Writing schedules are a complicated thing. At the beginning of every year, I always try and have a rough guide for writing and releases. And every year, the schedule is usually shot to hell by March. This year was no different.
I was doing well until I found one more pre-made cover that I loved and apparently those characters needed their story written next, instead of being nice and waiting and their turn. I had plans for writing a short story about two guys who meet on a bus LOL, but no… now I’m writing a not-short story about guys who take a yacht around the tropics of North Queensland.
But that’s the art of writing, I guess. It’s a creative process and I can only write the story of the characters who choose to talk to me. And these characters apparently needed their story now, so who am I to argue?
But that isn’t all I have going at the moment. I have my next release back from proofers and have been formatting it. It’s called Evolved, and is 62K words. I’ve also finished my latest manuscript and have sent it to pre-readers and hope to get it off to my poor editor soon. It’s called Galaxies & Oceans and is 86K words. So with all these manuscripts in the works, what should I do but start something new.
No rest for the wicked, right?
While it’s great for my productivity and my readers, it does little good for my writing schedule.
I aim to have a new release every two months, but with two quick re-releases (the rights from a publisher returned to me) I’ve been incredibly busy, while trying to keep my schedule on track. I understand this this isn’t possible for a lot of authors. Not all authors write full-time. I’m just very lucky to call this my job.
Some authors work other jobs full-time and write when they have a spare minute. Their writing schedule isn’t going to look like mine. Maybe they aim for five books a year, maybe they aim for one. Maybe they write for three hours a night, or maybe it’s three hours a week, there is no right or wrong. Not everyone even uses a writing schedule, but for those who do, writing schedules are important.
Setting goals is important, whether it’s 12 books a year or one. But it’s also okay to veer off course. It’s not a failure if your writing schedule gets shot to hell. Creative processes can be fluid, there needs to be leeway, give and take. Some people need absolute structure and can’t veer off course, and that’s okay. But something that rings true for all creative types, is that adding pressure to yourself to live up to other people’s standards can kill your creativity, so it’s important to find a pace that works for you. It’s not always easy to not compare your output to other people’s, but we should recognise our own limits and be proud when we accomplish our own goals.
Some people can write 10K words a day! I’m happy with 10K words a week. Some people are happy with 10K words a month, and you know what? They’re all good. Everyone’s different—different home lives, different jobs, different everything—so it stands to reason our schedules are going to be different too.
I’ve been writing like mad for three months, but I know the month of April will be busy in my personal life and I won’t get much writing done at all. And that’s okay. I can’t beat myself up about it. And when I get characters that demand I write their story instead of the nice boys who have been patiently waiting their turn, I have to reshuffle my schedule and just go with the flow. And I can guarantee, after this book I’ll probably need to make more changes to my schedule, and quite frankly, as much as it drives me crazy in an organised chaos kind of way, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
<3
The book I mentioned, titled Evolved, is due out April 23rd! It’s a little sci-fi, and a lot romance. I can’t wait for everyone to meet Shaun!
Blurb for Evolved:
In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It’s in every household.
Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise and mess, and he’s uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, Lloyd thinks he may have been right.
SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN.
Shaun is compatible with Lloyd’s every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis. But Lloyd soon realises Shaun’s not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd must find a way to keep Shaun safe.
No one can know how special Shaun is. No one can know he’s evolved.
For more about N.R. Walker you can find her at: