4 DAYS, 4 WRITING ROUTINES // i tried writing like my friends!
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Four of my closest authortube friends have VERY different writing routines so I figured it was time for me to finally test them out! Here's my attempt at time tracking, staying up until 2am writing, using hour work sprints, and eating all the pizza.🍕
☟↓ QUESTIONS FOR YOU BELOOOOOW! ↓☟
D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S :
What do you think of these routines?
Do you prefer time tracking or output based tracking (or are those the same thing to you)??
If you could only have one food while writing, which would yours be? (Also, what's your favorite kind of pizza??)
L I N K S M E N T I O N E D :
Phoebe's channel: @PhoebeWritesFiction
Emily's channel: @EmilyBourne
Becca's channel: @BeccaCSmith
Jessica's channel: @TheHexedLibrary
(Bonus, @Kevlandia and Laura ( / @laurawrites ) for all your Thirsty Thursday write-in needs!)
🌎 F I N D M E O N L I N E :
🐤 Twitter: / cavanaughwrites
📸 Instagram: / katecavanaughwrites
💛 Patreon: / katecavanaugh
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✍️ Medium: / katecavanaughwrites
🙌 NaNoWriMo: nanowrimo.org/...
🎥 E Q U I P M E N T U S E D & W H A T I W R I T E W I T H :
*My bullet journal / writing & travel notebook: amzn.to/2UkrF0r
*My main camera for vlogging and time-lapse: amzn.to/321RbtW
Scrivener for my word processing needs: www.literature...
*My "rainbow pens": amzn.to/2ZAiWIw
*My tiny camera with a gimbal for on-the-go and motion-lapse: amzn.to/2ZtQzzF
Aeon Timeline to create visual timelines for my stories: www.aeontimeli...
*these are affiliate links, where I receive a small commission that helps the channel! Feel free to ignore. :)
💌 S N A I L M A I L M E :
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#authortube #writingvlog
![Being ‘the disabled one’ in university [CC]](/img/n.gif)
omg I have that masterclass ad memorized too! Also the Margret Atwood one. "Little Red Riding Hood. Let's start the story a different way. It was dark inside the wolf" 😂😂😂😂
I memorized them too! Sometimes they just play again and again in my head lol
I listened to an 88 Cups of Tea podcast interview with Maggie Stiefvater recently, and she has this really interesting way of tracking productivity. When she wakes up in the morning she writes down a percentage to show how much she's feeling herself today and then at the end of the day she lists all that she accomplished. After that tracking, she realistically knows what kind of output she should expect of herself on like an 80% day versus a 50% day.
I want to try that because sometimes I get mad at myself for not accomplishing a lot, but I'm comparing every day to a 100% day, when some days I'm not feeling 100%. It seems like a good method to balance accountability with mental/physical health!
Instead of writing, I procrastinate about what I'm supposed to be writing..and then.instead of procrastinating about writing I watch youtube about writing and then procrastinate about the videos I watched. -_- this may be the most British thing I'll ever say but tea is my only saviour :D
"welcome to this vlog - powered by coffee. Somehow even more than usual." Well that's a whole dang mood.
I love watching the panic of "AM I EVEN DOING THIS RIGHT?!?!"
Your dad. I love him. Is that creepy? Let's not let it be creepy. hahaha
I want PIZZAAAAA. Mmmm tomorrow is pizza day =)
I LOVE YOU. YOU ARE GREAT. YOUR DAY WAS AMAZING.
I write in the bathtub, with a board across the tub as improvised desk, pen (red for some reason) and paper. After a while I drain it but keep writing.
I had a bad relationship and writing and escaping into my own universe was really helpful. Also the bathroom gave me privacy, and it's a bit meditative.
That sounds _so relaxing_
Sounds really cool. I heard that scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo (the guy who wrote Spartacus) had a similar habit where he would bring a notebook or a typewriter to his makeshift bathtub desk. I do something similar with reading but I want to try it with writing and see what happens.
Wow I never thought of that but I love it!
Because trying to write like one other person isn't enough: 'I tried writing like 4 people in one video!' 😂 I love these experiments and your ambition - no idea how you do it, but love the content!
In response to your questions: I like to track both time and word counts (I'm going to have a time goal for Camp Nano), but I'm going to do some more extreme tracking to figure out when I'm the most productive/do the best quality work for different activities. So what time of the day/day of the week is best for plotting, brainstorming, revising, drafting, etc.
I'm waiting for the day I'll see "I tried writing like every writer" and it's just Kate writing for 24hrs straight!!!
Oh, wait...
