Guest Blog–Fran Slayton on Routines

Introduction: I (Shonna) regularly read an e-newsletter put out by Publisher’s Weekly called Children’s Bookshelf. Imagine my surprise a week or two ago when I saw MY NAME staring out at me. Well, not my name exactly, it was Fran Slayton, not Shonna Slayton. I had to visit Fran’s web page and check her out. We haven’t found the familial connection yet, but we do share a writer’s bond. I asked her about her writer’s routines and here is what she had to say:

Routine.  There are times when I can’t stand the thought of it, and other times where it saves my writerly backside.  Too much of it and I feel stifled and unspontaneous.  Too little of it and I get nothing done.

What’s a writer to do?

So far I’ve discovered three different routines depending on what is going on in my writing career.  Still, no matter which routine I’m in, there are a couple of parameters that apply no matter what.  My work has to get done:

1) during my daughter’s school day, or

2) at night after she goes to bed.

Because let’s face it, writing and the rest of life must coexist in order for me to be able to enjoy both.

Routine One:  Concentrated Writing. This was the routine I discovered when I was writing my first novel, When the Whistle Blows.  I loved it.  Here is what the routine consisted of:  I wrote in every spare moment I had (which wasn’t much, given that I had a one year old at home at the time).  But having limited time actually worked to my advantage.  I knew I could not procrastinate in any way – I had to get down to business if any writing was going to get done at all.  Basically, I wrote when my daughter napped.  As soon as she was down, I’d rush into my study and type away until the moment she woke up.  Probably 80% of my book was written this way.

After my book had been accepted for publication (and even a little before that) I turned my attention to marketing my book, which required a different routine.  Routine Two:  Do Other Stuff Besides Write (A Routine Otherwise Known as the Abyss). This consisted of working on many different tasks including:  reading marketing books, setting up an author website, joining various social media, starting a blog, joining a marketing group, keeping up with publishing news and blogs, researching how others had publicized their books, making contacts, answering emails, etc.  My daughter was in school at this point, so I had more time on my hands and I basically used every second of it to work on marketing my book.  This “routine” was really no routine at all for me.  I woke up each day and started “working” but I didn’t really have a set plan.  I just plunged forward through marketing task after marketing task, doing whatever I could before my allotted time each day was up.  And then I’d do more again at night.  There was so much to do, I was overwhelmed!

Hectic and scattered and unfocused as it was, I could see that I was making progress in this second routine.  I was doing interviews, getting reviews.  Lots was happening – too much to keep track of almost.  But the “routine” (some may call it “lack of routine”) was starting to drive me crazy – I felt like I was working all the time.

But then it got worse.  I realized that in addition to marketing my first book, it was time to write my second one.  By this time I was starting to make author appearances on top of doing all of the other non-writing stuff.  It was – and is – a huge challenge:  how does a writer balance concentrated writing time with book marketing time?

So now I am searching for my Third Routine:  Writing and Promoting at the Same Time.  And quite honestly, I haven’t found the balance yet.  I still abide by my foundational rules:  that I only work when my daughter is in school or after she goes to bed.  But I have found it very difficult not to let email rule my existence these days.  I get a LOT of email, and if I let myself I could check it from morning until midnight.  So my goal for my new routine is not to let email rule my life.  I need to carve out “concentrated time” for writing again in my day.  And I also need to find time to prepare for my various author appearances as well as exercise (and eat.  And, um, breathe).

I meet with a group of women every Monday night, and last night I promised to show them a new writing schedule next week.  I thought you might like to see it too:

8-11am exercise, shower, go home
11am-12pm answer emails
12-1pm eat
1-3pm write (without turning on email)
8-9pm answer emails

So there you have it – my new routine!  I’ll tell you how it goes . . .

http://francannonslayton.com/