Time management

Currently I have four works in progress. Four.

1. Book one in the Amethyst Chronicles, my next sci-fi series. The actual title hasn't been decided yet.
2. The sequel to Color of Dreams, my crime drama/romance story. Also doesn't have a title.
3. A new historical romance I'm calling Belle of the Brawl. My pirate story. :-)
4. and lastly, another romance that I'm loosely retooling a wrestling fan fiction to create entitled Shadows in my Mind

And I'm not counting my third Mirror installment, Mirror Reformed, since I haven't technically started writing it. That makes five books I'm planning on completing this year. Plus, I've happily agreed to help one of my best friends turn one of her wrestling fan fictions into a publishable story.

I don't look at any of the writing, revising, or editing as work. This is something I'm passionate about. This is what I've wanted to do for a long time and honestly, I couldn't be happier.

But it does make some ask the question of how I find the time to do all of it.

First, I'm lucky to work in a call center so when I'm not on a call, I'm writing. Typically on an eight-hour work shift, I get about an hour of writing in. At home, I try to get at least an hour of writing in a night. Some nights that's not doable at all. I do have a loving, wonderful husband that I love hanging out with. Thankfully, Brad is very understanding that some nights I'm glued in front of my pc and some nights belong to us.

I can't stress enough the importance of time management. Every week, I set goals with each of my WIP. My publisher and editor with Distinguished Press would say that when I set a time table, I get mad at myself if outside influence keeps me from my goal. This is February 21st. I plan to have the rough draft in book one of the Amethyst Chronicles completed by May with a goal word count of 50K. Some may say that it's ambitious but it's completely manageable.

I get stuck in my stories to the point where my husband has to remind me to either eat or go to bed. I always have a white canvas bag with me that has at least two notebooks in it. For me, different stories get different notebooks. My bag currently has three notebooks and my purse has a mini notebook. I have a Star Wars tin in my purse that holds my various pens to suit my fancy. Anytime I have the inspiration or time, I'm writing. Transcribing is my least favorite part of the writing process but I would much rather do it than be sitting around a doctor's office or something wishing I had something with me.

Soon I'll have a laptop and I won't have to lug my canvas bag around but until then, I'm keeping my productivity.

It's a balancing act. I'm not going to write every day. Sundays are typically a big writing day for me but Saturdays are usually filled with wrestling shows and life in general that I may get an hour if I'm lucky. The important thing is to not let writing consume you. Remember that we're doing this out of love and try to relax. The characters are the ones who really tell the story anyway. Us authors are merely the vessel to which the story gets told from.

And on that note, I'm gonna wrap this up. My FMC from the Amethyst Chronicles is grabbing at my attention and she can be rather...forceful. (You'll see probably next year, my dear readers).

~K.G. Stutts