It was a lot easier for me to stick to a writing routine before I retired. When I was working a daytime shift, it was a terrific release to sit down to write for an hour or two in the evening. That doesn’t mean the writing was any good, but it was a productive routine and some of the ideas I had back then are still bearing fruit.
After I switched to Out-Of-Hours work at night, I needed sleep as soon as I got home in the morning and I wrote later on in the afternoon, five or six days a week. Which was when I decided to study for a Creative Writing MA. I had no problem submitting my work on time as long as I stuck to a disciplined afternoon writing routine, which stayed with me after my degree, while I was studying on a couple of novel writing courses.
Then I retired and decided that I had all the time in the world to write. Why rush it?
But instead, I spent all the time in the world procrastinating, losing confidence and reading dozens of ‘How to Write’ books. Fortunately for me one of them pointed me towards self-publishing.
A couple of days looking into self-publishing and I’d made my decision. My writing routine was reinstated, now in the morning for at least five hours, one tea break only! My reward is that Grey Death is available on Kindle and I’m already cracking on with the sequel, As Close As it Gets.
