Five Steps to Productive Writing - Step One

Hey Tweens!

Does the Bible have anything to do with friends? bullies? secrets? tests? The Bible is all about you! New tween devos are coming. Must read. . .coming from Zonderkidz in 2015. 

How can a writer establish the most productive writing time? I have been mapping out my writing time in a more effective way these days. Many books and blogs address this topic. Here are some questions I have asked myself in establishing my writing schedule.

• What time of day do I work best?
• What writing tasks are my highest priority?
• What amount of time can I devote to each task?
• What is my writing schedule for the week?
• How should my writing time be reworked for next week?

Today I will write about the first question: What time of day do I work best?

I always thought I was a night person. I could stay up late. I could work late at night, really I could. However, the next morning was not so great.

Then, my husband was laid off.

I was a young stay-at-home mom and former teacher. It was three days before Thanksgiving. . .and of course, Thanksgiving was to be at our home. I was right smack in the middle of preparing for my guests and the feast. So, I told myself I just couldn't worry about the idea of no income right then. Actually, we aren't supposed to worry at all - right?

The next day the telephone rang. It was a school district calling to see if I was available to teach part time. Remember, I hadn't put my name out there yet. I was busy making pies.

Do you know what I said? I thanked them for the call. I said that the timing was great, but that I hadn't really been looking for a job and I didn't want anything that would upset my children's schedule. (I should have been jumping for joy, but remember I was in making-pies mode.) Then, they asked what hours would work for me. Isn't God amazing?

So, what does a lay off, Thanksgiving, and teaching have to do with a productive writing time? We agreed that I would teach first thing in the morning when my youngest child was in preschool. The kicker for me was that the district was in a small, rural community over an hour from my home. I would have to get up before dawn to drive there.

To make it all work, I decided it was a good idea to go to bed early (as in when my kids went to bed). Guess what? I found out that early morning (given enough sleep) was the best time of day for me to do things!

I tell you all of this because of two things.

1. You should carefully consider your most productive time to write.
2. Your time to write should not rob you of sleep. You really need that.

I am trying out a new blog schedule (below). Next week, I will explore the second question: What writing tasks are my highest priority?



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Tweetables

Carefully consider your most productive time to write.   Tweet this!

Your time to write should not rob you of sleep. You really need that.   Tweet this!

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Notes from Carol

I am beginning a new blog schedule:

Sundays - Praisin' Jesus
Mondays - Notes & Doodles
Tuesdays - My Books
Wednesdays - Fun 4 Tweens
Thursdays - It's a Sign
Fridays - A Writer's Heart
Saturdays - Tween Ministry

I hope you will stop back often! Let's connect on Twitter and Facebook, too!



P.S. These days I am busy writing two devotional books for Zonderkidz. Will you pray with me about the devos? You can sign up to be a prayer partner on the right. I won't share your contact info. Promise.


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copyright (c) 2013 Carol McAdams Moore