Sunday Update: Back in the Groove

Yay! I’m finally hitting my stride on Chaos Calling again. I reworked my outline Friday night, and I’ve written 1,700 words so far this weekend. That’s pretty cool since I’ve had zero dedicated writing time. Just the iPad waiting for me on the dining room table, at the center of the domestic storm. I wrote 900 words last night in about 45 minutes from 8:30 to 9:15, so that’s where the bulk happened.

Over the years I’ve changed as a writer. I’ve changed as a person, so that’s not a huge surprise. I used to write most of my words first thing in the morning. I still like to write over the morning hours when I’m hanging out at home — that iPad on the kitchen table thing — but lots of my productivity has moved to the evening after my kids are in bed.

Reclaiming an hour in the morning would go a LONG way toward increasing my productivity, assuming I still wrote in the evenings as well. My kids are much better about sleeping until around 6:30, even if we’re up and about, so maybe it’s a possibility now. Wow, I could get so much done if I wrote both in the morning and in the evening. One note about morning word count: It makes me feel great to have accomplished my minimum word count first thing. Then I can go about my day knowing I have those words chalked up, and I can only go up from there. It’s another of those happy writer mental tricks. 🙂

Have a great, productive week, ROWers! We get to cap this one with Memorial Day weekend, so go forth and do good before the holiday!

About J.R. Pearse Nelson

J.R. Pearse Nelson is a fantasy and romance writer from Oregon, USA. She lives with her husband and two daughters among the plentiful trees and clouds of the beautiful Willamette Valley. J.R. is always searching for the magic in our world. She weaves tales rooted in mythology, bringing legend to life in modern-day and fantasy settings. J.R. is the author of the Of the Blood fantasy romance series, the Foulweather Twins fantasy series, and the Water Rites fantasy series. You can connect with J.R. and learn more about her fiction at her website. Visit jrpearsenelson.com.

6 comments on “Sunday Update: Back in the Groove

  1. I should try book-ended my days with words. I’d feel a lot more relaxed throughout the days core, I think. Umm! Good going and best of luck for the week ahead! 🙂

    Shah

    shahwharton.com

  2. Great word count for the weekend! Thank you so much for your lovely comment over at my place. I should have said something before because I knew people would be wonderful and supportive but I almost didn’t want to admit it!

    Hope you have a wonderful week 🙂

  3. Trying to reclaim any amount of time when you’ve emotionally set it aside for family things is hard…. Worth it–doable–, but hard. Make it work for you, especially given that you say you need that emotional kick of having your words done each day.

    Make it work for you. Yes, as a writer you have to work at writing, but you do so to make it work for you as income and pleasure….

    I like the idea of having the computer in the eye of the domestic storm. Hopefully it’s a storm full of energy and vigor, but not devastation….

  4. I only ever write at night, but I get your point about meeting your word count goal first thing in the morning. I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, keep at it!

  5. night is best for me because that’s when I began writing – but have started trying to do some in the morning as well and it seems to be working – I get the feeliing – of book ending having the words there first thing – good feeling all the best:)

  6. I’m glad you’re getting your momentum going. Sometimes we have to switch things around to see what works best. That’s a great word count for the weekend. Get that book written! I WANT it. 🙂

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