Hello, my pretties!
We've spent the first quarter laying foundations for the new branch of our author business. Genre. Pen name. Branding. Series thinking. Outlining. All the invisible work that makes visible progress possible.
Now comes the part that actually matters: the writing. Maybe that’s the part of the journey you find fun, or scary, or easy. Maybe it’s the step you’ve already finished. Or maybe you haven’t a clue where to start. Wherever you are in your journey, remember this series is about taking your lovely ideas and turning them into a sustainable author pipeline. So let’s tease it out a little, shall we?
Here's what I've learned after years of drafting books: The writers who finish aren't always the fastest or the most talented. They're the ones who figured out how to show up consistently without burning out.
Sustainable drafting is not about word count sprints or writing until your eyes blur. It's about building a practice you can maintain week after week, month after month, book after book.
Finding Your Rhythm
Every writer has a natural rhythm. Some write best in the morning before the world wakes up. Some come alive after midnight. Some need long, uninterrupted stretches. Others work better in short bursts.
The mistake most writers make is assuming their rhythm should look like someone else's.
I spent years trying to be a morning writer because that's what productivity advice told me to do. I would drag myself to my desk at 5 a.m., stare at the screen, and produce garbage. It wasn't until I admitted I'm an afternoon writer that things clicked.
Your rhythm is not a character flaw. It's information. Use it.
Word Count Goals That Actually Work
Word count goals can be motivating or crushing, depending on how you set them.
The key is choosing a number that feels slightly challenging but achievable on your worst days, not just your best ones. If you can only hit your target when everything aligns perfectly, you'll spend most of your time feeling like a failure.
I aim for one thousand words per writing session—well, actually, I tend to aim for a scene or a chapter a day, but one thousand words is my minimum goal. Some days I exceed that. Some days I fall short. But the goal is low enough that I rarely skip a session entirely, and that consistency adds up faster than sporadic bursts of productivity.
A thousand words a day, five days a week, gives you a sixty-thousand-word draft in three months. Perhaps your goal is five hundred words; that is still two books a year. Even small daily goals can add up quickly as long as you’re consistent.
Protecting Your Writing Time
Writing time doesn't protect itself. You have to guard it like it’s something precious, because it is.
This means saying no to things if they’ll interfere with your writing. It means closing browser tabs. It means telling people you're unavailable, even when you're technically home. It means treating your writing time with the same respect you'd give a meeting with your boss.
I block my writing time in my calendar like an appointment. During those hours, I don't check email. I don't scroll social media. I don't "quickly" do one household task. I write.
Is this always easy? No. Is it always possible? Also no. But having the boundary makes it easier to return to writing when life inevitably interrupts.
When You Fall Off the Wagon
In your writing journey, no matter how sustainable you make your goals, you will miss days. You may miss weeks, even months. Life will happen, and your writing practice will stumble.
This is not failure. This is reality.
The writers who finish books aren't the ones who never stop. They're the ones who start again without punishing themselves. They treat every writing session as a fresh beginning rather than evidence of past failures.
When I miss my word count goal on a given day, I don't try to make up for it the next day with the words I should’ve written last time. I just sit down and try to hit today’s word count. No guilt. No marathon catch-up attempts. Just the next session.
That grace is what makes a practice sustainable.
Progress over Perfection
First drafts are supposed to be messy. That's their job. They exist so you have something to revise.
If you're agonizing over every sentence, you're editing while drafting, and that's a recipe for never finishing. Remember, your drafting brain is not your editing brain. One is creative; the other is critical. Allow the first one enough time to do its magical thing before you switch to the business one. In essence, give yourself permission to write badly. You can fix bad writing later, but you can't fix a blank page.
I remind myself constantly: Done is better than perfect. A finished messy draft is infinitely more valuable than a perfect first chapter.
Reflection Exercise
I can give plenty of advice on setting sustainable word count goals and showing up to write consistently, but only you can decide what that means for you. Ask yourself:
- When do I naturally have the most creative energy?
- What word count goal would feel challenging but achievable on a bad day?
- What tends to interrupt my writing time, and how might I protect against it?
- How do I typically respond when I miss writing sessions?
If you are struggling to answer these questions in relation to your writing, consider how you behave with any other work processes. How did you study at school? How do you set about your daily routine or household chores? There will be patterns in any of these tasks that may give you insight into how you will best approach writing. Test it out, then review until you find a system that works for you.
Reality Check-In
I'm now twenty-five thousand words into my Romance draft, and the sustainable approach is working. I write Tuesday through Saturday afternoons, aiming for one thousand words per session. Some weeks I hit six thousand words. Some weeks I manage three thousand. But I haven't stopped.
The story is taking shape in ways I didn't expect. My outline is holding, mostly, though one subplot has grown larger than planned. I'm letting it happen rather than forcing the original vision.
What surprises me most is how much I'm enjoying the process. By keeping the pressure manageable, I've preserved the joy. And that joy is what keeps me coming back.
Happy writing,
Susan
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