writing life | Sloan Parker Blog

After weeks of overworking and pushing myself too hard, I’m finally feeling good about my schedule again. I couldn’t sustain the effort and time I was spending on writing, writing-related activities, my other work, family obligations, and the activities of life in general. Every day of one week I did nothing but work from the moment I woke up until bed at 2 am. It was crazy.

I’m still working at least 10 or 12 hours a day, but I’ve been taking some much-needed time off in the evenings. And I have organized my office, my task list system, and how I manage my emails. I’m even getting caught up on a few things as time allows but not freaking over every little thing that doesn’t get done.

I’ve returned to a schedule that works for me. I write or edit in the morning. Then in the afternoons and early evenings I take care of emails, any writing-related business stuff, my freelance work, and try to do at least a bit of social networking or promotion-type activities. I’m really working hard to cut off for the night with some time before bed to spend with my sweetie (a priority for me this year), to read more, and to just have some non-writing fun.

It’s very freeing to find a schedule and organization system that fits me and how I work. Even though I’m still doing as much (and maybe more), I’m squeezing it into smaller amounts of time. I’ve found a tranquil acceptance of my schedule, my writing process, and how much I can reasonably produce in a year. I’m still a slow writer (or I should say re-writer), but I’m picking up the pace as I go.

I’m sure there will always be some level of stress (this is a tough business, after all), but having a more reasonable schedule as often as I can will help fuel the fire when I need it most.

And ultimately, my worst day writing is better than my best day at the old corporate job. There’s nothing I’d rather spend my time doing.

Thanks for listening,
Sloan

I question my work sometimes, as I’m sure most writers do. I’m learning and growing with every project, both as a writer and a reader (in terms of what I enjoy reading and what I look for in a love story). This fosters questions as I move ahead in my writing career.

I recently read this article about voice (Voice – answering Jane’s Question), and it resonated with me. I think a part of me was holding back when writing lately. What is my voice? Can I repeat it? Do I want to? Do I want to change some aspect of the way I write? I’d like to grow and evolve as a writer, but in what ways?

As I’ve mentioned before, the good reviews can mess with your head as much as the not-so-good reviews. There have been some stellar reviews for BREATHE. In some respects those have been great for my confidence level, but I’m not sure I always want to–nor should I–attempt to write something as heavy as the theme/topic of BREATHE. Can anything else measure up? For me? For readers? Will something lighter and sexier appeal to readers who enjoyed BREATHE? Can BREATHE appeal to those who loved MORE? Should I be writing in third person or first? Where is my strength as a writer and how do I repeat that in subsequent stories?

Those types of questions weren’t a big distraction because I do believe in writing for myself first or I lose the passion for storytelling. But as I said, I think I was holding back when it came to my voice.

Kate Walker’s article helped me to relax and get back to the core of what I’m writing, why I’m writing it, and how I like to convey a story, the importance I try to place on the deep point of view of each main character. I was able to let my own passion and emotion flow through the words.

So far this week, I’m feeling really good about the revising I’m doing on HOME AGAIN. I’m still working on the first three chapters, but I’m writing with the love of this story and these characters, and that always feels good. I’m finding that place where I can’t wait to share these men and their love story with others.

Now, back to the manuscript…

Happy reading, everyone!
Sloan