Camy's Writing Diary

I didn’t sleep well last night, I woke up with IBS pain, and I also found a huge plot hole in this next scene I was going to write, so I’m not sure how much writing I’m going to get done today. I intend to dictate a brainstorming session to try to fix my plot hole. I think that I tend to brainstorm better while dictating, but it might also partly be because I’m moving around while dictating, and that probably helps me to think better, too. *** Well today ended up being rather terrible in terms of word count. My IBS didn’t get any better despite taking medication, which only made me sleepy. I did manage to get some marketing done while I wasn’t feeling well, so it wasn’t completely wasted time. When I finally felt better in the late afternoon, I had technical difficulties. First my digital voice recorder set up had issues. Then our external hard drive started beeping and I had to figure out what was wrong. Then I decided to set up a different headset for recording to see how that ...

Yesterday, I was listening to some podcasts and thinking about my writing system. I know that many prolific authors write in multiple projects at the same time. Sometimes they work on another project while waiting for edits on the book they just finished, or else they work on two books at the same time, working a few minutes on each of them every day. So I was thinking would it be better for my career to release books in both pen names more slowly but at the same time, or to release books quickly in one pen name and then nothing while I write in the other? I honestly think it would be better to release books in both pen names rather than having a long stretch of no releases in one pen name while I’m working on the other. But I don’t know if I could work on two projects at the same time. Do I really want to do two projects in a day? Is that the most efficient use of my time? Or, on the other hand, would it be better to work on two projects so that I can give my brain a rest fr...

Okay, actually I’m posting this on Monday because I had bad IBS on Saturday and couldn’t post this then, but my writing streak reached 450 days! I’ve written at least 100 words or 5 minutes every single day for 450 consecutive days. It got easier for me to discipline myself to keep the streak as it grew longer, simply because I didn’t want to have to break it! It was sometimes hard to do those few minutes of writing on days when I had bad IBS pains or a sinus headache, but I knew I could at the very least lie in bed and write a few minutes on my phone, so I had no excuse. The biggest benefit has been that I have kept my head in my story. Before, whenever I skipped writing due to IBS or a headache, sometimes I wouldn’t get right back to work for a few days—the IBS especially usually flares up for a few days at a time. So by the time I got back to writing, I had to reorient myself with the scene and the story. It felt a bit like a hill I had to bike over, but I’d stopped pedaling at...

I woke up yesterday with another IBS flare up, but I managed to get some marketing work done in the morning, which is stuff I can do despite the pain. It got only a little better in the afternoon, but I wanted to try to get some work done on the manuscript, so I decided to dictate a bit. I realized I needed to block the scene better, so I dictated my blocking notes and managed to get that done. I didn’t write any prose, but I was ready to start writing the scene today. Unfortunately I had some IBS pain this morning, and so I did a little bit of marketing instead. But the IBS didn’t decrease much by the afternoon, so I ended up doing dictation while still being a bit uncomfortable. I thought I’d only do a little dictation, but I ended up dictating about half the scene, approximately 3000 words, which took 75 minutes. My dictation speed wasn’t too bad, about 2500 words per hour. The cleanup editing took a little less time, 65 minutes. I made a decision today to change how I recorded ...

I kept up my dictation streak over the weekend even though I was scheduled to only work on my Hawaii contemporary story on Saturday. I did some blocking for the next scene, which needed a lot of work before I could start writing it. I also was scheduled to do mostly marketing on Saturday, and I happened to have a lot to do this weekend, so I decided to only do a little work on the Hawaii book (only about the amount of time it took to finish blocking the next scene). I still wanted to keep up my dictation streak and usually try to do at least the bare minimum of 5 minutes, but I didn’t want to do only 5 minutes of dictation on the Hawaii book now when I won’t get back to it until next week Saturday. So instead I did five minutes of dictation on the Regency manuscript, and then I spent the majority of my workday on Saturday on the marketing stuff. And then on Sunday, I did another 5 minutes of dictation on my Regency manuscript, just to keep up my writing and dictation streaks. To...

I had a bad IBS flareup last night, and it was really hard to get started on writing today. I am a bit tired, but I also wasn't able to go walking outside and dictating because the weather was too cold and I simply don't have appropriate gloves to be able to dictate in cold weather (at least, cold for Northern California). When I walk for exercise, I can keep my hands in my jacket pockets, but I have to hold my digital recorder when I walk and dictate, and when I tried doing that today, my fingers were too cold and painful before I got even a block away from my house, so I had to turn back. The gloves I was wearing just didn't cut it. So I had an excuse to spend money, and bought some gloves online so that I can walk and dictate in colder weather. Now, knowing my luck, the weather will turn superhot by the time the gloves arrive. Because I'm feeling a bit tired today due to the IBS flareup last night, I might only do a short duration of dictation, and spend a little...

