Endel looks really interesting. I sampled a few tracks on Spotify (feel very reticent to do 7-week sub trials atm!). Would you say it's worth it? Better than starting it off on Spotify and letting the radio there do the work (I find this great for eg Brian Eno).
Asana is great! We use Airtable for the editorial calendar for On and Reads, which works really well. Wondering what tools others here use esp if you have any collaborators on posts. Maybe we need a calendar inbuilt into the Substack Editor?!
I would love to and I tried. It appears to me that only you can change it from your side. All I can do is unsubscribe from Novelleist as robinbullard@icloud.com (RoBull), and then resubscribe as rubenbix@icloud.com (Ruben Bix) with a new subscription which will cost me extra. Maybe you can fix? Sorry to ask you to change it for me but it would be great if you can...
For a structure-averse, inspiration-driven mortal, a highly-organized, task-oriented, methodologist like yourself seems like a separate animal species. That said, I wrote the first draft of my serial novel while I had a 40-hr/w job, and like you, I was determined to get to my desk early each morning and work until I had to run out the door. (No therapeutic soaks in a bathtub for me!) I quit that full-time job in part to be able to finish the book which now is being released two chapters a week on substack. I'd love it if you took a look!! And I feel less shy about asking now that I see you subscribe to over 200 substacks! Mornings are the best time of day for me to write and I resent any interruption before eleven or so. These days, it's the chapter illustrations that are driving me to my desk and taking most of my time. I'm not an organized person but, if things are going well and a good result is forming in front of me, I can spend an entire day at one task. (I'm lucky that my boring job is just three days per week now, though those days are long). Anyway, I do love that you shared your system. I subscribed to the Novelleist before I started publishing my book so don't be confused by the pen name which is different than the one I used for your interesting column. It's here: thenaturepreserve@substack.com
"I read until I can’t help but write" - I did this for a while and then stopped doing it, chastising myself instead for squandering valuable writing time on reading, but I think you're so right. Going to try this again for the next few days.
Bravo on your amazing discipline. I bounce from thing to thing all day. Depending on what has my attention and passion at the time. Or what needs doing. I have spans of “obsession” that can last days or years. They have allowed me to record an album, write a novel, crank out hundreds of short stories, learn many things, etc. But I couldn’t do the same thing every day. I tend to follow my interests. Fortunately, they are many! 🤣
Love your ideas. I tend to write at the end of the day, around 4:00. That routine began because my work day started at 6:00 and I did not have free time during the day. My employment has changed since I began writing in early 2018, so now I have morning hours open, but I continue to enjoy writing at the end of my day. With so much to learn on Substack I'm using the morning hours to read other's work and try to figure out how best to grow my newsletter.
Love reading this. I'm a process/systems type, so always get frustrated when writers who publish are like, "I write, you know? For like hours." Not helpful.
Know what you mean about the 1st draft. Read something from Terry Pratchett, is that the 1st draft is you telling yourself the story. Blew my mind, and immediately made the initial drafts on subsequent scenes that much easier to do.
Thank you so much for sharing your rituals, Elle. This came at a perfect time for me. As a chronically ill writer, I've really struggled with finding the energy to scratch my writing itch (and y'know, do my work) without making myself unwell. I literally had to sit down with my husband at the weekend and come up with a plan so I can work more sustainably. It can be really challenging when your brain and your body just forces you to stop, but you kind of want to push through to finish what you're working on.
This week I'm starting to go back and experiment with routines and rituals that are flexible enough to me to work for when I'm not able to produce much at all, and I found a great deal of comfort and inspiration in reading about your routines. Thank you.
Endel looks really interesting. I sampled a few tracks on Spotify (feel very reticent to do 7-week sub trials atm!). Would you say it's worth it? Better than starting it off on Spotify and letting the radio there do the work (I find this great for eg Brian Eno).
Asana is great! We use Airtable for the editorial calendar for On and Reads, which works really well. Wondering what tools others here use esp if you have any collaborators on posts. Maybe we need a calendar inbuilt into the Substack Editor?!
I would love to and I tried. It appears to me that only you can change it from your side. All I can do is unsubscribe from Novelleist as robinbullard@icloud.com (RoBull), and then resubscribe as rubenbix@icloud.com (Ruben Bix) with a new subscription which will cost me extra. Maybe you can fix? Sorry to ask you to change it for me but it would be great if you can...
For a structure-averse, inspiration-driven mortal, a highly-organized, task-oriented, methodologist like yourself seems like a separate animal species. That said, I wrote the first draft of my serial novel while I had a 40-hr/w job, and like you, I was determined to get to my desk early each morning and work until I had to run out the door. (No therapeutic soaks in a bathtub for me!) I quit that full-time job in part to be able to finish the book which now is being released two chapters a week on substack. I'd love it if you took a look!! And I feel less shy about asking now that I see you subscribe to over 200 substacks! Mornings are the best time of day for me to write and I resent any interruption before eleven or so. These days, it's the chapter illustrations that are driving me to my desk and taking most of my time. I'm not an organized person but, if things are going well and a good result is forming in front of me, I can spend an entire day at one task. (I'm lucky that my boring job is just three days per week now, though those days are long). Anyway, I do love that you shared your system. I subscribed to the Novelleist before I started publishing my book so don't be confused by the pen name which is different than the one I used for your interesting column. It's here: thenaturepreserve@substack.com
Love this post.
"I read until I can’t help but write" - I did this for a while and then stopped doing it, chastising myself instead for squandering valuable writing time on reading, but I think you're so right. Going to try this again for the next few days.
Bravo on your amazing discipline. I bounce from thing to thing all day. Depending on what has my attention and passion at the time. Or what needs doing. I have spans of “obsession” that can last days or years. They have allowed me to record an album, write a novel, crank out hundreds of short stories, learn many things, etc. But I couldn’t do the same thing every day. I tend to follow my interests. Fortunately, they are many! 🤣
Love your ideas. I tend to write at the end of the day, around 4:00. That routine began because my work day started at 6:00 and I did not have free time during the day. My employment has changed since I began writing in early 2018, so now I have morning hours open, but I continue to enjoy writing at the end of my day. With so much to learn on Substack I'm using the morning hours to read other's work and try to figure out how best to grow my newsletter.
Love reading this. I'm a process/systems type, so always get frustrated when writers who publish are like, "I write, you know? For like hours." Not helpful.
Know what you mean about the 1st draft. Read something from Terry Pratchett, is that the 1st draft is you telling yourself the story. Blew my mind, and immediately made the initial drafts on subsequent scenes that much easier to do.
Thank you so much for sharing your rituals, Elle. This came at a perfect time for me. As a chronically ill writer, I've really struggled with finding the energy to scratch my writing itch (and y'know, do my work) without making myself unwell. I literally had to sit down with my husband at the weekend and come up with a plan so I can work more sustainably. It can be really challenging when your brain and your body just forces you to stop, but you kind of want to push through to finish what you're working on.
This week I'm starting to go back and experiment with routines and rituals that are flexible enough to me to work for when I'm not able to produce much at all, and I found a great deal of comfort and inspiration in reading about your routines. Thank you.