Everything in Its Own Time

I've had three weeks off from my teaching job, but have been disappointed at how little I've written on my new novel. At last, today, I've figured out a secret that will, perhaps, help me for the rest of my writing life.

I am most productive writing in little spurts, rather than in hours. So, I've embraced that reality rather than denying it. I've scheduled many little spurts of writing, actually setting a timer so I don't write too long. Then I do something else, anything else, for a while until it's time for the next writing spurt. This way, I don't get jumpy or distracted when the ideas stop flowing for a minute, and therefore my attitude remains more positive about the whole project. This may be a major discovery!

(I haven't forgotten about the Cloud Atlas post. Next week. After I've written a few thousand more words...)