IWSG: Schedules and Timelines

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

January 3 question – What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing?

The awesome co-hosts for the January 3 posting of the IWSG are Tyrean Martinson,Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor,Megan Morgan,Jennifer Lane, and Rachna Chhabria!
For me, a lot of having a schedule really is getting into the habit of doing something. I don’t necessarily need to do something every day (Although that does seem to be the easiest way to build a habit) but I do need to have some sense of the time that such and such an activity should fit into my schedule.
I write early in the morning and over my lunch hour, and if either of these times is interrupted, I do feel as though I’ve missed something.
This year, I’m looking to keep track of everything. Part of that is that I know I work more if I can see progress, and part of it is that I do better believing that there is progress.
So, at the moment, I have a writing notebook, which is pretty much straight-up, keep everything together type organization and I also have a kind of journal-style notebook that’s a cross between the things I have one, and my plans for the next day, or whatever time frame. I have broken my revision down into chunks, and I have both a list and a graphic representation of the scenes, and I check off both as I go along. (There are also notes on what needs to be done.)
I’ve been waffling back and forth on what kind of calendar to get for 2018 that I don’t actually have one, yet.
But, in general… the calendar is separate from my day-job calendar. Separate mental work space. That’s important. And I write down what I’m working on–at least enough that I can look back and see where I was–and word counts. The word counts are the daily over the total for the month. (Which is much more impressive, when I’m working on a rough draft.) So I wind up with a total word count at the end of the year.
And having a deadline in mind helps a lot. I need to have have a practical sense that I can finish my draft/my revision/my other revision/and my other other revision by a certain time. That’s what keeps me moving toward that goal.

10 Comments

  1. Reply

    I like how you say you need a separate mental workspace. I think we all do, our own creative place. I wish you much luck in your writing endeavors 🙂

    • Reply

      Yup. 5 am writers are people who get up early and write before work. I’d better. There’s not much brain power left after work.

  2. Reply

    I find it’s extremely important to have writing deadlines. It’s too easy to say, “I’ll write tomorrow”, or “I’ll catch up over the weekend.” Find an accountability partner and get the writing done!

    • Reply

      Very easy. I probably do need an accountability partner somewhere, somehow. I’m going through a phase where most of the creatives around me are musicians or visual artists, though.

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