How do you hold yourself accountable? Do you insist on doing a certain number of words each day or a certain amount of time? What happens if you don't meet the goal? Is there punishment? Do you give yourself treats for meeting goals?
Brenda here, confessing about my work habits ... or lack of work habits.
I'm not a strict taskmaster when it comes to writing, preferring the gentle, forgiving approach. Honestly, I'm writing for the fun of it and have always had the mindset that I won't deny myself a social life or time with my family in order to be an author.
Stephen King once said that he writes every single day, come rain or shine, Christmas or vacation. I thought about doing that, then gave my head a shake. Forcing myself to write daily would make me hate it. There'd be no time to recharge my creative juices or to let ideas percolate.
At one point, I was writing two books a year for two different publishers while working full-time as a senior communications advisor in the federal government. The full-length mystery took me about eight months and the adult literacy novella took another three. Those were busy years, and I'm not quite certain how I managed. I've since retired from the government and write one book a year, which gives me lots of lee-way. That said, I've signed a contract to have a book submitted to the publisher by June 1st and have a new book being released May 1st. I've been writing one book while editing the other, and this has meant being more regimented in my schedule. I am planning to take the summer off from writing once I submit the manuscript - perhaps, this is my 'carrot'.
I don't need outside rewards or punishments to accomplish word counts or to meet a deadline. I've always been highly self-motivated, setting my own goals. If I put off a task, I often wake up in the night, fretting over it and know I have to get it done the next day. One thing I do as a sort of treat when I'm writing is to take breaks to read a chapter from whatever novel I've started reading. This keeps me motivated, oddly enough.
We all find our own rhythm and choose the work habits that work best for us. I'll be interested to read how my fellow Criminal Minds bloggers answer this question :-)
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