Wednesday, January 27, 2010

1000 Words Before Breakfast

About half way through November 2009, I was running behind in my NaNo word count, so I started getting up at 5:00 AM to write for an hour before getting dressed for my day job. I can write approximately 1000 words in an hour when I have a road map to follow. That schedule worked very well for me and put me over the top for NaNoWriMo well before the month was over.

In December I slacked off on my writing schedule due to the holidays.

After the first of the year, I screwed up my regular evening writing schedule by joining a new gym. I am working out longer after work on weeknights. That's very good for my health, but it cuts into my writing time during the week. I decided to revive my 1000-words-before-breakfast schedule. So far that has worked out well.

Fortunately for me, I'm an early bird, so getting up at 5:00 AM to write is not a problem. (Stopping at the end of the hour is sometimes hard.) Last week I wrote more than 11,000 words between Monday and Friday. That keeps my story moving forward. When the weekend rolls around I'm ready for my "long" writing sessions, I won't have to back up too far in order to remind myself where I was going next.

This schedule may not be for everybody, but I think it works for me.

Meredith

6 comments:

  1. Isn't it great how when we are so passionate about our work, we happily find the time to pursue it! Do you find that your production is any different at 5 am rather than your evening hours? I'm an early bird too, finding my writing more productive in the mornings when I'm rested, rather than at day's end.

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  2. Oh, yes, ma'am! By the end of the day after an 10 hour work day, working out and then making dinner, about all I'm good for is surfing blogs and writing the occasional comments.

    First thing in the morning, I can write like blue blazes.

    I guess we "morning people" are something of a breed apart.

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  3. Ugh, I've completely fallen away from those good writing habits I developed during November. I definitely need to get back on track... but 5am?! LOL. Not for me. But, this post was a good reminder that I need to get myself back on a regular schedule!

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  4. I agree 5:00 AM is not for everyone. The trick is to find the schedule that works for each of us...

    And, it's okay to slack off once in a while, too, when we need a break. But, as with eating healthy, the trick is to get back on track.

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  5. Damn! Just wrote a fabulous* comment but lost it. Basically, I am jealous because I am writing for a couple of hours every day but only managing to eek out 500 words or so. I miss the white heat of pounding out 1k in an hour (which I was more able to do for whatever reason last November/December). At least I'm moving forward I suppose.

    *wink wink

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  6. Here's the thing, Rebecca, six months from now when I'm in the doldrums and you're smokin' on a new tale, I'll be inspired by you.

    In the meantime, 500 words an hour is 500 more than you'd write if you didn't carve out that time every day.

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