I am getting started on my dictation a little late in the day today, because I had to go pick up the vegetables from the co-op. In hindsight, I should have done the dictation first, and then gone to pick up the vegetables afterward, and then I could have done the cleanup editing after that. But I'm so used to picking up the co-op vegetables at a certain time, that I simply didn't think of it. I'll have to try to remember this for next week. Also, I don't know why this is, but before, when I tried to write via typing, if I hadn't yet picked up the vegetables, the thought of that would nag at me while I was writing. I think because I was afraid that I would forget. It's a little bit easier to simply go pick up the vegetables as soon as the alarm sounds on my phone. I'm not sure if the reminder to pick up the vegetables would still nag at me if I were walking and dictating, but I suspect it would not simply because I am outside, and I also have found that I...

My IBS has been bothering me a bit lately. I think I ate too much of a food that is okay for me to eat, but only in moderate amounts. The pain has not been as bad as it has been before, but it has still been distracting. I'm doing a little bit of dictation every day. My bare minimum is only five minutes of dictation, but most days I do about 30 minutes dictation, and then the cleanup editing is another 30 minutes. I also try to do my cycling edit every day. So even though my IBS has been bothering me, I am still able to get work done on my book. I am approximately one third of the way through the book, but I had hoped to have more done on it by now. I started the book in early December, but I was busy because the previous book released in mid-December, and then I had a couple promotions to set up after that. Then I was traveling over Christmas, and got hardly anything done for about two weeks. I thought I would start getting more writing done after Christmas, but I have been ...

I’ve had somewhat bad IBS for the past couple days—I was in pain, but it wasn’t as bad as I’ve had it at other times. It was still distracting and hard to work, but I still managed to get writing done. What I did was work on stuff like marketing and editing in the morning, when my IBS was worst, and I took medicine and waited for it to kick in. Sometimes the medicine didn’t work all that well and I didn’t start to feel better until the late afternoon, but I usually found at least 30 or 60 minutes where I wasn’t feeling too badly. I took advantage of my time when I felt better in order to dictate a bit of my book. I mentioned earlier that it seems easier for me to focus when I’m dictating. Maybe it’s because I tend to walk when I dictate—whether walking outside, or like yesterday, just pacing in my room. I find it’s easier for me to forget about my IBS when I’m walking and dictating, at least most of the time—sometimes there was just so much pain and nausea that it distracts me from...

My headache is gone today, but I began having more IBS issues after I woke up. The IBS made me change up my morning routine a little bit—I opted for a lower intensity exercise today—and it took a little while, but I finally got myself to start my dictation for the day. I'm really glad, because this is earlier in the day than I have been able to start writing for the past several days. I want to develop more discipline to start my writing earlier in the day, because I find that I write for longer and I have a bit more energy when I do the cleanup editing. Conversely, it felt strange to be starting writing early today, which is a bad thing. I want it to be part of my daily routine, so that I will immediately move into writing as soon as my “ frogs " are completed. Hopefully if I can discipline myself to start writing earlier in the day for a few more weeks, I will become more used to it and it won't feel so strange. And hopefully it will be easier for me to do, because it ...

Just when I was blogging about disruptions to my schedule yesterday, I had another disruption today. I woke up with a terrible headache, and while I can usually do certain types of work (marketing, editing) while suffering from IBS pain, I absolutely cannot get work done with a headache. Actually, I could force myself to do some work, but after about 20 minutes, my headache will get worse and turn into a full-blown migraine, and I have to avoid that at all costs. A migraine on one day will leave me feeling drained and slightly headachy the next day, also. So I did my best to get rid of the headache. I moved around, I drink lots of water, I drink some tea, and I took pain meds. However, it didn't start to go away until the late afternoon, and now that it's dinner time, I still feel a slight headache. However, I want to get some work done today, so I'm going to try to do some dictation on my book. And while it’s transcribing, I will also try to get done the cycling edit o...

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I have had a difficult time getting started on work today because my morning schedule was disrupted. We awoke to find the power had gone out because of the storms. I usually have a set schedule of things I do in the morning. It's partly because I have found that my brain tends to be a little fuzzy for the first hour or two after I wake up. It's not a problem if I have things to do that don't require a great deal of creativity, but I found that my fuzzy brain makes it hard to write, because I will usually stare at the blank screen or have long periods of silence when I dictate as I try to think of what to write next. So my morning ritual keeps me busy and helps to get my mind warmed up and firing. I usually exercise, do some house chores, make breakfast and make tea. The tea is especially comforting when I sit down at my computer after breakfast. My reliance upon rituals and routine is also probably why it's difficult for...

I had a bad IBS flareup this morning, which made it difficult to concentrate, so I decided to do some marketing rather than writing first thing. I ended up getting a lot of marketing done, which was great. However, my IBS never really got much better as the day went on. My IBS is still bothering me even though it is close to dinner, and so I decided to do a little bit of dictation now, even though I feel some discomfort. A little bit of dictation is better than nothing. I'm not sure how much I will be able to dictate, but at the very least I can do my cycling edit of the dictation from last week Friday. I am also almost at the end of the scene, and if the dictation isn't going too badly, I will hopefully do more than just the bare minimum and try to finish it. *** I’m so frustrated! I lost 30 minutes of dictation because I had forgotten to make sure my digital recorder was recording (it was not). I had to redo it, which took less time than before, but that’s still 30 mi...

