writing life
All or Nothing
I’ve mentioned my bad case of Book Brain when I’m working on a first draft, when I don’t have the brainpower to do much more than work on the book and I get easily distracted. I also tend to fall into all-or-nothing patterns, where I’m either writing furiously or getting stuff done, with no in-between. While I’m working on a book, housework falls by the wayside and I struggle with business administrative tasks. I don’t keep up with promotional work. I just write and collapse.
I’ve been trying to work on that so that I have more balance and manage to write consistently while also getting other stuff done, and I had a grand epiphany this week in which I wondered why I have to. If this is working for me, why should I change? Maybe I should lean into it and plan for it. I can plan my writing binge time, and then take care of all the promo stuff during the recovery phase, and that way I can schedule and post things while I’m in book mode without having to switch mental gears and try to create promotional stuff. I can do some cooking in advance and freeze meals and also stock up on some frozen entrees so I don’t have to worry about cooking. I can do a good house cleaning before I start writing a draft. Maybe I could even indulge myself with a cleaning service during the busy months (if I can find someone willing to be that occasional for me).
If I try not to be so intense when I’m writing a first draft, then it’s less likely to get done on schedule and it may not even be as good. I find that there’s an energy that comes from plowing through it quickly. I can be a lot more balanced during the revision phase. It’s just the first draft that takes over my brain and my life.
I don’t know when my next first draft will be. I need to finish this book, then revise, edit, and proofread it and get it ready for publication, and then I need to figure out what to write next and research, develop, and outline it.
I may also try to schedule my first draft time for months that lend themselves to it. Summer is good, since I don’t want to go outside then, anyway. January and February are also good, since it’s too cold to go out much (and if it’s like last winter, there’s snow on the ground the whole time) and there’s not much happening after the holidays. On the other hand, I know I don’t want to be working on a first draft in October because that’s my favorite time of year and there’s a lot going on around here. I’ll want to be able to spend that time hiking and exploring. That would be a good time to brainstorm and outline the book I’ll write in January. I can think while hiking and carry a notebook with me to jot down inspiration while I’m looking at fall colors in the mountains.
I saw a presentation at a conference a few years ago in which the speaker said she works a year ahead. Then her release schedule isn’t dependent on her writing schedule. She can write when she wants and still have her release schedule set. I love that idea, but I’d have to do a lot of work to get a year ahead and write enough books to have some ready for the next year instead of needing to release them as I write them. I’ve got a couple of books I’ve written but never revised, so maybe I could use them as a head start. If I have a release schedule set with books that were written the year before, I might actually be able to do a proper launch instead of just flinging the new book out there as soon as it’s ready.