Clocking In to Work

When I go in to my day job, I have to trek back to the employee locker room and hunch over an old, barely working computer to punch in for the day, and when I finally am off shift, I have to trudge back there again to clock out.  Through that computer system, they track my hours.  Furthermore, to get various certifications, I have to track my tutoring, so when I'm done with every student, I also log what times I worked with them, what class it was for, and what the main subjects I tutored were.

First gut reaction to this?  "But that's your job.  They do it to pay you.  Why does that matter?"

Writing is a job too.

People generally don't treat writing like a job.  They treat it like a hobby or a time-consuming and often annoying pass-time.  They don't acknowledge that many writers have gone through years of training, have had years of practice, and years of reading, in order to improve their craft.  Heck, most people don't even notice that there is craft involved in writing!

How many times have you, as a writer, been told by someone else, a non-writer, that they want to write a book one day?  Or, how many times has that same person, or any number of others like them, commented that that's nice, what's your real job?  Or that they are trying to write a bestseller in their spare time, without any past practice or training, or real want to be an actual author?  The last time this happened, I asked the person what they did for a living, and when she said she was a lawyer, I said that my favorite hobby was to *insert x kind of court case stuff here* in my spare time.

That shut her up real quick.

But, all in all, that was rude.  I'll be the first to admit it.  The comments which brush off writing as an actual profession were really starting to drive me batty, I was at the boiling point, and BOOM.  Explosion.  I'm sure if that woman sees me in the future, she'll quickly run the other direction.  That's not exactly what I wanted.

As much as I want to, I'm not going to be able to change the entire world's perception of writers.  I wish.  Maybe I will change a few here and there, people I know, who know me, and realize just how much hard work and dedication it has taken me to get where I am now.

So, what's the solution?

I am changing things on my end.  No, I'm not acting like writing is a hobby, I'm not going to only novel in my spare time without putting any attention to the improvement of my craft.  Far from it!

I'm going to clock in to work.

In a past blog, I mentioned that I had started a productivity spreadsheet, which was much like my accountability book... on steroids.  Here is the breakdown of everything I list, and why:

• Date: Well, it's good to know what day the writing was done on!
• Project Name: Being that I have a few different projects and different levels of completion, I list this.  However, if you want to keep separate sheets for separate projects, that's fine too!
• Location of Writing: This is where I list my writing environment, which can be very important!  Some places are naturally noisy, some have no wireless internet, and yet others are entirely too quiet!  It's good to know where I did my writing, so I can see any trends in my output.
• Time I'm Writing: This is an actually x:xx p.m - x:xx pm list.  I only clock time where I am actually grinding my fingers against the keyboard.  If I have to go refill my coffee cup, I'll clock out.  If I get distracted by lolcats, I'll clock out.  This is working time only!
• Starting/Ending Wordcount: This is not necessary for all lists, but I have it, because I am clocking editing time as well as writing time, and with editing, my wordcount might go down a little.
• Total Word Gain: When I finish a stint of writing, I take the ending wordcount and subtract the starting wordcount from it to see what my total gain was.  This is necessary, as there is generally a correlation between this number, the location, the time of day, and the other factors I have yet to list.
• Average Words Per Hour: Okay, again, this one isn't absolutely necessary, but I do it anyway, so I can look at averages for different locations.  Certain locations and writing conditions yield a higher average, which is one of the things I look at.
• Music: I'm one of those writers who listens to music, though I don't always have that luxury while writing.  This section is where I note if I am listening to music, if it is an abnormal music situation (i.e. listening to music in only one ear, because I am at work), and what song or playlist I am listening to.  I've noticed that while some songs set a mood really well, they are distracting, and should be used at a bare minimum.
• Noise Level: Some places are noisy.  Some are too quiet.  This is where I note it.  It really does matter for my writing, I've found.  Super noisy areas, even with headphones, will generally only yield 100 to 250 words in a fifteen minute stint.  Moderately quiet areas will yield anywhere from 300 to 800 words in fifteen.  In a strange twist, silent areas, even with me listening to music, only yield between 200 and 400 words.