For someone without a real routine it's really interesting to see you do these videos. For me it's basically: Get up, drink my morning tea, whip up some words if I feel like it, get some coffee along the way and just wing it otherwise
Honestly, that's become more and more what mine is like too. I guess I should say I have a "morning routine" and an afternoon and night "do whatever" bahaha.
I definitely prefer output tracking. Having a timer that ticks down stresses me out. I much prefer writing in 500 words intervals, and I've found that doing it that way I can easily write between 3k-7k a day without it tiring me out.
You are the best part of my morning right now.
I download that forest app and apparently I write better with time limits not word counts. I actually wrote way more words than I probably would have too, because I didn't want my tree to die!
An hour seems so long to me. I prefer the pomodoro technique (25 on, 5 off). I don't do time tracking, but I make a list of everything I did during the day, and title it "What did I accomplish today?" - woke up, drank coffee, relaxed with phone, ate breakfast, etc. That way I can remember that all the "keeping myself alive" daily tasks are important, and are a success in and of themselves. 😊
So relatable with memorizing that Dan Brown Master Class ad.
Pizza and writing sounds like an amazing combo
I can attest that it definitely is!!
Kate: Duke what do you think I should do?
Duke: idgaf
Kate: d'awwww
I was about to go write, but no I’m watching Kate’s video first
Same
The second million cracked me up xD
RIGHT. I'd never heard that before either bahah.
OHMYGOSH I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO WATCH THIS IS SAYS NO VIEWS!! Kate I love your channel and these videos too are amazing!! This is so cool!
BAHAHA YAY! :)
Thx for entertaining me during this isolation and you have inspired me to become a writer. Thank you Kate
I would struggle so hard with these routines. You managed to do them really well. I prefer output just because it requires less effort to track. Most programs do it for me. I like to snack on pretzels while writing since they aren't messy or anything like that. Best pizza is peppers, onions, and black olives.
I need some advice. I'm a young writer, and no one takes me seriously. It's very discouraging. What do you guys do when people put you down, and when they don't take your craft seriously?
People suck sometimes! I definitely had experiences growing up where people laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a writer. Unfortunately, that just made me not tell anyone! I'm not sure that's the best method, but my writing became something of a secret until I reached university (where I studied finance and did writing as a hobby on the side)!
No one can know how dedicated you are. The best thing you can do is to continue to work and prove them wrong. :)
If anyone else has advice on how they handled those experiences better, I'd love to hear it! I definitely wish I could give the advice to my past self to be more confident in my passion haha.
Personally, from what I've seen, I think once people have an opinion about writing, they don't particularly like to change that unless they see someone in their life being successful doing it or they try it for themselves. I don't know if you'll ever be able to convince the people in your life to take you writing seriously, but the best way to show them you're serious about it is to just continue doing it. And just remember it takes a while to get your initial first draft looking and sounding anything like published works, so don't be discouraged if someone in your life reads your work and doesn't think it sounds "professional" enough at a certain point. Writing is great because your style is always changing and evolving.
Hi, I don't know if my advice will be helpful, but I feel compelled try.
It's difficult when you are passionate about something and people discourage you instead lending support and validation. For me, my mother, actively discouraged me from writing and told me I was wasting my time, because she believed that I'd never make an income from it. I was eleven.
I've learned since to simply keep quiet about my writing journey. Nobody in my social circle values writing, not even from the standpoint of being a hobby. They do not support my interests and I can't force them to. But that's fine, because that is what these writing communities are for.
Generally, only people in the writing community understand how much time, effort, and dedication goes into your craft. (And how much it means to you.)
Whenever I feel down, I remember WHY I write. I write for myself first and foremost. Even if nobody supports me, I know that I like it and that is enough.
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are Young, but SET THE EXAMPLE" (That's from the Bible, BTW). Here are my thoughts - (1) It's okay if others do not understand YOUR artistic interests (Just as I don't know how my brother can work on a car or truck for 15 consecutive hours, but he has done so a thousand times in his life - which has made him an EXPERT, BTW!). (2) For those who are genuinely mean toward you, PLEASE disregard their mean-spiritedness. Remember this - "Your opinion of me is NOT MY ASSIGNMENT," (4-Time Olympian, Joetta Clark Diggs) and (3) ENJOY! Explore the wonderful world of Writing! Have fun! Do the work. Learn both the Craft and the Art of writing. (P.S. I REALLY love the "Write Great Fiction" series (5 books) from Writers' Digest. I have read them multiple times and I WILL read them again. "KEEP WRITING!" (Diane Callahan)
Sylvester Stallone is quoted as saying, "The greatest revenge is massive success".
