start around 8am. I would get up and have some breakfast and then I'd do the same as I do now. I'd read through my previous day's work and go from there. I would write a couple of chapters and then I'd read through them to see if they are viable enough to be kept or deleted. I would then take a little break and switch over to the other book I'm working on. I'd read through the last couple of chapters of that and then I'd go ahead and do the same as before - write, read, edit, swap. The day would continue along like that. I'd probably get at least four chapters done - at least two of each - and if it was a really perfect day, I'd get eight done. I would also have time to discuss any plot points with my best friend whilst eating dinner and then could retire to bed knowing that I had done a lot of work and could feel good about that.

Now back to reality where chronic illness, nine year olds and writer's block exist. I would consider a good writing day to end with two chapters written and read through. I personally like to sleep on what I write before I'm too quick with the delete button. I want to be sure that I've had a chance to mull it over as it were and decide if Tara really would think or say or do that. I also want a chance for the next plot point to grow in my mind before I put it down on paper and sometimes that happens when you're napping and/or about to fall asleep. At least it does for me.

We don't live in a perfect world and although if I asked other writer's about their perfect day, they'd probably say something similar, sometimes you just have to accept that a good day is as close to "perfect" as you're ever going to get. I know that being an indie author means that you wear a lot of different hats (piece here) and that has some effect on your writing time, but even writers with agents and traditional publishers don't have perfect days. Nor do they always have the time to write when they want to. It's another case of writing being a juggling act. You have to find a balance between what you have to do and what you want to do whilst making sure you don't drop anything.

So, I wish you all many good days rather than perfect ones, because if I was to live in a perfect world, I think I'd get very bored of just churning out book after book. After all, for me at least, it is the world we live in that inspires me and the trials I face that influence what I write. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

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Working Nine to Five - The Creative Process

Working 9 to 5

Before I became a writer, I worked a number of different jobs. I worked in a call centre, in a supermarket, as a factory line packer, even in the local Magistrates court. I did a lot of working shifts, as well as lot of just working nine to five (more like eight to four, but you get what I mean). When my life changed (piece here) and I could no longer work a "normal" job, I had to relearn how to work in a sense. My body did not respond the way I wanted it to when I tried to set up a routine and so, along side learning to be retired and unable to work the normal hours, as well as learning to accept being chronically ill, I had to learn how to get the most out of the hours that I could work.

Something I have learnt through one of my university courses was that there are three kinds of people in regards to sleep and productivity. There are the morning Larks, the night Owls and the ones in between. It's actually a science thing, but it's relevant to this piece. When I first got sick with M.E, I had gone from being a morning Lark - always up at 7am, working through to the mid-afternoon before I got into a little bit of a funk - to being the something in-between and sometimes, a night owl. I think you'll find that a lot of people with chronic conditions have this issues where they never know which one of those three they are going to be on any given day.

If you're a morning Lark, you'll find that you are able to wake early, go about your day and rise with the sun. It will probably mean that you work efficiently before the rest of the household has gotten up and about. You'll also probably find that you feel a bit of a drag once midday and the afternoon hits. There are many ways to work through this, but the best one I can think of is that you take advantage of the hours when you are awake and able to work. The beauty of having a job like writing, is generally speaking, you can work when and where you want.

This also applies if you're not awake before nine or even ten in the morning, if you're a night Owl and find that you do your best work as the rest of the world is going to sleep, manage your schedule around it. The fact of the matter is, writing should not be a nine to five job, unless that works for you. If it does, then great, but with more and more writers finding it hard to support themselves solely on the money they make in royalties, the likelihood is that you're going to have to find time in your working life to actually do any writing.

As someone who has been all three types, and continues to be surprised every day by which type I wake up to be, I can honestly say that sometimes it is only an hour here, thirty minutes there and that's okay for me. As you'll have seen from my most recent piece, I have a majority of chronic illnesses that dictate how I write and when. I guess what I am trying to say, is that just because your job dictates when and where you can write, it doesn't mean that you are any less of a writer. Whether you decide to fit in all your writing at the weekend and spend the rest of the week only writing things in your hear. Or if you're someone who makes time early in the morning or late at night to get some work done once the kids and partner are already in bed. Whether you're a single mum on benefits writing in a cafe, or a disabled person writing from bed. None of these things prevent you from saying "I'm a writer".

Enjoy your hours that you can spend creating and down worry about the small stuff like how much time you have to write. Pieces of art take months, sometimes years to create, and a book is just as worthy of that title as any painting or statue. Enjoy what you do, it will show in your work and you never know, that lottery win might be around the corner so that you'll be able to quit the day job and write to your heart's content!

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Deadlines, Schedules & Routines - The Creative Process

Deadlines, Schedules & Routines

Everyone who has ever had an education knows about deadlines. They also know about schedules and most of them will also know about routines. I wanted to cover all three of these in this piece and will try to separate them, but sometimes they all mean the same thing, or at least led to the same goal.

A deadline is something that can be used to motivate a writer. It can be that time in the distance when you'll have to turn in your first draft. It can work for them, or if you're like me, it can cripple them. I do not do well with deadlines. It's not that I never use them, I mean that if I tell myself, or an agent or publisher tells me, you have to finish this job by X date, then I find it extremely hard to work. I have always been a writer that works to her own pace. I do set myself deadlines, you'll have seen the "chapters of the fortnight" on my Facebook page. I try to write two chapters of each book every two weeks. That's  a deadline technically, and it does help me. Sometimes I'll manage all four within a week and will move on to "bonus" chapters.

So, I hear you ask, why have I stated that deadlines cripple me? Simple. If it's a deadline that I can work towards with minimal pressure - the chapters of the fortnight will not make or break me, for example - then I find that I do not feel pressured and stressed when I can't work towards it. I get obsessed with daily word counts and ultimately fall behind. That's when I start to come apart at the seams. What if I don't make it? What if because I don't make it then I fail? These are all things that go through my head and eventually, I just flop down on the floor and give up. Or I work myself too hard, and my body gives up. Either way I'm on the floor, and no writing is happening.

Some writers find deadlines a great motivator. They move closer and manage to create their work with ease. I am fully aware that I am not one of them. Still, which ever type of writer you are, you're going to have to find a way to work to some sort of deadline. If you're an indie writer then you have a bit of leeway as you're able to set your own deadlines, and usually you only have yourself to answer to should you not meet them. It's a win-win situation, and it's one of the reasons I meet the deadlines I set myself.

Alongside deadlines, you'll have a schedule. A way to keep on track because it's a Monday and you do writing for an hour here and half an hour there. You slip into a routine of what you need to do, and a way to keep doing it. If you've got an upcoming deadline, you can alter your plan and slip out of routine for a week or so to get what you need done. The trick is, once again, the balancing act of how strict you are with your plan and how deep your routines go.

Some writers will find that they can stick to a loose schedule. They plan to write for three hours a day, but they will do it when the mood strikes. There is no set time or place to write and others will pretty much have every waking hour organised into a time table. I'm a mix of the two. I have a goal of what needs to be done each day, and I fit my writing in. I aim to do two hours of writing a day, but alongside my university work and other commitments, while there is some semblance of routine, it's not always the same time day in and day out.

I also use a "to-do" list which I set at the beginning of the fortnight of everything that I have to get done. I record uni work, book work, hobbies and other things like doctors appointments and seeing friends. I then cross off each thing piece by piece. That way I can look at it on days when I feel as if I have done nothing, and see that actually, I may have had a lazy day, I'm on track. You could say that it's a kind of flexible schedule with its own deadlines built in.

Of course, deadlines such as release dates can not always be avoided. If you plan to release your book, then you need to be able to do the relevant promotion. To do that, you need to have some idea of when it will be ready to be published. Which means you need to know when the editing will be done and when you'll have finished doing everything needed. Those kinds of deadlines I do work well with.

So, when you're writing, be kind to yourself. Don't pile on deadlines when they can be avoided, unless you need that kind of motivation to get writing, in which case, go for it. It's fine to set up a schedule and get into a routine, but you need to be aware that these things need to be somewhat flexible. As always, your mileage may vary and have fun creating your new worlds.

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