Productivity and Momentum

Now Playing: COME ON EILEEN by Dexys Midnight Runners
Just Read: THE BLACK ECHO by Michael Connelly--Definitely a cool mystery, with some intriguing characters. I've never read a Harry Bosch story before, and it struck me how vulnerable and imperfect he was.
Reading Now: THE BREACH by Patrick Lee

Moderation is good--sometimes I think it's the most important thing there is--but I have noticed that binge-working is so productive and satisfying.

I know I'm a writer because finishing a story leaves me with such a rewarding feeling of accomplishment. For this reason, the more productive I am, the more momentum I seem to get. The more I write, the more I want to write. And often, the opposite is true, too--the more I'm away from writing, the harder it is to get back into it.

Is there a happy medium somewhere, where I can write a satisfying and rewarding number of words per day while still performing at my day job and balancing my home life? It's a question I see lots of people talking about on #WritingCommunity on Twitter. Until writing is the primary source of income, I think a lot of writers struggle to parse out time of their day for it--getting paid is an objective validation of your writing ambition, and if you aren't getting paid, why are you doing it? For me, it's for that reward. The money will come in the future--I hope!--but I really just enjoy telling stories.

So, I'm working for that elusive moderation. It's a kind of bullseye, and my darts are sticking all around the perimeter. But that's okay. I really believe that I can find a routine that will maximize my writing quality and quantity without sacrificing the other parts of my life. Every year--every writing session, really--I get a little closer to it.