That is my question. A certain part of my brain thinks planning is very uncreative, and that writing, like any other form of art, should be a spontaneous thing, like mold growing on an old shower curtain. (Okay, eeww.) Another, more practical, part of my brain says having a Plan…capital “P”…is usually a good idea. Trouble is, I’m at war over the issue.
Without a Plan, I tend to flounder, wait until the last minute to do things, get off track and spend too much time doing other, non-productive, stuff…things like that. Yet, with a Plan, I immediately rebel, and start to drag my heels, feeling forced to do one thing, when I really want to do something else. Having a Plan tends to stomp all over my enjoyment of things, like writing. So it’s a Catch-22 thing for me, and mostly I’ve been ignoring the whole issue. But recently, I realized my whole life was out of control. Too much freedom was actually keeping me from being as creative in my work as I wanted to be, because it was keeping me from focusing on anything. So I decided to write out a 5-year Plan, based on my personal needs at this time of my life, and incorporating some of the things I’ve been reading about.
My Plan is simple. It consists of Two Parts:
Part 1: Write ten decent books in 5 years.
Part 2: Learn some marketing techniques and tactics that don’t keep me too busy to accomplish Part 1.
That’s pretty much it. Simple. Direct. Easy. Doable. And yet, I immediately felt the pressure. When I say I work anywhere from 8 to 12 hours a day writing or doing writing related tasks, I’m not kidding. And that’s a lot of work for most of us, but especially for those of us who are feeling the effects of the aging process more each year. Sitting that long at my computer is difficult at best, and downright painful at worst. No need to go into all the aches and pains in detail, but believe me, they are there, keeping me awake at the end of the day. And don’t even get me started on my vision issues.
The point is, I end up trying to do more and more, faster and faster, in less time, so I don’t have to spend so long at the computer at one time, yet hoping I still have a chance to meet the goals laid out in my plan. And then…surprise!…I get tired, frustrated, and stressed, and fall even farther behind.
My solution was to accept that my Plan is merely a goal–something to aim for, not something carved in stone that can’t be deviated from. I can allow myself to work toward this goal, yet stop punishing myself when I fall short. I think my Plan is a good one, doable at a rate of two books a year. But I can’t set myself up for failure, by insisting I work ridiculously long hours that exhaust me both physically and creatively.
My Plan is now a flexible one, which gives me a sensible, attainable goal to work toward, with room for improvising built in.
Do you have a plan? If so, is it working for you? Keeping you on course, yet allowing for detours in the road? I’d like to know what’s working for you guys, and what’s not. Hope you’ll share some thoughts with us.
The Write Stuff 
I think a plan is essential, a conclusion I arrived at after floundering around without one. I think you’re wise to have one element of the plan be very specific in terms of what you want to accomplish and when. Having a second element that’s ongoing and contributes to the success of the first also makes good sense. I say this because I came up with a good plan for getting my book done but did not develop a marketing strategy, which is like getting your kid to school on time but without clothes. I don’t recommend trying to catch up to it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Karen! Yeah, that Marketing Thang…UGH. I would so rather just keep writing. That’s why instead of dreaming about fancy homes, designer clothes, and yachts, I dream about Virtual Assistants. OH, to be able afford one! *sigh*
I’m still working on how I want to approach marketing Rabbit’s story. I did ZERO marketing on either of my first books, other than to share on my blogs, FB, and Twitter. I’ve got to do better this time. 🙂
LikeLike
I’m always amazed by people with long-range plans. Oh, I make them too, sometimes, but quickly veer off in other directions. The kinds of plan I can (sometimes) stick to involve deciding which book to write first and giving myself a deadline to get the first draft and then the final draft done.
That said, I’m the opposite of a procrastinator. If I let myself, I’ll work until I fall into a little heap of weepy goo. (Too much writing = too little sleep = tears.) My husband doesn’t enjoy the goo stage, so he forces me to take time off now and then, but without his efforts, I’d churn out content until my fingers fell off.
Which is all a long way of saying that I can’t give you useful advice on this issue. Give me a deadline and I make sure I’m ready a week early, so there’s no last-minute rush for me. However, I have heard that some people who work similarly to you recommend reading The War of Art (which I haven’t read), so there’s one solid piece of advice. Also, preorders can act as solid deadlines for indie folks (even though I find them a bit dicey from a sales perspective) — Amazon *will* punish you if you set up a preorder and don’t get the book up in time.
Good luck!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Somehow I’m not surprised by the image of you working yourself into a heap of weeping goo. 🙂 You are an extremely industrious person, I suspect, and it seems in keeping with how I picture you. I’ll check out the War of Art. As for the plan, you notice that as soon as I made one, I gave myself a loophole. So that says a lot about my approach to life, I guess. 😉
LikeLike
Marcia, I like your idea of having a goal that’s not written in stone. It’s the perfect middle-of-the-road driving that doesn’t land you in either the burned-out or zero-turnout ditch. I’ve been doing NaNoWriMo this month, and it’s teaching me a lot about myself. Now I can formulate a writing plan (when it’s done) that’s flexible like a backbone instead of back-breaking.
I enjoy reading posts like this one to help navigate the ins and outs of the writing life. Stuff happens and we need to allow room for it, or we’ll hit the wall (a blank wall).
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Wendy! Being by nature a person who veers from one extreme to the other, I have to work at finding a middle of the road approach to things. This is one of those cases where my Plan was going to set me up for constant failure and feelings of inadequacy if I didn’t do so. I mean, I would figure that I needed to write 3,000 words to reach my daily goal, and then be very upset when I only wrote 1,200 or 1,500 words that day. Well, for Pete’s sake. I was punishing myself for reaching numbers that are perfectly acceptable to most writers, and often as much as they strive for. I knew that had to stop.
So…a bit of attitude adjustment and a change of perspective, and now the pressure is off. And when I’m not stressing, I can easily write 3,000 words at a single sitting. Heck, I can barely keep my emails under that! 🙂 So it works for me, and if it sounds like a good idea to you, I’m happy. Congratulations on doing NaNoWriMo, btw. I’m impressed with everyone who tries it. It’s on my ToDo list. Maybe next time.
Thanks for stopping by, and if you’ll email me, I have something for you. Or PM me on Twitter.
LikeLiked by 1 person