Yesterday, 2,400 words poured out of my brain. I wrote the ending for Traitor’s Masque, Book One of the Violet War series. The original title was Argentum, but I’m not sure it pops as much. I wasn’t revising as I was writing, but I was plotting during this period, inserting notes while I went. It was almost like I was working behind-the-scenes, raw and uncensored, to allow the story to emerge.

And that it did.

That wasn’t the only thing I wrote, however. Right now I’m averaging between 4 to 6,000 words a day. I’m definitely noticing how necessary it is to manage my time. When you do any aspect of online community management as part of your “job,” it can get really hairy and have a profound impact on what you’re doing. Like checking e-mail, any time-related task that requires constant monitoring can be another way to distract you from the task at hand. To-do lists are great, but they’re not as useful (I feel) as assigning chunks of time to those tasks. For me, that’s the best form of project management. It’s not just about getting the work done, it’s about how the time you’ve devoted to that specific line item is used.

That’s where a routine comes into play that is married to your prioritization. If you, for example, have made it a goal to absolutely put writing first? Then structure your day around that, to ensure that whenever you need to write in the day, you’ve set aside that time that no one can interrupt on penalty of death.

I mean, we do this all the time. Right? Football, favorite TV shows, doctor’s appointments, classes, etc. Take the time you’d normally spend on something else, either entertaining or not, and block it out to show up and write. Then, if you lose your focus, write down whatever it is you defaulted to. e.g. Checking your phone, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, petting the cat, ordering pizza, playing Angry Birds — whatever.

If you’re distracted and couldn’t finish that particular scene? Start another one. I’m having a blast jumping around to different points in my long-form manuscripts, because it allows me to get a fresh perspective on scenes that would otherwise be rushed or a chore. I can ALWAYS rearrange them after the fact.

My routines are blocked out into smaller chunks of time and prioritized accordingly. Thankfully, I’ve also marked off areas where I have to take free time, too. That doesn’t mean I can slack off, though, it just means that the times when I’m not writing are more valuable to me.

Anyway, you’re going to find whatever’ll work for you. Just thought I’d bring this up since many of you were jumping into NaNoWriMo next month.

Mood: Accomplished
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: NOT ENOUGH
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: A walk.
In My Ears: METALLICA, BABY
Game Last Played: Tetris
Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter collection
Latest Artistic Project: In progress!
Latest Release: “Fangs and Formaldehyde” from the New Hero anthology through Stone Skin Press