Since today is Saturday, I decided to dictate my writing for my contemporary contemporary romantic suspense, Year of the Dog. It was a lot more difficult than I expected. I'm not certain if it's because it's a new story, or because the language is different, or perhaps both. I only dictated for a little less than half an hour. I could have I needed another 30 minutes of dictation to finish the scene, but it was due to rain, so I decided to go home. I was going to dictate the rest of the scene while walking around my house instead, but I ended up getting distracted when I got home (argh!) and instead typed it at my desk. But I finished the scene, at least, so that’s great. I'm glad I did the dictation, but I'm also wondering if I need to to do exercises before I start the dictation. When I was doing dictation before, I found that doing dictation exercises before jumping into the writing made it easier for me to immediately start dictating quickly, and I think my ov...

I had a bad IBS flareup in the early morning hours, and so I slept through my alarm this morning and got up late. It’s frustrating to be getting to work late, but I tried to be efficient. As I blogged about yesterday, I did my dictation first thing. Well, not exactly first thing—I did my “ frogs ” first, my exercise, house chores, Japanese study and Bible reading. I have to admit my Japanese study lately has been very minimal and takes only a few minutes rather than 30 minutes. I had gotten into the habit of cutting my Japanese study short when my IBS was bad and I needed the extra time for writing, and then I cut it short when I was scrambling to finish my book in time for it to release in December. I guess I just haven’t gotten out of the habit of rushing through it, even though now I’m not as pressed for time to finish the book. However, when I wake up late, I still feel pressured to get started on my writing as soon as possible, which is why I’ve been still doing only the bare mi...

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to be better about my social media. Unfortunately, that also means that social media has become a distraction for me during the day whereas before it wasn’t at all, since I wasn’t on it at all. So I have to confess that I spent too long on social media today before I started writing, and so I began work a bit later in the day than I had wanted to. I know that getting away from my computer is best in order to remove the distraction of social media, so when I started my dictation today, instead of sitting at my desk to dictate like I did before, I took my digital recorder and dictated while walking around my house. Not as nice as when I walk outside, but it was raining so I had to make do. Walking around helped me to focus on the dictation and get it done without being distracted by social media, so I consider that a win. I dictated a tiny bit faster than yesterday, but I also had less to delete, and so my dictation was overall more efficient t...

I decided to try a dictation streak since the writing streak has helped me immensely with my discipline. I think the writing streak also made me much more productive overall, even accounting for days I only did the bare minimum of work. If I hadn’t had the writing streak, I probably wouldn’t have done ANY work, and that might have gone on for longer than the number of days I only did the bare minimum. I think I got back into the regular swing of writing sooner because of the streak. So, in light of that, I decided to try the same with dictation in the hopes that doing it every day will help me get better at it. I looked back on my writing diary and was able to see that I stopped dictation in November around the time book 4 was releasing and I was frantically trying to finish writing book 5. I was struggling with procrastination (so what else is new) and it was easier to sit and type than dictate. But even then I hadn’t completely given up on dictation since I wanted to put in more ...

I reconnected with a writing friend today and it was really, really great. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed talking about writing stuff with someone. She also motivated me to try dictation again because she’s been forced to use it for the past several years. It’s really hard NOT to be motivated when she talks about writing 10,000 words in one day. I had been concerned that my writing via dictation is simply not as elegant as my writing via typing, but there was one thing I realized during the past week or so of vacation when I was doing only the bare minimum of writing on my manuscript—I think that my editing has gotten better. My writing on the current scene wasn’t very good since I was writing while with my family, with lots of noise and distractions. So I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that I had to edit it a lot afterward. I ended up doing several passes over what I’d written—mostly because I was only doing 5 minutes of work on my manuscript each day, just to keep up m...

Wow it’s been a long time since I blogged! I don’t have a very good excuse for the few days after my last blog post because I was just lazy about blogging (right after I’d blogged that I needed to blog daily for accountability). But then I went traveling for Christmas and was only doing the bare minimum of work during those days. I have to admit I was really tempted to stop the writing streak during the holidays because it was hard to do even a little writing every day. Some days I was busy all day and only remembered a few minutes before midnight that I hadn’t yet done some writing. After that happened twice, I decided to try to write on my phone when I was waiting in the car or driving somewhere with family. But I hadn’t prepared enough and belatedly discovered that I couldn’t write on 4thewords on my phone because the new website isn’t optimized for mobile. I had all my writing notes and the last paragraphs I wrote in the scene in 4thewords, but I couldn’t add more writing using...