Oh my gosh! You are a UA-cam machine!!! LOL And I love it!!! So glad to have another episode to play ten times today (instead of listening to the news, bleh). Now please crack a whip and tell me to get on with my edits!
Loved this! Desperately trying to build a schedule for myself so I actually write during spring break and hopefully get some sort of routine going so I can write while working remotely. So this was super helpful. (Even if I am using it a little to procrastinate)
I find that I work best two ways.
One, live streams with 15-20-minute sprints. I host a live stream every Tuesday EARLY morning, and I actually want to do a daily stream come July for Camp NaNo. When my friends and I get together to write during streams, I find I get A TON of work done. I, too, switch between projects a lot though depending on what's going on, what I need to get done.
Two, Stream of consciousness. I get into a zone and work until I need a drink refill, food intake, or bathroom break. This is harder when I have two school-age kiddos at home, but I tend to do it a lot after they go to bed. When this happens, I don't switch projects, don't track time, and just... work... Until one of the things mentioned above occur. I usually have two drinks on my desk: a bottle of water (usually flavored) and a cup of Pepsi. I don't drink coffee or tea, so during colder days I might have a cup of coffee.
I love all your videos where you do these writing experiments. I love learning people's processes, but I've never thought about trying them for myself. You make me kind of want to do that though.
I absolutely love watching your writing experiments. For one, they're super entertaining! And secondly, it's a big eye opener for what other people do and how they get stuff done rather just randomly writing at a random time. I have no idea how you manage to do it all, but I seriously love watching these! AH! I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!
ahhhhg!!! new video
If I could only have one food. . . I'd go with pretzels. As for pizza, pepperoni' definitely my favorite. (I know, kind of cliché.)
I love to watch you trying different writer's routines I have no clue why though.
I think I'm gonna try writing sprints myself, I think the time constraint/forced focus is the push I need.
I use the tree app too but I do 30 minute sprints as I find that I can write for longer amounts of time and get more work done. I find if I'm writing non stop for hours on end I tend to not want to write much the next day.
My favorite part of this was your dad, honestly. He seems so happy and funny!!
I have to admit, I love Jessica's routine ;) Pizza sounds just awesome :D As I am more of a short sprint writer, kudos for sticking with the hour long sprints!! Concerning the tracking, how do you track your editing? I am usually a full on word count tracker but I am thinking about switching more to an outcome approach for editing...
Usually I track editing by scenes! More of a pass/fail. Did I revise this scene? Good. Did I not? Okay, it moves to tomorrow. That sort of thing! Whereas drafting I still totally use word count to track (and love it).
This is awesome! It's so interesting to learn everyone's different writing routines :D
LOL! This was awesome hahaha! Phoebe's would have killed me too lol! I am not a night owl, though sometimes I wish I was! And I'm jealous of Emily's ability to track and plan. I realized after two weeks of planning that, though I love to plan the heck out of my books, I hate to plan my life! And let's face it: Jess's way is seriously the best way! Pizza and writing with Laura and Kevin? Heaven :-)
And I totally do hour sprints for cleaning! It's the best way to clean! That way you don't spend a minute more on it than you want to lol! (So you can absolutely count that hour)
Bahaha okay, I'm just even more sold on your method! I can negotiate with myself to get an hour of cleaning in but not a second more. :)
Aaaaand now I’m using this forest app in my writing routine
I just love your channel to pieces. You're so relatable and entertaining, and I've been listening to your videos all day at work today (can't watch because work). It has been a delight. Thank you.
And FLAMINGO SHEETS! 😲
Bahaha. YES.🦩🦩🦩
How do y'all find when these live write ins are on? Or do some people do them at the same time every time and in just not on the ball? Any suggestions who to watch and when?
13:22 good luck & all the creative vibes on Book 2!!! ☕️🎉🎈🎊
Wow, that first one is interesting. Ive been trying to get faster at typing just to get a bigger word count but in the process ive become obsessed with it, so that may be something I should try
I used to write a lot when I was studying at uni. Ten/twelve years later (who's counting?) I've lost a lot of that and I'm starting to rebuild a writing practice almost from scratch. As a single parent, the current version of my routine starts in the evening, once my daughter has gone to bed. Dinner either with a vid posted by one of my favourite Authortubers or a book that I feel in some way benefits my writing. After that, I move on to writing sprints, always with a livestream as I find this to be a comfortable method of pacing. I like my sprints 20 mins and under and usually stop when I reach a word target I've chosen based on my comfort level for the day (with a couple hundred extra added so I feel challenged)
I love to have pizza on a writing night (on the odd occasion) and my favourite topping is meatballs (though I almost always have my pizzas half and half because I can't decide what I want more) I also often write with a small bowl of mini pretzels or naan chips.
