This is fragmented so I apologize. Originally, I jotted down the bones for this blog post in a Notebook doc but it must have closed and I didn’t save thus reinforcing the number one rule all writers must follow which is to save your work at all times.

I’ll have an update on this later this week. These dates apply to the last week of February, 24-28.

I only have 30 minutes a day to write. Thanks to my new work schedule I get a 30 minute lunch break which I use to get as much done as I possibly can. While not as effective as the Alpha-Beta-Gamma method, it’s taught me what can be done with 30 minutes of writing. Here’s what it’s looked like:

Monday

Remembered all I need to do to finish Project: GREY for query is to rewrite chapter 1, which I’ve done in my head a dozen times before. Grab a Field Notes nearby and jot down what I want it to say. Not necessarily anything concrete, but the feeling. The emotion. The essence of what the first chapter should do for the main character.

Tuesday

Congrats. It’s your second day writing. Now take those essence vapors, wrangle them with your magical hands, then turn them into something real. Begin scratching out on a few pages a general outline. What should happen on page 1? What should happen on page 2? How do we connect this to page 3? Realize that it’s literally only 3 pages of writing and you finally have something to send out to agents that can change everything. Or make nothing happen. The writing world is odd.

Wednesday

Jot down a few more bits before writing some dialogue. No direction text, simply what some people might be saying. Realize this is much easier than imagined because of course it is everything is much easier once you start doing it.

Thursday

Get the sweats when you pick up the pen because it’s almost time to put fingers to keys. Sit and stare at 4 pages worth of notes from the last 3 days.

Friday

Finalize the plan. Write a one page outline for the first three pages to introduce character, setting, as well as the wham-bam introduction on page 3 because it has to happen on page 3.

Is this ideal? No. It would be magnificent to sit with a cup of coffee with unlimited time in the day to write but that’s not how this works.

That’s not how my sons will let this work.

If I want to write and, more importantly, if I want to get to the level of writing that allows me the freedom to sit at a desk for more than 20 minutes a day, then this will have to do for now.

Thanks for reading,

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