The Great Balancing Act: Writing Novels and Blogging

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I have been blogging non-stop since December, and I will have to say that my efforts are paying off.  While writing my novel, I have discovered the ins and outs of using Scrivener as a word processor and have posted a few articles about its use.

I have been getting increasing traffic on my blog, and for that I have to thank my loyal followers and Scrivener and Mindnode for re-Tweeting my blog posts to the world.  What a joyous feeling it is to go from seeing 25-30 hits a day to seeing triple digits every day!

However, I am trying also to write my post-apocalyptic parody/satire novel and am chugging along nicely with it.  I still plan to publish it in June if all goes well and it makes it through my trusty shredders —I mean editors —.  The point is, I think I’ve found the happy balance between working on the blog and writing the novel.  Here are a few tips:

1.  Stick to the Schedule – I have specific time allotted for blogging and for writing the novel.  I never diverge from it.  I write a blog post in the afternoons to be posted the following morning.  This way I can edit through it and hopefully add or take away what is necessary to communicate my ideas.  I write my novel at night after the kids are off to bed.

2.  Find Time for Normalcy – I have specific time scheduled as well for relaxing, watching television (can’t miss that Alcatraz season finale) and socializing with the family.  These things are necessary to keep me focused.  I often have to go away from the novel for a bit so my mind can process what I wrote.  Some of my best ideas are afterthoughts.

3.  Do the Day Job – When I’m at work I don’t think about the blog at all and I don’t think about the novel at all.  It has a way of creeping into my mind and invading it now and then, and when that happens I have a notepad or my iPhone handy to jot things down to do later.  Some of the best blog posts or scenes I have written have come to me in the middle of the day.

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