Structure; September 13 2023

I’m writing this book, right. This book about a single father and his daughter, based on some of my greatest fears. I’m about 8,000 words in and basing some of their interactions on things I’ve done with my own kid.

So I’m gonna be fine.

It’s September, though! My top surgery could be scheduled for any day now, but I still don’t have the money raised that I desperately need. If you’ve donated to my GoFundMe, I have no words for how grateful I am. If you haven’t, that’s okay! I understand – money is tight for most everyone, right now. Still, if people could share it around, maybe we could get one last big push towards the end goal (minimum $1000).

All I can do on my end is submit stories to places. That, and write this new novel, but that’s no guarantee of a payoff, and it certainly wouldn’t happen in time. Publishing is the slowest industry I know of, I swear.

Still, the best (most proactive) thing I can do is write, right? So I’ve been scheduling my days more strictly than I ever have. My former attitude of ‘write every spare minute you have’ was flat-out not sustainable. I realize now that I was burning myself out in ways I wasn’t even conscious of.

Instead, my weekdays now look like this:

7:15 – Wake up and get my kid ready for school!

8:30-9:30 – Light exercise and/or my daily chores (I have a chore chart I’m trying to stick to, too!)

9:30-10:30 – Beta reading for writer friends

10::30-11:30 – Reading of published novels

11:30-12:30 – Lunch break!

12:30-3:20 – Write!

3:20 – Pick up my kid!

… And the rest of the day is dependent on whether we have something on the docket for my kid, like dance lessons or playdates.

And as a result, I’ve managed to write consistently. I plotted this novel out on September 1st, started writing the first draft on September 5th, and have up to Chapter 5 down on paper! Or, word document.

The takeaway is, if you’re anything like me, structure is the best thing for you. I highly recommend trying to organize your time, if you don’t already!