Brrrrr... and welcome to the Gardens once more, now that winter is starting to bite.
As promised last week, I am about to share my writing plan with you.
This is the plan I am using during the current lockdown, & as mentioned previously, will be open to adjustment as I go.
I decided that from this lockdown I aim to achieve the following:
* constant progress on my current novel (Street Spirit)
* honing my writing skills
* writing a synopsis, cover letter & author bio for submission to an agent
* the final edit on novel The Sin of Eve ready to submit to an agent
* writing a weekly blog on my website
* writing a weekly forum post on my website
* continue reading books on writing to enhance my knowledge of the craft
So, how have I planned this out?
I decided that in order to home my skills, I needed to ensure that I wrote every single day, regardless of other pressures. I assessed my current ability to write everyday, taking into account the following facts:
* I type with 2 fingers only (I write as my mind works, & typing 2 fingered means that the speed of my typing keeps up with the speed of thought as I create - a perfect blend of productivity & progress)
* I want a plan that I can continue once lockdown is complete & I return to full-time work as well as writing
* I want to take regular breaks from my screen, as it has a detrimental effect on my eyes if I don't
These 3 specifics gave me a target to aim for.
I looked at my week & worked out the best times for writing - when I had time away from all other tasks & responsibilities. I then assessed each task for how long I anticipated I would need to spend on it to be productive & achieve my long-term aims.
My next task was to work out a timetable based on these requirements.
This is the result:
* Daily - spend 30 minutes writing a warm-up exercise to move my mind into writing territory & get my brain & system working. For this I decided to start writing my memoirs, chronologically from birth onwards. It is a simple exercise as everything is falling straight from memory to the page with no need for invention. This exercise achieves its aim as I move into the routine of writing, my writing voice 'wakes up' for the day, & because I do not edit or revisit my output, I am totally relaxed while doing it. 30 minutes equates to approximately one full page of text - 365 pages a year would equal a novel length book.
*Daily - spend 30 minutes writing a novel. As I have already completed my writing warm-up exercise at this point, I have successfully moved into the routine of writing, my writing voice is 'awake' & I am totally relaxed, which increases my confidence to write fiction. Again, 30 minutes equates to approximately one full page of text - 365 pages a year. Note that in order to stick to the 30 minute limit each time, I use a stopwatch on my phone with an alarm that sounds at the end of the specified time. At that point I stop writing, wherever I am in a sentence. This makes continuing the next time much easier as the first thought is already in motion when I open the work in progress.
* Daily - as part of my constant reading (a habit of a lifetime since I was a teenager) I ensure that at least one of the books I have on the go (currently four) is on the subject of the writing craft. I will post some examples at a future date, as lockdown has enabled me to peruse the web and build my collection.
As well as these daily tasks, I set the following targets:
Wednesday - write & publish one writing blog
Thursday - write & publish one forum post
Saturday - update storyboards - these are the notes, ideas, snippets from the news that have generated story ideas in my mind, voice recordings of ideas whilst walking the dogs, source material from writing website emails & so on. All are filed in specific folders on my laptop for ease of access at a later date, and for adding to as more material appears.
Sunday - editing. This is currently just making as much progress as I am able to on a novel for sending to an agent, & writing my bio, synopsis & cover letter. once complete, I will begin editing my other three completed novels. The time limit I have given this task is to have the material sent in the first quarter of the year; as long as I achieve progress towards this goal each Sunday, I consider it a positive.
That's it. No pressure. No angst over not writing a novel in a week. Just the satisfaction of the constant progress of my writing with no stress added.
To recap, my plan fits the structure I required:
* It has an endpoint, & targets - write a novel, prepare a novel for sending to an agent, blog weekly, write a forum weekly, keep on top of ideas filing
* It is organised into 'chunks' set to a weekly timetable
* It is specific - 30 minutes writing at a time, one blog, one forum
* It is manageable to the time I currently have available. Of course, once I return to full-time work after lockdown, I may need to reassess
* It is measurable - 30 minutes or one page at a time, one blog, one forum
* It is achievable - again, this is planned around a weekly schedule, so if I miss a task on a day, I have time elsewhere to catch up
* It is realistic - this plan is achievable based on my current situation, without adding stress to my life
* It has a timescale - the novel will take as long as it takes, but will be achieved by daily writing (any writer knows the process of a novel - your initial vision is never the final product. I have a basic wordcount I wish to achieve, but the initial draft may be much longer). The memoirs are the same. The novel for publication needs to be sent by the end of March.
And that's it - done.
So far I have been following this plan since moving into lockdown on the 4th January.
I have missed the writing 30 minutes section perhaps twice, but the weekly nature of the plan means I have been able to catch up within a day.
I would love to hear about your plan, or your thoughts on how you achieve your writing goals.
Feel free to drop me a line using the contact section of my site, or through social media (details of my profiles at the top of the page).
That's all for this week.
Have a wonderful seven days & stay safe my writing friends!
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