I have...had four days off from work. Sounds like I should get a lot done, right? But the days are filled up as soon as I'm up and about. I had intended to finish writing The Accidental Highland Hero, finish writing the lessons for Show vs Tell Workshop,finish judging 3 contest entries. But other stuff has to be done also--like teaching two online workshops, and promoting. I have been steadily working on The Accidental Highland Hero and am getting closer to the end--at least as far as word count goes. :) But it will need a lot of revisions particularly near the end before I can send it in.

Then what?  I have to get started on a new werewolf book. No breaks, just keep writing, submitting, promoting, and teaching.

How to manage when it seems we have no spare time? Set goals. Realistic goals. Can I finish writing The Accidental Highland Hero in 4 days? Maybe, if I really stick to it and don't get stuck. I often can write lots at the end. But realistically, probably not. Word count wise, I'll have it. But it won't be a finished product. Still, my goal was to finish writing it. Editing after that won't take so long.

What hurts is all the unwanted and unneeded distractions. Are they inevitable? Sometimes. :) Sometimes not. Ever found yourself wanting to watch some tv program, and then watched, and watched, and watched. Just one show, that turned into three or four more. Ever think if I just have a full day to work I'll really get something done, but then you never sit down and do it?

Setting goals really does help. If it doesn't work to keep them in your head, write them down. Get so many words done per day. Get so many pages done. Get a scene written, a chapter written. Whatever is realistic. If you miss a day, no problem. But at least if for the majority of the time we're sticking to our goals, the work will get done.

*sigh* I have 3 days left, and yes, I did teach, promote, and write a big chunk of The Accidental Highland Hero yesterday, plus did a lot of editing. Three more days to finish it, but now I have a date with my daughter on Tuesday and a date with my son on Wednesday, neither of which I had planned. Is it important enough to tear myself away from writing? You bet. Which means I'd better get cracking.

Set your goals and make every effort to stick to them. But if life gets in the way...well, it's just inevitable sometimes. It's the tv, emails, or other stuff that eats up the time that we can probably do away with which will help keep our productivity in line. :)

Promo for the day: So far I'm tied in first place with another paranormal romance author and am hoping for more votes to break the tie! If you would like to vote for me, you can just do a find/search for Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear. Thanks!

http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/NORAwards/fall2008norawardsromancebooks.asp

Terry Spear

www.terryspear.com

Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf (coming Mar 1), Winning the Highlander's Heart, The Vampire...In My Dreams