I am FINALLY out of the revision cave! Book ‘C’ was a blast to write and revisions were much easier than my last two books.

Why? I made a schedule and stuck with it. I made myself accountable to someone on my goals. And – nerd alert –  for this book, I treated the whole process like an experiment.

Experiments during the first draft:

How many pages could I write a day? Could I add a page more per day? Result: Four pages is a good number for me to hit consistently, especially if I want to make my daily goal during my lunch hour. Try #1K1hr on twitter and give your brain breaks between those one hour sessions if you want to attempt more pages than the day before.

Would my story fall apart if I skipped a chapter and moved to a scene I know comes later in the story? Result: Scrivener kept this manageable, as long as I had notes on what happened before and after the scene.

Does my diet affect my writing? Result: I’ve found the things the docs tell us – fruits, veggies, lean proteins – DO affect my ability to stay focused longer without relying on coffee and sugar after 3. This doesn’t mean getting all tree-huggy with the diet, it’s as simple as having a humus and carrot stick snack around 2.

Butt in Chair or Walking Desk? Result: I’m working on the walking desk (a wish list and research items at this point) but I do have a standing desk. I’ve found standing works better for longer stretches of time…I didn’t need to take breaks to stretch or switch positions like I would if I’m sitting.

Sweet, Sour or Chocolate? Result: All, use not at the same time

How about you? Have you observed your best writing conditions? Do you have plans to shake up your writing routine?