What if you did a 24 in 36 where you didn’t count words until the end? That would be cool to see if you wrote more or less than usual!
kate!! you mentioned simply podlogical so i wanted to ask - have you been using any holo taco nail polish for your nail painting? i ordered the unicorn collection the day it came out and it should be arriving soon, so i'm super excited to redo my nails when it comes 🙏🙏🙏
more on topic though, i was really looking forward to this video!! it was fun to see you try writing like your friends, but kind of reminds me that we all have our own styles that suit us best... i feel that way whenever i watch one of your vids tho lol. maybe one day i'll have an actual writing routine too 🎉 anyway, good vid!! i'm glad your revisions are going steady!! keep on keepin' on ♪
OMGGGGG. I'm so jealous! I've been wanting to order some Holo Taco but haven't yet. I can't wait to hear how much you love the unicorn collection!!
I have a very similar routine to Becca, so that one appeals to me most for sure. I've never actually done a write-in. But...I am planning to attend yours on Saturday to try one another and see if it's something that I would like to change up my routine! I think that's because I track time more than I track word count. Just because I also work full-time, so I'm all about just getting in the hours where I can and make sure that I put in the time to write so that I can get better at writing and actually finish a project. Also, if I could only have one food while writing, it would be a breakfast burrito. Just saying. There's nothing like a good breakfast burrito!!!
you're my favorite writing channel to watch!
My tracking is definitely productivity like wordcount, pages, chapters, so on
I've tried the time tracking, I last about two hours and I get demotivated really fast, just like I can't work with time goals longer than half an hour at a time. With a work time goal I lose motivation, with a wordcount goal I always go above it. It's just how my brain works I guess.
I do wish I managed to do a combination though, because I know I could use my time so much better if I started keeping track of it, but I don't stay motivated through it.
My writing snack would definitely be nuts or something dry. Pizza got sauce = I'll get it all over my computer/notes
I tried writing in 30min sprints using the tree app and i love it. I am only outlining but, paired with music its so good. So far, today ive done 90 minutes! 😁
24:51 well isn't that ironic that I got the Dan Brown add on this video lol 😂
Bahahahaha. I swear, UA-cam just knows.
Omg I eat that same Pho! I get it from Costco!! So good!
YES LAURA YES. It's amazing, makes me so happy. I may/may not have had it once a day since social distancing bahaha.
I like the hour sprint routine with the forest app. By the way, Kate, there are a couple of videos here on youtube of people writing like you.
Tbh I don’t even count Phoebe as human. That girl is a magical unicorn 🦄
Totally not applicable to this video, but I love your flamingo sheets! Lol. I love watching your writing experiment vlogs. They’re always so fun and makes me see how everyone is so different!
Here's a quote from an online writing lesson. I don't remember who said it but it goes like this: By saying YES to the least important, you are saying NO to the most important. I've got this on my wall.
I totally feel your pain. I'm pretty output oriented, too. It must have been torture not to check your word count after a writing session.
I unnecessarily freaked out seeing my name on Emily's stream 😂
It was entertaining watching you try all these routines 😜
I don't really have a writing routine...I write randomly...when I feel like it😝 I do have specific things that I do when I sit down to write though, that I do every time. I have a writing ritual 🤷♀️
Oooh I like the idea of a writing ritual! What does yours include??
@@KateCavanaugh I gather the supplies for whatever story I am writing...then I make my beverage of choice (usually tea), then I light a candle, and then pick the music I want to listen to (if I'm in a music mood).
Hello Kate - how are you estimate how many words are you going to write this Camp NaNo? It's my first NaNo and first book - I don't know how much I'm able to write in one month. Awesome channel! Best wishes for you and your family :)
Well I’m not Kate, but if I were you I would see how much time you have to write first and then do a sample day and then see how many words you think is possible for you within the month
I love pizza, but hate greasy fingers so I’d be constantly wiping my hands before typing. In that case, some sort of food I can eat with a fork 😀
I feel like I write best when I cant see the word count bc it just distracts me. I also feel like scene progression feels a bit more rewarding than just word count haha.
Livestream and popcorn!
