Er... I mean 3000

I recalculated with my handy-dandy spreadsheet, and it turns out I actually have to write 3000 words a day to finish my novel by mid-April. 

At my current top speed, that takes a minimum of 2 hours, 30 minutes. 

And I need to spend 4 hours per day writing other things, for which I get money for food and stuff. 

And 9 hours being a mother and homemaker (6:30-8:30 am, 3:00-10:00 pm). 

And 2 hours being a newlywed (10-midnight). 

And 8 hours sleeping, or else I'll eventually get sick and nothing else will get done.

And 2 hours reading or I'll shrivel up and die for lack of creative stimulation.

And 2 hours (here and there) on exercising, eating, getting dressed, etc.

2.5 + 4 + 9 + 2 + 8 + 2 + 2 = 29.5 hours each day

Totally do-able.

2000 words a day...

So, I have this little self-imposed deadline, where I have to have almost 70,000 words drafted by the middle of next month. In order to do that, I need to write around 2,000 words a day. More, if I want to take Sundays off.

Most days so far, I haven't accomplished that. Or anywhere close.

Here's what I've done instead:

• Freelance writing (yay money, boo time lost on non-fiction writing)
• Volunteer writing and editing (yay service)
• Kids and husband  (yay human connection)
• Housework and meals (usually while watching Netflix--yay inspiration)
• Facebook (yay friends)
• Shopping, dentist appointments, driving kids to school and/or visitation, etc (yay... uh... living?)
• Blogging (yay outlet)
• Squirrels! (boo. just boo)

BUT, I've been getting better each day that I've actually sat down and made myself draft. Faster.

Thursday morning I drafted almost 1000 words and then spent some time fine-tuning my outline, so future drafting days can go more smoothly.

At my normal top speed (sometimes I can go faster, but not often), I write around 1000 words in an hour. I'm thinking I need to do more 1k1hr sprints, and leave off the break I take if I only write for 30 minutes. 

Anyway, to hold myself accountable, I'm going to start posting my word count each week when I blog. This'll be fun, no?

What do you do to make yourself write faster?

Writing Routine?

Nathan Bransford asked about writing routines on Wednesday. He described his own routine, which basically consisted of waking up, getting coffee and breakfast, and finally settling down to write.

That sounded nice.

My own routine is a bit more complicated, but I'll describe a day that has the maximum writing time, devoid of pesky things like helping out at the elementary school driving for carpools (happens regularly, but not every day) or taking care of church callings.

6:30 am: Alarm goes off. Spend 30 minutes getting out of bed and getting son and husband out the door with breakfast and lunch.

7:00 am: Writing time! (Except on Tuesdays, when this is get-middle-son-ready-for-debate time)

8:00 am: Wake up elementary kids, continue to write in between nagging them to get dressed and eat breakfast, then take them to school by 8:45.

9:00 am: Breakfast and writing time! And maybe exercise!

10:00 - 3:00: Writing time. Unless I decide to actually unpack something that day, do laundry, clean the house, go shopping, get gas.... When I do write, it's divided between volunteer service writing, paid writing, and actually writing my novel. I try to get 2000 words of fiction every day. That's happened once so far.

3:10-3:30: Pick up oldest from carpool, greet elementary kids. Kiss writing goodbye for the day in favor of homework, dinner, family time, and bedtime. I'm honestly perplexed at how I used to get any writing done after working all day.

That's my best day for writing, folks. Most days aren't like that, though. Lately I've been swamped with helping out at the school, getting my legal name changed (yeah, still), and generally trying to keep my house standing. I really must get better at writing when I only have a 30-minute window to do so, but it's so HARD to get in the zone for 30 minutes. *whine*

Now ask me when I find time to read. That's the real tragedy.

How about you? When do you write?