Writing Through the Plague

I've been having a bit of trouble concentrating. Every other indie writer I've spoken with over the last month and a half is having similar problems.

All the little tricks we use to get us in our writing are a bit limited. Especially if you're like me. Both DH and I have been working from home together since 2012. Technically, he's bee doing it since 2004. Our issue is noise.

DH is on the phone. A lot. Even with the plague, he's on the phone reassuring his staff. He jokes that he should have gotten a degree in psychology instead of computer science.

When we lived in 2500-square-foot house in house, it wasn't hard for me to go to a room. Now, that we live in an apartment, well, let's just say DH's voice carries. So I would go to Tim Horton or Panera to get some writing in. But, since I can't do that now, here some tricks that have helped.

1) Use music as white noise.

The type of music depends on you. I had a pretty extensive collection before digital music came along, most of which I've converted. Classic, Top 40 Pop, rock, funk, dance, instrumental. Whatever gets you in the right mood.

2) Write after your significant other goes to bed.

I've done that a few times. The entire apartment is in bed by one a.m. Frankly, I've gotten more words in between one and two a.m. than any other time of the day. thanks to the mental and physical quiet.

3) Do writing sprints.

This feeds right into my competitive streak. You don't even have to sprint with someone else. Just try to beat your previous word total from the last streak. Figure out a time that produces the optimum amount of words. For me, that's an hour. It could be more or less for you.

Those are my ways of coping with the stay-at-home orders. Anybody else find something that works for them?

Writing Backward

When I get stuck in the middle of the story I'm currently working, I usually go clean the bathroom. It's the chore I hate the worst. Therefore, my mind quickly formulates a solution to the problem.

But sometimes, not even a grody toilet can shake loose an answer.

That's when I start writing backward.

Not literally. I write the last chapter so I know my destination. If that doesn't produce an idea for the middle of the book, I write the next-to-last chapter. And so on and so forth. By knowing where I need to go, I can layer in the elements back at the beginning and middle in order to get to the end.

Will this work for everyone? Hell if I know. It's worked for me a couple of times.

Here's the thing. You have got to figure out what works for you. There isn't a one-size fits all method for writing.

But if you need to do something to jar you out of the quicksand you're in, my bathroom could use a good scrubbing.

A Guide for the Indie Writer Using WORD

Jaye W. Manus of QA Productions has been a goddess-send as a formatter while I've re-issued older books, launched new ones, and finally gotten around to putting all books in print.

Right now, I'm try to pull together all the disparate pieces of Hero De Facto to form a cohesive story. The majority of it was written on three different machines in two different operating systems. While Microsoft's WORD was used on all the documents, the result is a hodgepodge of crap that will never be readable on any device.

This is where Jaye's book WORD for the Wise comes in. Her tips for setting up styles alone are worth the price. And I'll have a WORD file that all the devices will love.

WORD for the Wise is also available through the Kindle Unlimited borrowing program. However, if you're a writer who can't give up Microsoft and with an eye towards indie publishing, I strongly recommend buying a copy for yourself!