What is your writing method? Do you go by time or by the number of words, or do you have another method? And while we're on the subject, how do you decide what aspect of writing you are going to work on?
Let me give you an example. As a Children's Librarian, I had many things that needed to be accomplished. I had to do programming. I needed time to prepare the programs. I had to always be available to the public. I had meetings to attend. I had book reps to meet and I had to order new books and materials. I had books to read and review. I had a website to update. You get the idea. How to prioritize? Many times it came down to what needed to be done that day. There were deadlines to meet and co-workers who needed questions answered in order to move forward in their own jobs. But everything always got done, though not necessarily without a lot of stress. I took care of the emergencies and fit everything else around them.
But how does that translate to my new life as a writer? I recently read a writer's blog lamenting how to shuffle all the different parts of writing. You know, finding the idea, researching the idea, thinking about the idea (this is the part we are always doing but it looks like we are day-dreaming), writing the idea, getting feedback about the idea, revising the idea, and then the other parts of writing like promoting your work and connecting with other writers.
Sometimes it gets overwhelming. You know you have to keep writing new things, but you also must submit the completed projects or market the completed projects if you are lucky enough to sell them. And then there are the promotional activities and programs. How do you decide what you are going to do when? Or how much time are you going to spend on each? Do you designate one day for research and then switch to writing the next? Do you work on only one project at a time, or do you work on bits of this and that?
Lastly, do you set deadlines for yourself? I would love to hear your comments.