This week, I didn’t have time to read for pleasure. I’ve been busy writing and editing, trying to hit deadlines and keep up with marketing efforts, small though they are these days.
What I noticed is that I didn’t read much and I didn’t write much, either. It seems the two are connected. At least, they were for me this week.
I guess I need to immerse myself in fiction—in all aspects of fiction—to be my most productive self. I need to read, write, edit… all these things combine to make me a better writer. And I fell short this week in two of those categories.
In January, I read a few books, edited for two clients, wrote an eighty-thousand-word first draft in only sixteen days, blogged for two sites in addition to my own PLUS wrote some guest posts for a blog tour, and I still had time to begin other projects. February is starting slower in all categories. Not liking that! I’ll need to start making changes to turn this month around.
What about you? Are you more productive when you make time to read? Or does reading take time away from your productivity? Let’s talk about it.
As always, wishing you productivity and balance.
And now, this week’s links:
Posts by me, about my work, or at sites I contribute to:
- Merit in Older Works (Story Empire)
- Ultimate Grammar Cheat Sheet (Romance University)
- Password Excerpt (Staci Troilo)
- The Middle Child | Writing a Series (Story Empire)
- Scheduling and Time Management (Romance University)
- Friday Book Share (Story Empire)
- Marketing with a Pseudonym (Romance University)
Posts by others in the industry:
- The Waking Up Scene: Why is it bad/How to fix it (Fiction University)
- Avoid Being Wordy (A Writer’s Path)
- A Different Perspective on Social Media (The Write Conversation)
- A Lesson in Deep POV (Kill Zone)
- SciFi/Fantasy World Building (Fiction University)
- Making Minor Characters Matter (AutoCrit)
- 9 Tips to Improve Your Writing (A Writer’s Path)
- Writing the Synopsis (The Write Conversation)
- Better Chances at a BookBub Feature (BookBub)
- 25 Writing Quotes (My Book Cave)
- Self-Doubt and Imposter Syndrome (The Creative Penn)
- What Writers All Have in Common (StoryFix)
- Choosing the Right Main Character (Well Storied)
80K words in 16 days? Holy crap that’s amazing! I’ve spent the past two days setting up a new phone, then dealing with AT&T on why it didn’t work. Wasted time.
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Those days lost to technology are so frustrating. Sorry, Teri.
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I read more than I write, mainly because I read every night but don’t write every night. After a full day of being in front of a computer (at the office) I rarely have the ambition to turn the PC on at night. Curling up with a book in the evening is relaxing for me.
When I’m crunching a deadline (likely to happen very soon) I do read less and cram in periods of evening writing. I was productive in the writing arena last weekend, and hope to add to my word count this weekend. I am definitely a bookworm, and reading a good story IS motivation to work on my own writing…just on the weekends 🙂
I am still blown away by the fact that you wrote an 80K novel in 16 days. Damn, that rocks!
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I try to write at least 5K words a day. Doesn’t always happen, especially when I’m editing or trying to figure out marketing. But with this new job, I have to keep my word count high, or I’ll fall behind. The goal is a Monday through Friday writing week, 5K for the job, 2.5K for me and editing on the weekends. We’ll see how it actually plays out as time goes on.
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And I’m officially exhausted, LOL!
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Reblogged this on Plaisted Publishing House and commented:
Author Inspiration with some Writing Links you may like to peruse 🙂
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Thanks, Claire!
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Mine is all about getting that quality time. I have to allocate it to either reading or writing. There never seems to be enough of that quality time.
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I agree, Craig. That time is in short supply these days. Hoping you find some soon!
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Dilly dilly.
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That put a huge smile on my face! Dilly dilly!
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out these inspirational writing links from this post on Staci Troilo’s blog.
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Thank you, Don. Much appreciated.
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My pleasure
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Love the quote. Feels like my TBR list is almost that long. I agree that reading enhances our writing skills. I’ve been sadly lacking both this month, although I’ve read more than I’ve written. Hopefully will turn that around this weekend.
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I’m encouraging you to write, but I’m being selfish… I want to see what happens in your next book! I do want to tackle my TBR list, though. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever make progress there. I add faster than I subtract.
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I do the same thing. And I will get some writing time in this weekend.
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Absolutely, Staci … if I don’t read, then I write much less. As ever, it is finding the time for both! You certainly have been busy! Good luck with everything 🙂
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Thanks, Harmony. I never noticed that connection before, but it seems to be a common one. I’m hoping things even out soon. I finished a WIP yesterday and I have another that’s mostly done, so I’m starting to breathe.
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Wow, you have been busy! I think reading for me gives me some down time where I regroup and let go of the projects I am working on. Interesting connection you made!
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I’ve been working too many hours for downtime lately, but I’m determined to turn that around. I’m a lot happier when I can let my brain rest. I love that reading helps you regroup and let go. It’s cathartic that way, isn’t it?
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I’m the same way, Staci. If I don’t read, I can’t write, and I’ve had quite a bit of ‘life’ taking up my time-for reading or writing-recently. But the good news is I’ve read two books in the last three days… and amassed a word count of 60K+ over three wips! Not sure how that works, but I’m not complaining. 😀
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That is awesome, Felicia! Keep it up!
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