Random Musings

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I recently signed a contract for the third book in the Afterlife, Inc series. 

Obviously, this is exciting stuff. Book one comes out in March, book two in September. Which means book three probably won’t come out until March or so of 2018. (Publishing is a long process!) Book two is finished and with my editor, and I’m working through my final proofs on book one this weekend. 

People often ask where I find the time to write. What with editing and teaching and such. The truth is, it’s not easy. You have to make time. At night, instead of watching tv, it’s two hours of writing. Sometimes if deadlines are looming that means weekends are dedicated too. 

One of the best things we do is go away. We take a whole week to get away from daily life–no work, no laundry, no people. Each day we get up, have a cup of green tea and maybe breakfast, then by 10:00 we’re in place and writing. We write until we’ve hit our personal targets for the day (never under 2,000). We stop for lunch and snacks, of course. We’re writers, after all, and snacks and coffee are necessary to word flow. 

This year we went to Wales and stayed in a lovely beach front apartment with an incredible view. We moved the big couch in front of the sliding doors that led onto the balcony, and there we perched for the week. I got a slow start, as I hadn’t begun yet, and had no thought at all as to where to begin. So, I did some rough outlines and arcs, and then got stuck in. 

Long story short, I ended our week away with a little over twenty two thousand words, written over the course of four days. Not bad, though as we made the five hour journey home, and we discussed what we’d written, I realized I had a pacing issue, and I need to add a few earlier scenes to fix that. The good thing is that it’s early enough to do it without it being too painful. 

So, I’m a big fan of writing retreats. I think taking the time to make writing a priority, having other writers to bounce ideas off of, and letting creativity flow unfettered by daily routine is a wonderful thing indeed. 

Have you been on one? Did you like it? Or not so much?