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Writing Schedule: Winter 2017 Edition

Bridgett Morigna17 Comments

Last year I wrote about my writing schedule. In the time since I made that post, my schedule has changed a bit.

One significant change I’ve made to my weekly schedule is my revision time. Last year I was dedicating Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to revisions and edits. Having almost half a week to work on such things ended up making me procrastinate a lot. I ended up doing most of the work on Thursday.

Now I only plan to use Thursdays for revisions and editing. Often I end up using time on Friday for revision as well but telling myself that I need to complete it on Thursday is usually enough to push me to really focus on accomplishing my tasks. I’m learning how to trick my brain into being more productive. More time usually means more procrastination.

My goal is still to write or revise every day, but I’m noticing a pattern starting to emerge. I’m usually missing one day of writing a week. More often than not, the day I’m missing is Saturday.

Saturdays are usually my errand days. It’s also the day I post a new chapter. Putting my work out there for the world to see is always an emotionally draining experience. I’m getting better at not panicking over it, but I’m routinely surprised by how much it takes out of me.

Between being out of the house for part of the day and feeling nervous from posting a chapter, I usually end up writing very little on Saturdays. For more than a year I’ve made a point of not taking breaks from my writing. I usually have such a hard time getting back into my work after I allow myself to step away, but now it is happening unintentionally. It’s not a planned break so I feel guilty. Making it an intentional break might relieve some of my guilt.

Looking forward, I might decide to change my routine to allow for Saturdays off from writing every week. For now,  I’m going to continue trying to make writing every single day work. It worked for so long. I don’t want to give up on it just yet.

What does your writing routine look like these days? Are you considering making any changes to it in coming weeks?

17 thoughts on “Writing Schedule: Winter 2017 Edition”

  1. My routine is currently non-existent. I plan to get organized and write every day, even if it’s only a few words. I would like to have day where it’s a writing day and just focus on that.

    You do great work and seem so organized!

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  2. I’ve got so many things that need my attention at once that my routines are confusing each other these days! 😛 I vowed to keep my weekends free (when the day job allows it – I only get one in every two weeks right now) but I still end up missing one day here and there. It’s entirely my edit’s fault though. It hates me. I figure as long as I reach my writing/editing goals each week missing one day doesn’t matter too much 🙂

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    • Yes! Reaching your goals is the most important part!

      Edits are the worst! It’s such a mentally and emotionally draining process. I’m planning on doing full draft edits and rewrites on a manuscript later this year and I’m equal parts looking forward to it and dreading it. When I reach that time I’m thinking about focusing solely on staying on target to encourage breaks when I need them.

      Good luck with your edits and congratulations on hitting your goals each week!

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      • That’s exactly how I felt about editing Wardens of Archos – I looked forward to it and I dreaded it. I’m roughly halfway through now and I’m not sure which side is winning 😛
        If you need an editor later this year, let me know – I’d love to work with you 🙂

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      • It’s good to know I’m not alone in my conflicted feelings toward edits. The process is emotionally draining. It’s hard to be critical of something that is, at times, a raw expression of something very personal. At the same time, it is wonderful to shape it into something beautiful.

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      • I have hope that it will get easier as I become more experienced, but I doubt it will ever be easy. No matter how difficult it might be I will always do several passes over my work before I hand it off to anyone else. I can’t imagine passing my first draft onto someone else. It’s too raw even from my vantage point as an insider.

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      • Yes! Sometimes I read something I thought was brilliant when I wrote it and I’m frozen in place for a moment because the urge to laugh and cry are battling it out in my head. More often than not when that happens I snap out of it, delete of the offending passage, and start over knowing exactly how not to write it.

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    • I get stressed out without a routine. With a schedule I can more easily measure if I’m doing enough or too much work. Otherwise I will convince myself I need to do more and work myself sick.

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  4. My plan is just to at least write and post one thing a month. Anything more is extra, and just that month is more than I’ve been doing for the past few years.

    Posting things regularly is for sure the best way to get used to the existential dread of sharing one’s work – I used to share my writing frequently with fan fiction online and in writing classes in college. The result is that it’s surprisingly low on the list of things that make me anxious, which is nice. Good on you for your regular Saturday posts!

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    • Thanks!

      I agree. Having a routine and a posting schedule helps to normalize the experience of sharing my writing. There are some times it still makes me nervous, but that’s becoming rarer.

      Good luck with your plan! Knowing what you want to accomplish makes all the difference in the world.

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