I spent much of today on the book, and my work process went
– write
– discover I’d been goofing off on Wikipedia for half an hour
– make coffee
– write
– mow lawn
– try to write but actually research something really interesting about city structures
– write
– word count made! have dinner
– sit down with good book
– suddenly realize how the chapter needed to end, and why
Now do I sit back down to finish it out? Or let it go, in the hopes that taking notes and asking the Muse to please keep to a schedule is productive?
Personally, the only time I can write at all is in those moments of inspiration. If I have to force something out of my skull and onto the page in front of me, I am never satisfied with it. It always gets revised or trashed. I respect those among us who can manufacture something creative through sheer willpower and adhering to a schedule. If I could learn to do that, I could write something longer than 20 pages. Well, maybe.