Getting Back Into The Habit

The summer is now over, the kids are back at school, the holiday pix have been downloaded and the tan lines have faded.  Time to get back to writing...but it's not always that easy.  This is what I do after a long gap.

1.  Read through what I've written so far.  

2.  Feel faint with shock as I realise there's a) fewer words than I remembered and b) even fewer that I'm going to be able to use.

3.  Write a list of essential scenes.  This is even simpler than using index cards and usually fits onto one sheet of A4.  

4.  The break should have clarified my thoughts about anything that's causing me problems with the writing.  This might be unclear character wants, or a mistaken direction that needs correcting.  This sort of thing is always clearer after a break.

5.  I write all my novels as one long document.  If there's lots of re-writing to be done, I'll save the old version, then again as a new version.  That way, I feel more confident if I mash it around - I can always go back to the last version.

6. Start filling in the gaps on the A4 sheet.  I should end up with a list of scenes, some of which will have been written, some of which won't.

7.  Start writing the scenes which need writing.  

What I don't do is tidy the office, answer all my un-answered emails, file my tax return and generally clear the decks.  It's nice to feel on top of the admin, but really, writing time should be about writing.  It doesn't matter if a child interrupts you when you're in the middle of filing your old electricity bills, it does if you're in the middle of writing a crucial scene. Do the admin in the times you feel less creative, and get yourself back into the writing habit.