Month: May 2015

I’ve been sticking to my schedule but having real trouble staying focused for the entire time. Today’s word count broke 1,000 only because I had a burst of inspiration in the last half hour before 4.

I’d like to keep my WIFI off for the entire time tomorrow and see if that helps. No more sneaking it on to check sales reports (or the weather). :D Just me staring at my document. Nothing else.

I’m having a lot of trouble with impulse control at the moment. One thought flits by and I latch on before I even realize what I’m doing. I’ll be out of my seat, doing something that could easily waited until it wasn’t writing time.

Tomorrow I’m going to practice impulse control. We’ll see how it goes. I’m planning to have a good night’s sleep (I went to bed late all weekend even though I told myself I wouldn’t) and see if that helps. I’ve read quite a bit of material that says bad things happen to willpower and impulse control when a person doesn’t get enough sleep. Wish me luck! :)

Yesterday was the second time I’ve failed with the schedule. I still wrote 662 words, but I spent most of my schedule time trying to distract myself from my work. The one thing I know is that the night before, I didn’t get enough sleep. There’s a pattern there. :)

Last night I tried to do better, but I still didn’t get to sleep on time and I woke up too early, from one of those weird dreams where you’re crying while asleep. I don’t do that often, but when it happens, it always throws me. And let me tell you, I was bawling when I woke up. :o I can remember why, but it was just a dream.

I’m probably stretching too far with this but I wonder if it isn’t related to the sudden lack of enthusiasm I have for my new book. The book was speeding along, and I’ve been thrilled by how fun it’s been, how easy the writing is, and then, for no discernible reason, I just … lost it. Same book, same events, nothing much has changed except I’m about to reveal something to my main character that will really push the book forward and the relationships, and boom, I suddenly start thinking the book sucks and my interest and ability to stay focused while writing has nosedived.

Also, I’m really sore all over after doing more physical activity than I’m used to the day before yesterday. It involved me, a rake, and a huge pile of gravel in my driveway. My back hurts, my ribs hurt, and I probably needed a good deal more sleep to recover instead of less! ;)

I do feel better today though, and I’m not going to let any of this get in the way of me trying to stick to my schedule today. I have about an hour and a half until it’s time to write and I think I’ll do something besides work during that time today. :D

I had hoped to get to stick to my schedule today, and I’m happy to say I did, mostly. I cut it short a bit and started working on a book cover. I’m not even sure why, except that it was hard to concentrate. I still ended the day with over 2,000 words and I’m glad to see the backside of all these distractions for a bit. :)

I really don’t like holidays that much. They mess up my plans and throw me off my routine and just make life harder in general. I’ve done well with my schedule, but I admit the last two days have only been so-so and tomorrow doesn’t look to be any better.

Still, I’ve written words I wouldn’t have written otherwise (I’m sure of that) and gotten things formatted and covers made and overall just been more productive than I might otherwise have been. I still have a daily average of 1,347 words for May so far, and that’s not bad at all! It’s a bit on the low side, but I’m happy because I have a feeling I’ll do better over the coming week when all these holidays and birthdays are behind me. :D

Right now though I’m a bit stressed. I don’t like company and I’m about to have a houseful in less than forty-five minutes. I guess that means I need to wrap this up and get busy with the stuff I didn’t do because I’ve been writing for the last hour and a half.

I stuck to my schedule today (mostly). I probably got in 4 hours of writing time today. That sounds short, but I had to quit early because of an outside obligation. Other than that, I did well. Yay! :D

Today was my first real failure with the schedule—again, however, it was a lack of sleep that got to me. I managed an hour or so of the morning session and none of the afternoon. I think this is telling me quite clearly that if I want to keep things going the right way, I need to make sure I get enough sleep. Period.

I got back on the schedule today, and although I got off to a slow start with the writing, I stuck it out and ended with about a thousand words. The low count can be blamed on the fact that I started at the beginning of the book and went through adding and deleting words here and there to get the story moving after so long away from it. I’m actually very happy with how things went today. :)

Now I’m taking a break and then doing some formatting of some stuff I want to update, and maybe I’ll even start formatting the paperback for that book I finished last week. :)

I stayed up too late and I’m just wiped today. I need a day to recuperate so I can have a productive weekend. Other than last Tuesday, I’ve been working long hours this last week, every day, and I want a break.