Readers, please join me welcoming Author Lisa Jackson who will be guest blogging here today!
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SCHEDULE, SCHMEDULE
By Lisa Jackson
SCHEDULE, SCHMEDULE
By Lisa Jackson
People always asked me “What’s your writing schedule?” and the answer is “I don’t know.” Boy, wouldn’t it be great to know that from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm or even 3:30pm, I’d be writing away on my story, the pages flying faster as the hours passed.
But that’s just not the way it is. Nor has it ever been. I have always written around my family’s schedule and as that changed, I adapted. There are times when I’m on a deadline that I write around the clock, sleeping little, drinking coffee, munching on high-sugar treats to keep me awake. I know that’s not the way to do it. I know that I’m mistreating my body (and my editor), but it’s just what works for me.
Years ago, I started with a calendar and I noted how many pages I’d written in a day. I also had a little note about how many I should have written and each day I was further and further behind and more and more depressed. Then I realized a story is not about pages, that they are just numbers. I also accepted that I’ve never been a clock-puncher and that my most productive hours might not be in the 9 to 5 day.
I can’t force the story. If there’s a problem, a knot in the plot, I have to work it out, slowly and with many false starts. To tell myself that I’m getting “behind” while trying to work it out, is only frustrating. The same with research. If one fact takes two hours, so be it. If I get sidetracked, it might be for a reason.
I do procrastinate, though it’s often times due to the story percolating in my mind. At times too many outside influences pull me away from my writing and I have to stop them/me from taking away necessary time. But when everything clicks and I’m finally submerged into the story, then I do work nearly 24/7 and I figure, well, that’s just the way it works for me. Everyone’s different. I remember pulling one all nighter in college--it about killed me---and I did the same while writing Almost Dead. (Ditto on the killing.) While writing Chosen To Die, the book that is in stores now, I slept about two hours at a stretch with naps during the day.& nbsp; I LOVED writing that book and not sleeping wasn't a problem....well, until afterward, of course. When a book is finally finished I'm relieved, ecstatic and exhausted!
So now I'm finishing next spring's hardback, WITHOUT MERCY. I see a whole lotta Hot Tamales, Coffee and Peanut M&Ms in my future. At the end of the book, there just doesn’t seem to be enough of those major food groups to keep me satisfied!
But that’s just not the way it is. Nor has it ever been. I have always written around my family’s schedule and as that changed, I adapted. There are times when I’m on a deadline that I write around the clock, sleeping little, drinking coffee, munching on high-sugar treats to keep me awake. I know that’s not the way to do it. I know that I’m mistreating my body (and my editor), but it’s just what works for me.
Years ago, I started with a calendar and I noted how many pages I’d written in a day. I also had a little note about how many I should have written and each day I was further and further behind and more and more depressed. Then I realized a story is not about pages, that they are just numbers. I also accepted that I’ve never been a clock-puncher and that my most productive hours might not be in the 9 to 5 day.
I can’t force the story. If there’s a problem, a knot in the plot, I have to work it out, slowly and with many false starts. To tell myself that I’m getting “behind” while trying to work it out, is only frustrating. The same with research. If one fact takes two hours, so be it. If I get sidetracked, it might be for a reason.
I do procrastinate, though it’s often times due to the story percolating in my mind. At times too many outside influences pull me away from my writing and I have to stop them/me from taking away necessary time. But when everything clicks and I’m finally submerged into the story, then I do work nearly 24/7 and I figure, well, that’s just the way it works for me. Everyone’s different. I remember pulling one all nighter in college--it about killed me---and I did the same while writing Almost Dead. (Ditto on the killing.) While writing Chosen To Die, the book that is in stores now, I slept about two hours at a stretch with naps during the day.& nbsp; I LOVED writing that book and not sleeping wasn't a problem....well, until afterward, of course. When a book is finally finished I'm relieved, ecstatic and exhausted!
So now I'm finishing next spring's hardback, WITHOUT MERCY. I see a whole lotta Hot Tamales, Coffee and Peanut M&Ms in my future. At the end of the book, there just doesn’t seem to be enough of those major food groups to keep me satisfied!
Thank you for that interesting post, dear Author! Readers, your thoughts / comments are most welcome.
Don't forget, you can read the ENTIRE Chapter 1 of CHOSEN TO DIE, right at this blog. Just click here. For more information, please visit http://www.lisajackson.com/.
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