Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Scheduling


This has nothing to do with blog schedules. Let’s just get that out of the way right now.

I actually mean my writing schedule. Over the years, it’s changed markedly. There was college, when I wrote maybe a half hour a day (maybe an hour or two on the weekends). It was whenever I could fit it in back then, meaning it was when I gave up on my homework or was about ready to jab a knitting needle through my eye and into my brain to just get the taste of f’ing math out of my head. Um. Okay, that got a little away from me there. Anyway, there was no set rules to it back then and while that wasn’t the biggest influence on the quality of what I produced (I’d say my inexperience was), it probably didn’t help.

It’s much better now that I have a fixed writing time, usually from evening to night, but sometimes I can start earlier. I write, I edit, I blog, and when I feel tired or just met my goal for the day, I pack it in. And it works! Since I started doing this, I’ve been very productive (see last month’s completed goals for proof).

Being on a fixed schedule works for me. Would it work for you? I have no idea. Writers’ blogs are full of advice such as this, but the truth of the matter is what works is different for everyone. Having a schedule certainly won’t help if you have kids running around. Even if you don’t you might find it just doesn’t work for you.

Okay, that’s my writing opinion of the week. Schedules, yay! For me, at least.

4 comments:

  1. I'm on the same schedule as you, except when I'm working on a book just about all of my weekends are consumed by it. :)

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  2. My schedule varies year to year. In fact, I just modified it a couple months ago. I have to have one (I won't write otherwise), but as things change in my life, the schedule has to change to fit with it.

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  3. You don't beat around the bush and I love that about you. :D

    I've found that, unless I'm super inspired and just *have* to get a scene written down, I write best if I devote at least half a day to it. No errands, no family, no interruptions. In fact, on whole-day writing days (roughly 9-3), I don't often get good and warmed up until about noon.

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  4. I write around my schedule, so to speak. Academics comes first, so in between classes and papers, but I find enough time.

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Please validate me.