I’m just over one month into my stint as a full-time writer and so far it’s been a roaring success!
A better view from the writing desk than usual
I’ve had a very successful month and I’m already past the halfway point in the book. Despite a two-week holiday in Spain (see pictures) I managed to keep things ticking over by writing for about an hour most days – usually on the lovely, if not rather warm, balcony. The temperature in Seville was up towards the mid-30s C but I still managed to write coherently.
I won’t deny that it’s been tough. I’ve always been a bit smug as a part-time writer, hearing the full-time guys complain that writing is hard, and not really wondering what they meant. Having a very short period of time each week meant that I had to hit the chair and write no matter what. When you have a whole day in which to write, things become a bit more complicated. It’s easy to let things drag on. That’s why I set a 3,000 daily word count. For the first few weeks, the rule was that I couldn’t do anything else until the words were done – and that was a very effective way to do things. I’ve met or surpassed that total every day that I’ve written.
However, you can’t always guarantee being able to start straight away in the morning, so on a few days that rule has slipped a bit. The problem with that is that getting your concentration back on track. So, how have I tackled that?
- The Durham Concerto by Jon Lord signals that it’s time to start writing. This is a hangover from when I used to write on the train to work and needed to start as soon as my bottom hit the seat. I suspect that there’s a slight Pavlovian response here.
- Sitting down in the same place, in my home office, means it’s time to get writing. Yes, the desk is also used for admin but it’s another sign that it’s writing time.
- The Plan: Having planned the book before I started has been a lifesaver. It’s meant that I got close to the halfway point without having to worry about where I was going. The problem was that on holiday I started to write the bits that I wanted to write rather than sticking to the plan. Since I’ve got back and typed up everything I wrote while I was away, I realised that the middle was going a bit squishy, so I sat down and updated my plan. Now I’m raring to go with the list of scenes beside me.
Now, it’s on with the second half of the book. My plan was to be finished mid-October and if things continue as they are then I should hit that. Then the process of editing begins in earnest. That’s not my favourite task, but hopefully it’ll be an easier process if I’ve stuck to the plan and written a less messy first draft!
More updates to follow.