She's overthinking everything lately, mostly because wrangling a book from first pages to rough draft in 47 writing days is HARD. Partly due to “Monkey-Monkey-Underpants” syndrome~explanation below!
Wow! 47 days. Well I can totally relate to Monkey Monkey underpants, because that's me too. I have been on a strict writing schedule for 5 years. All writing came to a halt this year with the production of my audio book. BTW, I'll never do that again. But because of my schedule, I have 3 and a half books just about ready to go. 🥳
I wish I'd been able to do it in 47 days in a row -- but I definitely had some big breaks in there for other responsibilities and vacations. Sometimes those strict schedules work, and sometimes I just want to rebel and have a picnic or something. ha ha
Val, I love learning new terms like monkey-monkey-underpants that describe how my brain works. You didn't say how many hours a day you write. If many, my best advice from experience is to take breaks hourly, mainly for the sake of your hands' health. Carpal tunnel syndrome will undermine all the rest of the great writing advice as it gives the monkey-monkey full reign over the underpants.
Yes, for sure, those breaks are so important. My bigger monitor was a life saver though on eye strain. Some of my writing sessions were as short as an hour in a day--when I had a tight schedule. A few days were long ones -- where I had a morning and afternoon session and even a couple of hours in the evening -- so up to 7 hours on a day like that. Most days were more like 4 hours or so. Total hours was about 130-135.
Delighted for you that you were able to accomplish that lofty goal. My tip, which I got from Erik Larsson, is to stop in the middle. In other words, when you end a writing session, it should be in mid-sentence, mid-paragraph, mid-scene--somewhere that makes it easy to pick up the flow of writing at the next session. Works for me like a charm!
Love this, Val! You are a rock star! I've written a book in 21 days and it was tough...and very much Monkey Monkey underpants! LOL! You gave some great tips. I've started putting my phone on airplane mode when I'm working. That way I don't even hear it buzzing. Thanks for a fun post!
Ah -- airplane mode. That would have worked. HA HA! Overall, it's a really intense level of concentration. I think it made me a better writer . . . or perhaps it was just more efficient, but I really liked the immersion. If I can manage that for my next book, I will do it again. Just turn everything off and let people know I'm in 'work mode.' :)
Good for you having a draft. Now crafting and structure come in. I did NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago and that helped, but they are no more. I'm glad you did an outline. A good thing to do now is to outline the first draft and make sure the pacing and plot points are where they need to be. You know, the three acts, call to action, big turning point, etc. Then think about how you might rearrange things, add, or subtract.
Thanks, Carl! Have you ever used beat sheets? Those can work well, too. I'll see how it all feels plot-wise on my read through. (Hopefully no major plot edits are needed!!)
monkey brain is exactly right . . . I just thought the clip from Gilmore Girls was so hilarious when she said monkey-monkey-underpants. Just makes me laugh every time I watch the clip. :)
I think you have to be satisfied with what you can do sustainably. I have a friend who was publishing four novels a year. With my family situation and my brain that will never happen. Put forth your amount of effort and do what you can. Burnout is not the goal. A life/writing balance is. Right?
Wow! 47 days. Well I can totally relate to Monkey Monkey underpants, because that's me too. I have been on a strict writing schedule for 5 years. All writing came to a halt this year with the production of my audio book. BTW, I'll never do that again. But because of my schedule, I have 3 and a half books just about ready to go. 🥳
I wish I'd been able to do it in 47 days in a row -- but I definitely had some big breaks in there for other responsibilities and vacations. Sometimes those strict schedules work, and sometimes I just want to rebel and have a picnic or something. ha ha
Val, I love learning new terms like monkey-monkey-underpants that describe how my brain works. You didn't say how many hours a day you write. If many, my best advice from experience is to take breaks hourly, mainly for the sake of your hands' health. Carpal tunnel syndrome will undermine all the rest of the great writing advice as it gives the monkey-monkey full reign over the underpants.
Yes, for sure, those breaks are so important. My bigger monitor was a life saver though on eye strain. Some of my writing sessions were as short as an hour in a day--when I had a tight schedule. A few days were long ones -- where I had a morning and afternoon session and even a couple of hours in the evening -- so up to 7 hours on a day like that. Most days were more like 4 hours or so. Total hours was about 130-135.
I'm glad you were taking care of yourself!
Delighted for you that you were able to accomplish that lofty goal. My tip, which I got from Erik Larsson, is to stop in the middle. In other words, when you end a writing session, it should be in mid-sentence, mid-paragraph, mid-scene--somewhere that makes it easy to pick up the flow of writing at the next session. Works for me like a charm!
That's great advice -- keeps you from stalling out with the 'now what?' question!!
Thank you for sharing these writing tips, Valerie! I am taking notes. Cheers to monkey-monkey-underpants solidarity!
It's a real thing . . . I don't know why that Gilmore Girl's clip makes me laugh so much. I've watched it a ton of times.
Love this, Val! You are a rock star! I've written a book in 21 days and it was tough...and very much Monkey Monkey underpants! LOL! You gave some great tips. I've started putting my phone on airplane mode when I'm working. That way I don't even hear it buzzing. Thanks for a fun post!
Ah -- airplane mode. That would have worked. HA HA! Overall, it's a really intense level of concentration. I think it made me a better writer . . . or perhaps it was just more efficient, but I really liked the immersion. If I can manage that for my next book, I will do it again. Just turn everything off and let people know I'm in 'work mode.' :)
Good for you having a draft. Now crafting and structure come in. I did NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago and that helped, but they are no more. I'm glad you did an outline. A good thing to do now is to outline the first draft and make sure the pacing and plot points are where they need to be. You know, the three acts, call to action, big turning point, etc. Then think about how you might rearrange things, add, or subtract.
Thanks, Carl! Have you ever used beat sheets? Those can work well, too. I'll see how it all feels plot-wise on my read through. (Hopefully no major plot edits are needed!!)
I've never used beet sheets. I should look up how they work and try them.
I like them when I know the pacing is off and I can't pinpoint exactly where I should speed up or slow down.
I've been calling it monkey-brain, but your term is more fun!
monkey brain is exactly right . . . I just thought the clip from Gilmore Girls was so hilarious when she said monkey-monkey-underpants. Just makes me laugh every time I watch the clip. :)
Valerie — Thank you for introducing a new-to-me term: “monkey-monkey-underpants." I love it!
It makes me laugh every time. And we need that kind of laughter in this business!!
Thank you for these tips---I'm taking notes over here!
I think you have to be satisfied with what you can do sustainably. I have a friend who was publishing four novels a year. With my family situation and my brain that will never happen. Put forth your amount of effort and do what you can. Burnout is not the goal. A life/writing balance is. Right?
Yes, very true. I could never sustain 4 books a year . . . probably 2 is my max. I'd hate to lose the joy of the process!