Hi all!
Although writing full time is the dream, most of us aren't in that position. We need day jobs to pay for bills, food and other expenses. I work full time as an administrator Monday to Friday, so I know how hard it is to fit writing around work. But there are little changes you can make throughout the day to improve your writing.
After working all day I know how tiring it is to go home and write, but it can be done, even if it's only 100 words a day. But there's also other things you can do while you're at work to plot, edit and write your manuscript.
Just to clarify, I do these things during my breaks, I do not work on anything to do with writing during work time.
I do the following before, during and after the work day:
Plot ideas on my commute to work.
I know not everyone can do this because of transportation, but if you can it does help. I get the bus to and from work which takes about half an hour each time, so that gives me an hour to jot ideas down or come up with character names.
Plot during breaks.
I write a lot in my lunch break, which keeps my mind whirring and enables me to plot more extensively as I'm putting time aside to do it. I've plotted all my books on my lunch break, and I'm constantly swapping between notes on my phone to change plot points. The last three Elemental Dragons books were all plotted on my phone in great detail, down to character descriptions and dragon markings.
Write query and synopsis.
Before I decided on self publishing I actually wrote the first draft of my query letter on my phone, it went through several revisions, of course, but it was nice to be able to get my ideas down while they were still fresh in my mind. I also recently wrote the synopsis for Venom and Earth on my lunch break, which meant when I got home I could focus on editing the manuscript itself.
Research.
I researched on the bus and during my breaks. Mostly character names and settings. I do the bulk of the research for books at home, for example: Egyptian Gods and pyramids.
Character designs.
This is the easiest part for me to do on my break, as I've already envisioned the characters a certain way. I make sure to write down their descriptions for reference just in case they have a sudden makeover halfway through the first draft!
Small edits.
I don't do any major editing, just a few passages here and there. A lunch break isn't really enough time to edit an entire manuscript.
Write blog posts.
A lot of my post ideas come to me during the week, so I list them on my phone and write a rough draft. I then use my laptop for the editing.
Doodle.
Visualising dragon markings helped me describe them better in Elemental Dragons, as I had the designs right in front of me. I'm doing the same for Bitten as well, working on designs for the antagonists. For me, seeing something drawn on paper helps me while writing.
Write short stories.
My short story, Circles, was written during a few lunch breaks on my phone. Once I was happy enough with it, I transferred it to my laptop for editing and started sending it out. I was over the moon when From Whispers To Roars published it in their first issue. I've also written two other short stories during breaks, Hesitation and Purpose, which I hope to offer to anyone who wants to sign up to my future mailing list (I'm working on it, don't worry!).
I just want to show people that even the smallest things throughout the day can contribute towards your writing, and you shouldn't feel bad if you're too exhausted to write much after work. It's normal. The last thing that I want to do when I get home is write, but those little things throughout the day propel me to do it. It shows I've never really stopped working on my books, so I have more time to actually write.
Next week I'm going to post profiles about the dragon characters in Elemental Dragons. I will probably do the human characters in the future, but I love so many of the dragons that I want to share some of their quirks and personalities with you all.
See you next week!