I’ve been doing a writing challenge this month, writing 3000 words per day.

This challenge has turned out to be–not easy, but surprisingly sustainable.

Then again, I’m still at the start of it. I’ll repost closer to the end, see how I’m feeling.

One of the things I’ve been doing is writing in the morning. I’ve been getting up one hour early, then walking for a mile before I write.

Walking has always been part of my creative process: When my body is moving, the words are flowing. Walking in the morning is a great way for me to wake up, more effective than caffeine, actually.

I used to love writing in the mornings. I stopped when my hormones started acting up and I acquired a morning fog that I couldn’t shake until later in the afternoon. Being able to write in the mornings again is wonderful. I’m really enjoying it.

I’m also typing straight into the computer instead of writing everything out by hand then typing it up. Again, this is something I used to do, then I hit a wall and stopped. I had tried it again for “Zydeco Queen” but ended up screwing up that novel as a result.

So far, typing straight into the computer been really good. And again, surprisingly easy. I don’t feel like I’m screwing up the novel at all. I’ve also changed my process, and am keeping track of all the things I need to add as I’m typing it up, and that’s helped.

One of the issues previously, when I wrote straight to the computer, was that I compressed things, and didn’t let the story expand as it needed to. That hasn’t been a problem so far, but we’ll see.

This is all part of that new level of seriousness. I had thought that, before, I had something of a work ethic. HA! I’m sure learning the difference now. What I’m doing now is really what I’ll need to do in order to be a professional writer, and write full time someday.