By using this spreadsheet, I am not only tracking my productivity and collecting useful data regarding my writing habits, but clocking in to work.  This is my punch card.  Sadly, I don't get paid for my efforts (yet), but it makes writing as a career feel all the more real.  It helps me keep my head in the game.  And when people say "oh, I write in my spare time, too," I can just smile, nod, and keep my cool, because I know this is more than a hobby.

Happy writing,

~Tiffany "Kysis" Tackett

Desperately Seeking: Productivity

December has always been a very quiet month for me... when it comes to writing, at least.  There are too many things going on in December.  My parents celebrate the commercialized version of Christmas, meaning that a great deal of last minute shopping always goes on, and Christmas day is spent inside, with family, playing with whatever came under the tree.  On top of that, the dreaded thing called "finals" always happens in early December, which leads to frantic paper writing and all night study sessions; I never seem to finish everything I have to during the day, meaning that I get no time for anything pleasurable until AFTER finals are over, and at that point, I don't even want to look at my word processor, much less use it.  Another disadvantage of December is that it falls right after November-- also known as National Novel Writing Month; I just wrote a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, meaning I DEFINITELY do not want to even look at my word processor anymore, much less use it.

This leads to a very unproductive month of socializing, overeating, and general slacking.  Yes, it is nice to get a break now and then, but at the same time, that break makes it extremely difficult to get back into the swing of writing in January.  My writing gears rust over with disuse, the forward momentum I had on my novel has ground to a halt, and it becomes harder and harder to find motivation, much less the drive, to finish anything.

I'm currently trying to make it so that my month is not such a flop, that my writing does not grind to a halt, and that my book gets the time and attention it deserves.

Switching from writing at a first draft level, by the seat of the pants, during NaNoWriMo, back to writing at a polished, sixth draft level, which I am preparing for submission, has been extremely difficult.  I cannot just sit down and pound out 1667 words a day of whatever comes to mind anymore, so I've had to do a few things to get me pumping out words again, but with more direction and focus.

Sometimes, I do not always have time to sit down, get into the zone, and write.  I lead a busy life, like many other writers, so I had to find a way around this.  What I do, in these moments, is try to plan ahead a bit.  This can be as simple as just thinking about what my next scene is going to be about, figuring out what song inspires me for the next scene, or writing out the basics of the next scene, point by point.  I always keep sticky notes in my purse just in case I have a moment to jot down scene notes.

This is really nice, because the next time I sit down to write, I know exactly what I'm going to be working on.  I have no need to sit around, staring at my computer screen, wasting all my writing time just trying to figure out what I'm going to write.  Because of this, in a little fifteen minute window, I can generally write between 250 words to 650 words.

Another thing I am doing to maximize my productivity is by keeping track of my writing.  Yes, it may seem like it is only making more work for me, but wait!  I'm gathering information!  On my productivity spreadsheet, I list the date, where I am writing, what project I am working on, what times I am working from, my staring wordcount, ending wordcount, the total word gain, my average words per hour, what music I am listening to, and how noisy my environment is.

I've only been keeping this spreadsheet for a week now, but I can already see some serious trends.  The noisier my environment, the less work I get done.  I tend to do the best when I have no wifi.  Having music only playing in one ear, or having distractions around, tends to also effect my wordcount production.

The last thing this spreadsheet tells me is how much I've written in a day.  While this is good on its own, its secondary effect is what has proven the most useful.  Whenever I look at my spreadsheet, and see that I haven't written in a day, I feel guilty, horribly, horribly guilty.  This makes me want to write more.  This makes me actually set aside time just to knock out some writing, even if it is only fifteen minutes worth.

So far, these new tools have helped me get back on the writing pony after a very productive but very taxing NaNoWriMo.  My writing is switched back into sixth draft mode and I'm producing much bigger numbers than I had been.

Wishing you all lots of productivity and good writing,
~Tiffany "Kysis" Tackett