The Writer and the Writing Schedule

The Writer and the Writing Schedule 

- Carrie Nyman

        When setting out to write my WWII historical novel "Why Aren't You

Sweet Like Me?" I felt that I needed to have certain writing goals in

terms of time and length. These became difficult to satisfy, but their

presence helped me complete my 110,000 word manuscript in a little

less than a year. You already have a writing schedule that works for

you? Stick to it! But keep in mind that every process can be perfected

just a little more!

Since I can only write at night, sticking to a schedule is crucial

(since sometimes I'd rather just relax with a Pepsi and The Walking

Dead than go over chapter summaries or work on my synopsis!) but the

commitment to a writing schedule is a decision that I make every day.

For instance, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference is coming up on April

19th, and I will be having dinner with agent Don Maass. Due to this

very specific date, I want to have at least the skeleton (first draft)

of my second book EMPIRE completed. That means that I need to ensure

that I have 130 more pages (rounding out the book to a cool 300) to

complete my last 3 chapters (and while we're doing math, that means

that 12 working days that I have, I need to be ACTIVELY writing 10-11

pages a night, not just doing my usual editing/writing from 8 pm - 12

am). This is a very steep goal. What's more, is that I need to keep

this four hour window dedicated to writing, and that gets difficult

with 2 kids (a 3 year old and a 7 month old infant) who have nighttime

schedules of their own. So my advice is this:

1) MAINTAIN a schedule that is both feasible and enjoyable. You aren't

going to feel like writing if you have to wake up at 5 am and slam an

espresso in order to get your writing in; also, your work will appear

forced (what one of my college poetry professor charmingly referred to

as "constipated" writing - classy, huh?) As such, clear this time. Eat

first. Make your phone calls. Do your household chores in advance so

that you are not distracted from it (though I do recommend having a

cup of tea nearby!) Take a few short breaks if you're doing a marathon

session, but for me, having a timed deadline can hurt the process.

Need to edit? Time yourself! If you have to edit for more than 30

minutes, skip to the end and only do the final paragraphs. Give

yourself some leeway in terms of the finish line.

2) DEDICATE yourself to that schedule and don't make excuses for why

you can't do it. This is not the same as "making" yourself work. You

are simply allowing yourself the time/space/motivation to work.  You'd

rather be doing something else instead of writing? It could be helpful

to recruit a writing buddy (yea Twitter!) to check up on you to keep

yourself accountable.

3) SET writing goals in terms of hours spent and pages written. For

instance, if your goal is to write 5 pages in 5 hours, and your

chapters are 25 pages long, then you have 5 days to do that single

chapter. That's a part-time job! That's serious! 10 pages a night is a

solid 4 hour stretch for me, but 7 or 12 or 2 might be the same amount

of work for you. It doesn't matter. Your goals are your personal best?

That's fine! Writing is just like another job, but it's far more

enjoyable! Take it seriously. Have the will to complete your goals and

it pays off.

4) COMPLETE chapter outlines with different writing prompts to keep

you diversified and motivated before you start the creative process.

Coincidentally, Don Maass' book "The Fire in Fiction" and his website

have prompts that not only stir the imagination, but they really

improve the quality of your work.

So my question to you is this: WHAT are the set goals in your writing?

HOW can you improve upon them? WHY is this important?

Visit Carrie here.