While I went over a little bit of what’s been going on with me lately in yesterday’s newsletter, I thought it might be a good idea to go into a bit more detail here, as well as catching my faithful readers up on what’s been going on in my writing life.
The past few years have felt a lot like the above image: I’ve been functioning, but definitely not at my peak abilities. Sure, I’ve been cranking out a lot of work, but it hasn’t been as much as I would like. I’ve been disorganized, and my health has had a significant impact on what I’ve been able to do.
Fortunately, I finally feel like there’s an end in sight, and it’s an end where I’m more productive and organized than I’ve ever been.
You may or may not know that I suffer from ADHD, Type II Bipolar, insomnia, and severe obstructive sleep apnea. I also have an extremely sensitive stomach, and the last time we tried me on an ADHD medication, it didn’t go so well.
However, things have been so utterly chaotic that I decided to try it again, only being more mindful about hydration and when I take the medication. I was terrified that it wasn’t going to work out, but after a week of being on it and doing things more mindfully this time around, I’m already starting to see and feel improvements.
I’m getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I’m getting up early (5:00 AM, if you can believe that) and writing first thing after I get my coffee! I’m writing more consistently, producing more words, and getting less hung up in my executive dysfunction than I was before. I’m willing to just get the words out, clean it up, and send it to my editor, as opposed to agonizing over every single word for FOREVER, and only managing to get the manuscript to my poor, sainted editor at the last second.
I’ve also gone back to outlining on index cards, which goes much faster and better for me than any other way I’ve tried. I’ve been listening to 5,000 Words Per Hour by Chris Fox again, using Write or Die and/or MyWriteClub again, as well as listening to Girl, Stop Apologizing in my off hours.
You may also have noticed that I’m blogging more consistently, too. 😉 I’m doing a lot more planning ahead to share relevant content with y’all.
In short, things are going better than they’ve gone since ever. If you want to know how my progress is coming along on Coven of Lies, check out my cool My Book Progress widget below.
Much love and talk to you guys again soon!
