Hello everyone, and happy mid-March! 2022 is just flying by.
On the blog today, I'd like to share my writing schedule. I'm super fascinated by how other writers get their writing done, so if you feel up to sharing, please feel free to leave a comment below telling me your schedule!
I'm very lucky to live with my parents and can be a full-time writer. I'm also on disability which gives me some financial support to write every day. It's truly a blessing.
Without further ado, here's my writing and life schedule, something I follow every day, even on weekends and holidays. I have severe OCD so I'm very a habitual person!
6:30 a.m. - Wake up, spend twenty minutes or so scrolling through my email and the news on Twitter. If there's an email that needs my attention, I'll respond. I'll also check my social media and see if there's any DM's or messages I need to address.
7 a.m. - Get out of bed, get dressed, use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and wash my face. I love to listen to music while I do this - usually Taylor Swift!
7:15 a.m. - Feed my cats, clean the litter box, do some dishes and little chores.
7:30 a.m. ish - Sit down, get some writing done. I write a chapter a day and usually aim to write 1500 to 2000 words in an hour. If it's a laundry day, I'll put my laundry in and go back for it in a few hours.
8:30 a.m. - Take a writing break from my chapter. I go downstairs to eat breakfast and do some more dishes. Then I make a green tea.
9 or 9:30 a.m. - Return to writing my chapter with my tea. I aim for 3400 hours in a chapter every day. It takes me 30 days to write the first draft of my novel, and about 4 hours to write a chapter if there's no interruptions.
10:30 a.m. or 11: Finish writing my chapter, plot out my next chapter for tomorrow. Then I send my writing to my email, Dropbox, Google Drive, and to my 5 USB drives.
11:30 a.m. - Preheat the oven for lunch (I love to eat oven-baked cauliflower bites with Buffalo sauce. The breading is very filling!) I drink a chocolate protein shake too and spend twenty minutes reading. I read 3 books at once and a chapter of each a day. I'm a fast reader! While the oven pre-heats, I'll take a shower.
12:30 p.m. - Get out of the shower, go downstairs to make my lunch. While it cooks, I'll do some editing on my last novel in the afternoon. I edit four chapters in a day, meaning I can finish editing the second draft of a novel in a week or so.
1 p.m. - Finish my lunch, get back to editing. And give lots of pets to my cats!
I do take little breaks in the afternoon here to grab some snacks (love carrots and hummus, chocolate cookies, and croissants.) I'll also take time to talk to my parents and pet my cats.
3:30 p.m. / 4 p.m. - Email my editing to myself, turn off my laptop. Now it's time to prepare dinner. If I'm having takeout, then even better! I also feed my cats and lay out some napkins and cutlery for dinner.
4:30: Eat dinner and play some Animal Crossing on my Nintendo Switch. My parents and I watch TV while we eat. We love the show Ridiculousness on MTV!
5 p.m. - Watch the news with my parents, do the dishes, then watch Star Trek if there's a new episode. If not, then after the news, I go up to my room to play some video games. Right now, I'm playing Mass Effect! I have a TV and a reclining chair in my room. I love my alone time!
7 p.m. - Get some late night snacks, keep playing games. As always! I might take a break to go on my phone or watch some YouTube videos.
8:30 p.m / 9 p.m. - Turn off my video games, get ready for bed. Brush my teeth, make the bed, give my cats a snack, and clean the litter boxes - again!
9:30 p.m. - By now, I'm usually asleep!
The next day, I'll follow the same routine.
What happens on days when I don't have any writing? That's pretty rare, but I'll keep editing old projects or play games.
That's pretty much my writing schedule! It's what works for me, and I find it makes me very productive. Writing is all about habit!
As always, thanks for reading!
Dana
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