There is one thing you can always count on as a writer: Your job will always be changing. I happen to love that every day when I pull up my chair to my desk, I have something new to look forward to. I can truly say I never get bored.

Isn’t it great when you love what you do?

A while back, I wrote about a new process that I put in place to spark more creativity in my writing.

I followed the process for a while, but I noticed that it started changing. The more I used the process, the quicker it morphed into something different. It made me go back and think about the reasons why I put them in place at all.

Old processes

I thought I had everything figured out. From the time I woke to the time I went to bed, I had everything planned out. This whole thing was new to me because, as a pantser, I am used to doing everything on the fly.

The process looked like this:

• 6:00am — 8:30am: Coffee and breakfast. I spend this time thinking about what I am going to write. I explore different ways to tackle the topic and make notes of things I want to end up in the story, essay, or article.
• 8:30am — 11:00am: Planning. I sit and write all the outlines for the day. If I am writing four pieces, I will create four rough outlines with notations about the research I’d done the previous evening.
• 12:00–4:00pm: All I do during this time is write. I am a poor typist, so it takes me a bit longer to get everything in the document. If I have any time left, I will proof, edit, and format what I’ve written. When everything is done, and I am happy, I publish.
• 6:00pm- 10:00pm: After dinner I read on Medium. While I’m reading, I will often come up with ideas, so I always keep a draft open to record anything that springs to mind. Also, if I have a meaty article planned for the next day, I spend time doing research and making notes.

It worked great when I stuck to it. But, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I write about a lot of personal stuff, and most of the time, I won’t need an outline. I just write as inspiration strikes me and it all seems to work out.

The funniest thing is, I noticed that the stories I wrote by the seat of my pants performed better than the planned ones! The unplanned ones were getting curated, and people were clapping and commenting, even when I didn’t post in a publication.

What was I supposed to do?

New processes?

I am very leery about implementing any more processes since my writing only seems to take on life when I wing it. I’ve spent the last few days changing things around. I still do have somewhat of a plan, but this appeals to the pantser in me much more.

The other thing that changed my process is the fact that I have been writing for and building my new blog. I’ve only been publishing one story a day on Medium and spending the rest of the time creating for the blog. I know this will slow down, but I need to make sure I allocate time for it.

• 6:00am-8:30am: Coffee. Sometimes breakfast. I spend this time catching up on social media because I don’t seem to get much time throughout the day.
• 8:30am-3:00pm: My daughter will be out of school in a few weeks, so I won’t have to break up my day as much. If I have a beefy article, I make a rough outline. Otherwise, I start writing and don’t stop. I try to take breaks every half-hour and stretch. Sometimes I forget and will look up after a few hours with a 3000-word behemoth staring back at me (I did that yesterday). I usually have time for three posts a day, which is good. After I write, I edit, proof, and publish.
• 6:00pm-10pm: Reading and researching. I haven’t been reading as much because I have been working on WordPress in the evening. When you launch a new blog, there are hundreds of details that take up so much time!

I have been so tired by the time I lay my head on the pillow that it takes maybe 30 seconds to go to sleep.

The only thing I’m sure about is change

I love being a bit freer with my time. I’ve never been much of a planner and leaving everything to chance somehow seems to work for me. I’m sure as I continue with this workload, everything will change even more.

That is the only thing I’m sure of knowing.

I’d be interested to know what your process is! Please leave a comment and let me know how you go about your writing day. If I get enough responses, I will turn it into a Medium story!

Thank you for reading!