Day 648: Blocking made the writing faster and more fun today

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The writing went a lot faster today because I noticed that my blocking notes for this scene were more detailed. The blocking for some scenes are more detailed than others, but lately I’ve been trying to have the same level of detail in every scene that I block so that the writing can go smoothly like today. It takes extra time to do the blocking, but being able to write smoothly and quickly as a result is very satisfying and makes the writing a lot more enjoyable for me. Not every writer likes this depth of outlining, but for me, it really works to make the writing process go quickly and feel more fun.

***

WOW I had a hard time getting back to work after lunch. I started working on my blocking, but then I got distracted. I don’t know how much time I wasted, since I didn’t stop my Toggl timer while I was distracted.

 I think part of the reason is that my upper back has been bothering me since I woke up, and it got a bit worse during lunch. However, I had been able to work through it before lunch, so I don’t know why it would distract me so much more after lunch.

It took me a while to shake myself out of it. When I did, I tried several things to help me focus better. I did a minute of breathing, an extra session. I also started playing a soundtrack I’m not as familiar with, so the music is almost like a new album.

The changes seemed to help me focus a bit more. I’m disappointed in myself, but I guess I just need to practice more so that I can engage in deep focus when I need to.

***

I finally gave up on doing more blocking. I got a little done, but got distracted again.

When I switched to working on the Hawaii book, I only had to take notes, so it was easier to do. When I work on the Hawaii book tomorrow, though, it’ll be tougher because I have to figure out how I’ll revise a significant thread in the book.

I also remembered to get a little bit of marketing done today. It feels good to know that I’m chipping away at my marketing tasks little by little rather than anticipating a large amount of work one day a month.

Regency series:

Editing: Time spent: 27 minutes

Writing: Time spent: 55 minutes

Writing: Total number of words: 1143 words

Writing streak: 127 days

Blocking: time spent: 0

Blocking streak: 121 days

Hawaii series:

Outlining: time spent: 2 hours 57 minutes

Time spent doing other writing-related business: 23 minutes

My takeaway for today: It takes extra time to do the blocking, but being able to write smoothly and quickly as a result is very satisfying and makes the writing a lot more enjoyable for me.

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