Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending January 12, 2020.
I returned to the writing desk on Monday and started getting up at 5am again to meditate and exercise before writing. Because of taking time off for Christmas and New Year, my sleep pattern shifted by about three-four hours.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were solid writing days…Thursday sucked.
I felt completely wiped-out. I’m not sure if it was the sleep pattern change catching up with me or whether it was SAD rearing its ugly head again, but I only managed to write 1,000 words (I usually do 5,000+). This was on the day I heard that Brandon Sanderson wrote 19,000 words in one day to finish the next book in the Stormlight Archive (I cannot wait to read that!)
I’ve been working on the first draft of Temperance, book 14 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, in the mornings, and on the second draft of Blind Reset (the follow-up to Blind Gambit) in the afternoons.
This new way of doing things has been working well for me (except on Thursday). Based on the way the stories are progressing, I should have Temperance ready for the editor in two weeks and Blind Reset by Easter.
Social media blackout
Throughout December, I decided to take a break from social media.
I went off Facebook and Twitter for forty days.
I’ve decided that Twitter showcases the worst of what humanity has to offer, so I won’t be going back on there again.
As for Facebook, I’ve installed a plug-in for Chrome which replaces the newsfeed with an inspirational quote (it’s called Newsfeed Eradicator). This means I can do the tasks I need to do on Facebook and get out without getting distracted. Perfect!
I’ve also decided to keep my phone free of social media and notifications. I have to admit that at first I found myself absently picking up my phone to check Facebook. But that stopped after a few days.
I realised I need social media to work for me, not for me to be compelled to use it without much conscious thought.
I’m definitely going to do more social media blackouts in the future…I’m sure my sanity will thank me.
Guilty pleasures
I got into a show on Netflix over the holidays called Ancient Aliens. I don’t subscribe to the whole ancient astronaut theory, but I am interested in ancient civilisations.
This show features amazing footage of megalithic structures, pyramids, underwater cities, etc. It’s a case of not throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Plus, the leaps in logic from “here’s a funny-looking rock” to “this is definitely evidence of ancient alien technology” is always entertaining.
Podcasting
Over the Christmas break, I posted a review of 2019, my favourite reads of 2019, and an outline of my 2020 goals on my author diary podcast feed.
In the latest episode, I talk about what I did over Christmas and New Year, how I plan to beat SAD next winter, my thoughts on The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, and my experience watching Groundhog Day for the first time… Visit: joncronshaw.libsyn.com to listen now or subscribe to Jon Cronshaw’s Author Diary on you podcast app of choice.
If you have any questions you’d like me to answer on the podcast, hit reply now.
Take care,
Jon
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