Are You a Productive Writer?

By Marilyn Forsyth

Am I a Productive Writer? 

Image courtesy of giphy

Short answer: NO.

It’s why I’ve been researching articles that outline simple steps used by ‘Super Productive People’ to be…well, productive; developing habits like rising early, planning each day, incorporating exercise, etc. So, if what I've read is right, that something like 40% of our daily actions are driven by our habits, then it should be doable to create a new daily routine incorporating these steps, right?

To that end, I’ve taken a few of these suggested habits and looked into how I might actually do just that.

1.     Plan Your Day the Night Before

Knowing what your goals are for the day gets the ball rolling straight away in the morning. Setting 3 goals is manageable - you can always do more. Be sure to prioritise your writing.

Makes sense.

2.     Get Up Earlier

Gives you more time (everyone’s most limited resource) in the day. Works best by being consistent with a wake-up time. Might mean going to bed a bit earlier to get 7-9 hours’ sleep.

I can do that.

3.     Tackle Your (Writing) Goals First Thing

Skip the emails, social media and other distractions and get straight to work when your energy is at its highest.

Hmm. I’m not really a morning person; I’ve found my creative energy peaks later in the day so I do my social media stuff when I first get up. Might be worth a try if I’m going to commit to this, though. (Unfortunately, scrolling is not productive.)

Image courtesy of giphy

4.     Create ‘Office Hours’ (for social media/email interactions)

Social media sucks so much time. Set a hard limit for time spent on it.

Good idea. I really do need to do this if I want to get more done.

Image courtesy of giphy

5.     Do NOT Multitask

Do one task at a time and see it through to completion.

Oh crikey! Is that even possible??

Image courtesy of giphy

6.     Schedule Breaks

Get out of that chair! Not only does it give your eyes a rest but 20 minutes of exercise a day is good for your health and general well-being. And always have a glass of water handy.

I’ll see how I go with this. When I’m in the zone I find it hard to take time out.

Image courtesy of giphy

7.     Perfection is Unrealistic

Yes, we all want our work to be the best it can be, but don’t give in to the temptation of constantly revising and tweaking your writing. Set a time limit to finish your final edit and stick to it.

I’m already working hard on this as I am a bit of a perfectionist.

8.     Outsource

I wish! Realistically, unless you’re making money from your writing, this isn’t an option for most of us.

It’s obvious that just because these ‘habits’ work for other people, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll work for me and, reading back over this, I’ve realised I’m not going to be able to incorporate all the ‘habits’ (at one time) to increase my productivity.

So, maybe I’ll start with one. What’s that old saying? The longest journey begins with the first step? Wish me luck!

Love to Love: my new lifestyle. Living in an apartment in the city is fantastic!

Love to Laugh: at the Graham Norton Show. Love his interviewing technique. 😂

Love to Learn: anything and everything about ancient Egypt, which is why I bought tickets to the Horizon of Khufu experience. It was sensational! Here’s the link if you’d like to know more: Horizon of Khufu | Sydney Olympic Park

 

RWAustralia Conference round-up

 By Cassandra Ssmuels

Greetings everyone, what a month it has been. I had the great pleasure to attend the annual Romance Writers of Australia conference in the picturesque Glenelg in Adelaide.

Fellow Blogger and Breathless member, Enisa Haines and I shared a room, and what an amazing view we had.

Friday night was the cocktail party and what fun that was. The theme was Trope Actually and I must say there were many runaway brides that night. Enisa went as a fortune teller complete with Crystal Ball, and I went as all the tropes - most of which fell off during the night. I got in a quick hug with Hugh Jackman, and enjoyed catching up with writing buddies, and finding out what they have been up to since last year.

Saturday was full of amazing workshops including a key speech from BJ Daniels - "It's never too late to reach your dream". Followed by 50 years of Mills and Boon where Enisa was asked, as a founding member of RWAust, to sit on the panel to discuss her long love affair with Mills and Boon books. She is second in from the left.

I then attended a wonderful workshop on "Success with a Series" by Anne Gracie which was timely as I have a series I am writing.

After a full day of workshops we swapped the jeans for frocks, and attended the HQ and Mills and Boon Gala awards dinner which was fabulous. Having been a bit of a contest addict in my early years, it was so nice to see up and coming authors winning and placing in the same contests. Special mention to one of my fave authors and friend on her Historical Ruby award - congratulations Amy Rose Bennett.

Sunday was again chocka-block full of workshops and key note speeches. "I Don't Just Write Kissing Books" by Elana Johnson was emotional and really made me think why I write what I do.

I didn't get to hear all of Christina Laurens key note, but I heard it was really good, and there were plenty of laughs.

Next year, the conference will be held in Wrest Point in Hobart Tasmania. So if you are interested, check out the RWAustralia website.

I love to love spending time with my writer friends at conference every year.

I love to laugh with my crit partners.

I love to learn  New things and ways of writing

I'm late... I'm late...

For a very important date... or two... or three!

There's been a lot going on in my life lately... job change, some family stuff and some illness (you know, all the usual stuff!) and it feels like I've been constantly chasing my tail (which is why this blog is going up a little later than normal!) but tomorrow I leave for the annual Romance Writers of Australia Conference, the theme for which this year is TROPE ACTUALLY! 

(Guess who hasn't packed yet?)

I'm very excited about this year's conference as one of the special guests is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE WRITING DUO Christina Lauren (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) (you should have heard my squeal when they were announced!).

So, as I sat down to write this blog (late, of course!) I thought that in honour of the TROPE ACTUALLY Conference and the special guests, I'd talk about two of my favourite things - Christina Lauren and the first book they published - a workplace romance - Beautiful Bastard.

Beautiful Bastard started its life as one of the most popular Twilight fanfics back in the day - an alternate universe story where Bella was an intern and Edward the demanding asshole of a boss. It was originally written by Christina, and then re-worked by Christina and Lauren into the form it is today - published as Beautiful Bastard.

The story combines a workplace romance with a touch of student/teacher, forbidden love and enemies to lovers. It is funny, very spicy, and also quite sentimental in parts, and gives excellent grovel. Bastard is also the first of a 10 book series (five novels and five novellas) that are well worth your time (Beautiful Secret is also one of my favourites with one of the greatest grovels and sweetest make up sex scenes of all time).

What is it that makes us love workplace romances? 

IMHO, it's because they're usually smart books, with smart characters and nothing is better than 'watching' people be GOOD at something. It's like the Olympics right, watching people excel at their thing (whatever that thing might be) is hot!

It's also got a taste of the forbidden (although, as a HR professional I can tell you that in most cases workplace relationships are allowed, you just have to disclose them - which is the step at which most people fail!) and a taste of reality - as most of us have some experience of a workplace... and maybe have had a wee workplace crush!

And, finally, there are often solid stakes - be it the consequences of non disclosure, or competition over a job or something else, love in the workplace can be a challenge!

Do you also love workplace romances? If yes, I'm taking a moment here for shameless self promotion! 

I have a workplace romance novella coming out on Wednesday 14 August as part of an anthology of workplace romances called Love on the Clock. You can buy it here.