My writing place is a constant (my desk, or an armchair, or sometimes a coffeeshop table); my inspiration is pretty sporadic; but for me the phases of the writing process are predictable and seasonal. Fall is for first drafts; winter and early spring are for revising, revising, revising; and late spring and summer are for light edits and pre-planning.
I think this partly has to do with the fact that I'm typically a manuscript-a-year person, and I happened upon this sort of schedule a few years ago. But it's also due to the seasons. So much distracting stuff goes on in the summer months, and sometimes I think my brain melts a little with the heat. It's hard to craft a perfect sentence when you're in such a hot, humid environment that you hydroplane in your desk chair, right? (Needless to say, it's been a long time since I lived in a place with central air.) And while the cold and dark winter months are good for hunkering down indoors, I get a bit of SAD and my creativity can be sluggish as a result. Same for the fearlessness needed to face a first draft. I do better with tweaking and tinkering.
Fall is crisp and bright and newly serious; it's the season of pencil sharpeners and syllabuses. And pumpkin spice lattes, the caffeine in which helps me reach my word count goals, too.
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| Central Park fall colors |
8 comments:
I so agree with you about fall. Write now I'm outlining book two in a series before going on submission. I'd like to put together a synopsis then move on to a fresh project. A first draft this fall would be perfect.
I start a lot of new drafts in the fall, too. Something about cooler weather and falling leaves really amps up my creativity.
I'm like you- I usually write my first drafts in the fall. Fall is definitely when I feel most productive. I'm actually a little sad that I've got to revise right now and not work on my WIP.
Ooo I like that writing schedule for the year. I've usually hoped to get more writing done in the summer but with my job I end up wanting to make the most of summer holidays with seeing family, going away or on day trips and hardly any writing gets done. I'd planned on doing Camp NaNo in August but we ended up going to my bf's parents for a week and then to London. I might use the summer purely for planning time instead from now on. :)
A yearly schedule does sound nice...maybe if I tuned into my natural/seasonal schedule better I'd get more done.
My writing location doesn't change with the seasons, but my motivation to write sometimes does. It stays dark here in the morning until about 8am, and then gets dark really early (5pm), and that does a real number on my motivation. Also kind of tough: writing a summer story (by the ocean) in the dead of winter. Doable, but challenging. :)
My writing schedule doesn't change with the seasons, but perhaps it would be good to have a writing season. That way, no matter what happens the rest of the year, you know you'll get something accomplished! :)
I like the idea of writing novels by season. I hope to finish a first draft during NaNoWriMo this year so maybe I'll end up on a similar schedule as you. I'd love to start writing a book a year as well. :)
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