Okay so I've been telling myself for a solid year that I'm going to start an author tube channel. I write at night, to the point that my sleep cycle is almost reversed, it's not uncommon for me to write until 5 or 6 am but then sleep until about 3PM. Thank God you don't have to write like me LOL
What brand notebooks do you buy? I love them! 😍
Hey Kate! Do you recommend any channels for writing sprint/live streams? Sprinting is beneficial to me I think, but I have very few resources for it. I'm wondering if sprinting during a stream would work?
Thanks in advance! Also, in terms of eating while sprinting, those strawberries look good!
"Why is revising so hard?" The question I have asked myself for years as I edit my stories. 😂
The best thing to do when you get stuck -> do something else. It's always helpful to return later. And now I want pizza, too. 😅
Hello Kate, you're an inspiration! Greetings from Hongkong!
Sarah Cannon has a project tracker that she tracks how long each stage of a novel takes. It's not a daily or minute tracker, but she breaks it down into when the stages start with a self-imposed deadline and then she has a spot where she finds how long it actually took her. I've been flirting with the idea of doing that just to see how long it takes me to plan, write, send to betas, re-write and repeat.
OMG that sounds genius!! I definitely need to look that up, thank you for the recommendation!
KATE I HAVE A QUESTION!!! so since you run outside and stuff, how are you going to deal with COVID-19? i'm asking because i started running but i don't want to put myself in danger, so i'm trying to see how others do it 😂 STAY SAFE
You should be fine running, the virus doesn't really linger in the air in outdoor spaces. So as long as you keep some distance from other people, you should be fine.
You should definitely be fine running outside so long as you're not coming into super close contact with other people. (Which, the way I run, never happens bahaha.)
Fresh air is still really important and I haven't seen the CDC or anyone else say otherwise. Make sure to get some sunlight if you can! :)
Safer to run outside than to run at a gym even!
It can stay about 4-6 hours in still 'room temperature' air, but outside the wind dispersal is a thing and temperatures vary, so the virus doesn't stick around long.
It's more important to be wary of metal or plastic surfaces that other people touch often, since it can apparently live on them for 48 hours. So like doorknobs or atms, or anywhere at the store.
Plus, like Kate says, sunlight is good for you :)
I totally want to write like you... still not sure your schedule lol
when your best friend makes fan art for you
This is interesting!☺
Glad you think so!
I would love to join more live streaming but there is a big time difference for me sadly. Would love some pizza but gluten intolerance sadly 😔 But like you I am worth nothing without my coffee
You should try writing like me: 2 hours a day, from 3:30-5:30pm, minimum 250 words. My book will be done in 2030.
I had a friend try my writing routine and she was very confused as to how I did it. And, also asked me: *"Do you sleep?"* and I said: *"I'm pretty sure I'm nocturnal by this point."*
I didn’t skip ur ads. Just-a sayin hehe
i have a question, what font do you guys use. apparently on apple pages... to have at least 350 words in a page u can use like font size 17. so i am confused, people use 12 for just manuscript. HELP
My one friend is a writer like I am, She's having issues trying to finish her stories, have any advice?
I'm always obsessed with my word count, too. How can you not be? :P It kind of works so much better for me, when I can see my word count while writing, don't know why, though.
would really like to try this -- I don't quite know anyone yet on authortube, so maybe I can try to emulate the people Kate introduced in this video and find some more organically through Authortube? Do you have a curated list of recommended Authortubers?
What video was that cheesebread recipe on?
Oooh I don't remember but I have it on my instagram too!!
I know this is a 4 year old comment and all, but in case you never found it: It's in the description of the Nora Roberts video!
What’s going to be your first completed project?
Kate, I’m thinking of starting an author tube channel. What do I need to do?
What is that tree app? I've seen it a couple times now and I want to plant little trees!!!
Also GIRL how do you work on so many projects at the same time! I have three WIPs right now (something I've never really done) in VASTLY different stages, and it is really difficult for me to divide my time between them because I often get sucked into one project and then just never move on. I need help lol.
Its called Forest!
HOW ON EARTH DID YOU USE YOUR MACBOOK AS A TOUCH SCREEN? At 12:16
Bahaha! What a perfectly timed illusion! Not a touch screen, I just happened to scroll at the exact right moment. (I should also probably stop touching my screen baha.)
I didn’t realise strawberries and cream was a thing people actually ate. I thought it was just, like, a chuppa chup flavour.
Are any of your works released somewhere? Sorry I'm new to your channel!
I don't have any published novels out yet, no!
@@KateCavanaugh Omw okay! Well the small descriptions you give make them sound amazing! So when you publish I'll definitely get it 😁
No pizza. I don’t care for pizza
I have no children kids not a mom or dad an didmt make childer but maybe a birth certiface wouod mean something though.