Wednesday, August 16, 2017

A Year and a Book

A little over a year ago I began a writing log, because I felt I wasn’t giving enough time to my craft and that Book 2 in my Wolf Spear Saga series would never be written. I had decided to shelve complete drafts of the two novels I had written after ‘WULFSUNA’, as I wanted to remain with the characters from the first book a while longer. I felt the reader would also want to, and that the other novels could become later stories. This of course meant starting entirely from scratch – blank page syndrome. We all have commitments and it is a lucky few who find their writing successful enough to allow them to do it full-time. Work, family and life in general seemed to be taking over all my spare time. I felt I had let myself down and so the ‘log’ commenced.
Looking back on pages of handwritten columns of notes, word counts and hours revealed I had not forsaken my craft or Book 2 at all and I was writing ‘something’ every week. Exceptions to this were clearly delineated by family holidays (where I prefer to spend time with my tribe and leave the online world behind) or periods of illness. All my spare time had not been consumed by extraneous activities as the weeks and months of wide-ranging word count proved in black and white (or blue, or purple, or green – hey, I’m a writer; I love pens!). There had been words to count!
Admittedly the time spent actually writing averaged only an hour a day, including weekends, but I noticed also that length of time did not necessarily equate to the amount of words produced on the page/screen. I had spent several hours redrafting chapters where word count added had been minimal for the time allotted. In contrast, I had spent many a ten-minute slot scribbling a few hundred words off the bat.
Patterns also emerged, providing me with an insight into routines I had not consciously noticed, such as pockets of marketing and promotion in one-week blocks or periods where I read research material extensively and made copious notes. This was all time spent working towards my writing and the completion of my novel and so it was counted. Other patterns were more intriguing. Whether you believe in planetary energies or simply equate the full moon with lighter evenings and hence a sense of being more ‘awake’ for longer on those nights, my writing did peak in a week waxing up to a full moon. Word count was often triple or quadruple my usual levels.
Certainly, whatever these figures prove, the single outstanding factor is that I am writing regularly. Maintaining the log has merely revealed this fact to me, at a time when I imagined other areas of my life had taken over. It has given me impetus to continue and increased confidence that I have been managing my writing time effectively while, as they say in France, juggling the ‘train-train du jour’. And after a year, I have an ‘almost’ book that this week surpassed 91,000 words.

 The Wolf Spear legend will return!

  •  Have you ever faced difficulties in balancing your writing time with other factors in your life?
  • How have you overcome these?
  • What advice would you give to others who find themselves in the same situation?

Writing as ‘E S Moxon’, Elaine's debut historical fiction adventure ‘WULFSUNA’ was published January 21st, 2015 and is the first in her Wolf Spear Saga series. She is currently writing her second novel, set once again in the Dark Ages of 5th Century Britain, where the legendary Saga ensures a Seer and one named 'Wolf Spear' are destined to meet. You can find out more about Elaine’s novels on her website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.
Elaine lives in the Midlands with her family and their chocolate Labrador.

~ ~ ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.
An ancient saga is weaving their destiny.
A treacherous rival threatens their fate.
A Seer's magic may be all that can save them.

WULFSUNA








4 comments:

  1. I'm just finishing my fifth novel and also have a day job and a family, so I know it can be difficult to find the time. In order to meet my deadlines, I set myself a word count to hit each week and stick to it as much as possible. But I do often find that I neglect to spend as much time as I should with my family, which leads to added stress and feelings of guilt. It can be really tough, but once I start a novel, "the devil drives". As long as you are moving forward, then everything is good.

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    1. Thank you for sharing your own experiences Matthew. I know it's an issue most writers face, if not all the time then some of the time.

      Having a weekly target is a good tactic as it drives you. I have a personal promise to write something each week and now I've found my groove again, perhaps I should set myself a target (even if it's a little flexible!).

      I think I've been reigning in that 'devil' that I began riding in 2009 and need to ease up on the brakes.

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  2. My favourite 'mantra' is: It takes as long as it takes. We all want to finish - it's why we start the stories in the first place. What matters is getting there & it's less about arriving than it is about the journey.
    As I have no extraneous calls on my time it means I can write as much (or as little!) as I choose. With a growing family you don't have that luxury & have to 'juggle' your time. And still, you are clearly getting more done than you first thought! I'm not sure how useful 'targets' are - I'd carry on doing what you're doing & enjoy the process. xXx

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    1. Thank you Carole. As Matthew says above 'as long as you are moving forward, then everything is good'. And I agree with you - it takes as long as it takes. I've weighed up many things in the last six months and my conclusion is that I have actually done better than I first thought. Writing this blog post has helped me to evaluate many things and sparked fresh inspiration. Sometimes simply acknowledging the situation brings about the solution. xXx

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