From Joey's Instagram

#TEASERTUESDAY Tara has issues but at least she's up front about them. 👭👭😟😟 Find out more here: www.books2read.com/DTSS 📚 #Authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #bookboost #books #igreaders #igauthors #igwriters #DyingThoughts2 #dyingthoughts #bookworm #amreading #readersofinstagram #yalit
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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.

From Joey's Instagram

I am a very happy writer with my new #sennheiser headphones. The noise cancelling makes my life so much easier and I've been more productive the past few days because of it. On with my chapter! ✒✒✒👍👍👍 #Authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #sennheiserpxc480 #books #booksinprogress #selfie #oxygenuser #brittleasthma #chronicillness #spoonie
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Review of Whisper Softly Or You're Dead by Toni Bolton

Dr Darrell Defoe a profiler and Kate Masters a forensic scientist find love and danger whilst searching for a serial killer who is murdering young women and collecting body parts.

Detective Raymond Chase must also confront his dark secrets and demons during the case.

This suspense and crime novel will intrigue the reader with its many twist and turns and red herrings.

Amazon

My Review: 4 stars
I was excited about reading this book as I've read the first one and wanted to continue the series. This one is definitely more crime focus, but there were some issues I couldn't get past. The author set the book in the US, but uses UK terms for schooling, as in having the characters say them. It jarred me and pulled me out of the story a little. While I enjoyed the romance aspect of this one more, I didn't really like the big reveal and I found it hard to get into the story once I saw the twist coming. That said, it is a good book, just not my kind of thing, and not one I would read again.

You can follow Toni on Facebook.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

From Joey's Instagram

Is it true you should only write what you know? Check out this week's video where I'm talking about just that! 👍👍 Find here: http://www.youtube.com/JoeyPaulOnline 📚📚 #Authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #authortube #lovemyjob #ilovewriting #igwriters #igauthors #writingtips #authortuber #writingvlog #vlogger #smallyoutuber
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Write What You Know [CC]

Is it true to only write what you know?

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Final Tally for July 2018 #JoWrIMoGo

I managed 20 chapters, 84 pages & 49,269 words in July!

Now that's a win!

From Joey's Instagram

#TEASERTUESDAY Making friends doesn't come easily to Harriet. When you're so sure everyone wants to know your secrets you sometimes push a way the ones who actually care. 😔😔😔 👭 Order here: www.books2read.com/DUKN 📚📚 #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #books #igreaders #igauthors #igwriters #amreading #readersofinstagram #bookworm #bookboost #reading #yalit
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Introvert Writer - The Creative Process

INTROVERT WRITER

I know that not every writer is an introvert, though it is more common than extrovert, but for me I definitely fall into that category. I have moments where I can be more outspoken, but generally that will be with people I either know, or trust enough to be myself. It's something I've struggled with throughout my life, and also through my writing career. When it comes to connecting with other writers, I find it hard to make that first leap of saying hi, I also find it hard to keep up the friendship and that can bite me in the arse from time to time.

However, I am learning. I am getting to the point where I've realised (and it took me long enough!) that I need to interact with people otherwise I'm just this quiet one in the corner who doesn't really do or say anything which doesn't help me build my platform or make friends easily. That said, I know that a lot of writers struggle with this. We're used to be the weird ones on our own with stories and worlds in our head, that even around other writers we hold back. And it doesn't help us at all. It leads to you feeling isolated and without a support system with other writers. So how do we change that? Glad you asked.

#1 - START SMALL
Rome wasn't built in a day and it's not easy at all to set yourself up to fail by starting at the impossible. You have to start small. Whether that's leaving a few comments on a post for just one person, or saying hi and starting a conversation with someone you follow. Whatever that first step is, make it small enough that it doesn't feel insurmountable. If you aim too high, you're just going to be kicking yourself later. I say go for people you follow, but people who also follow you is a good step, but generally speaking they *want* to hold a conversation. They want that interaction and it makes things slightly easier for you.

#2 - IF IT HELPS, SCHEDULE IT
Now I'm someone who is supremely organised. It's one of the ways I keep on top of this, and how I manage to keep my anxiety at bay. I've been trying to make those small steps and one thing that's helped me has been to schedule time to talk to other writers, respond to tweets and scroll through Instagram and all of that. It can simply be that every hour you respond to a certain number of posts, messages, whatever works for you. And if that helps you, it can be an amazing tool. It means that I'm not going back and forth and worrying about it interfering with my writing time because it's time set aside specifically for just chatting to people.

#3 - BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR LIMITS
Now I'm a spoonie (link to that here) and I have limits on my time. I can't spend all day sat at my desk and generally speaking once I go up to bed, my time on social media dwindles down because I am usually done for the day. But I'm upfront about that, people generally know that I squeeze as much as I can into the time I'm able to be sat up before heading to bed. If you're building a new friendship with someone and you know that say, time zone differences, are gonna have an impact, or if like me you're unable to commit to much, then be honest about it. Generally people are happy to work with you rather than push you into something you're not comfortable with. Same goes for things like preferring Twitter to Instagram, or text to voice. Just be sure that you tell people what your limits are and it works out for the best.

#4 - HAVE FUN
I know this may seem like a flippant one, but it's really not. You don't have to be talking about writing the whole time, you can also talk about other shared interests. And the people you're connecting with should be people you want to talk to. It's hard sometimes when pushed outside of your comfort zone, but you have to remember that it's okay to have fun and enjoy the time you use. It might take a while for that to seem natural, and that's okay, it's all about finding what works for you and utilizing it best for your needs and circumstances.

So those are my four tips on how you can step outside of your comfort zone as an introvert writer. Making friends and connections is sometimes hard to do, but taking those first steps can lead you to a friendship that you treasure. I know that when I met B, all those many years ago (we met in secondary school, so about twenty-three years ago) it took something simple to break the ice. Basically my front door key didn't work and my mum was still at work so I went to her house. And yet I'm closer to her than I am anyone. Your mileage may, of course, 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.

From Joey's Instagram

It's hard to write when a #MissViolet is holding your keyboard hostage. 🙀🙀🙀 #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #indieauthor #amwriting #writerslife #writersofinstagram #catsofinstagram #kitty #snuggles
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