Time management for writers

A few years ago I went to Ad Astra and heard what was probably the best writing advice for someone like me (by which I mean someone with a lot of time but also a lot of 'projects', housework, etc with which to occupy myself). That ideas was: planning your time.

The speaker showed how if you plan your week - writing down all the chores, work, your writing time and actually allotting time for other projects, you can see how much time you have and GET EVERYTHING DONE. I tried it when completing my chick lit. Up until then I had the idea that chores should be done first, while realizing that by the time my chores were done I was too tired to write and ended up reading and doing other things with the rest of my day. By scheduling chore time into the day I could see that I had the time to write - when I was most awake and excited - AND time to do chores and other things. As an 'achiever', someone who needs to check things off my to do list in order to feel like I'm accomplishing something, it made writing time something I could schedule in as a necessity rather than a hobby. It became work - and work to be done before all my other work. I also learned I didn't need to rush myself when writing. I could spend an hour or more before moving onto daily chores because THE TIME WAS THERE.

I've been trying to get back into the habit of scheduling my time again. Not only did I waste less of it by surfing the internet or watching TV, I also get a lot more writing done.

Thinking Time vs Writing Time

I think one of the problems with writing the middle of a novel is that the beginning and end come in so clear (for me anyway) - almost like you're watching them on TV - while the middle doesn't. The middle requires more thought to know where the action is headed and what events must occur in what order to get to the end. And that requires sitting down and actually plotting the novel.

Now, I tend to do this before I start writing, put down a tentative outline of what needs to happen and when. I don't put in too much detail, because the outline tends to change with the writing anyway, as I get new ideas (generally better ideas) and become aware of inconsistencies and problems that need to be worked out. Which requres a lot of sitting down, after the book has been started, and organizing my thoughts and ideas so that I can keep writing. The problem is, that thinking and planning time doesn't feel like work because you can't see WRITTEN PROGRESS. And yet, without careful planning and thought you get a worse book (just stuff happening that isn't necessarily requred to tell the story you set out to tell - you know, like that scene in the movie that LOOKS cool but makes you ask, "Is there a point to all this?").

So I've had to revise my writing schedule to allow for planning time. That is, time when I'm in my comfy chair with a pad of paper and a pen, jotting down ideas and hashing out the problems rather than at my computer trying to write a scene that just isn't coming (because I haven't decided where it needs to go).