6 writing questions

After reading a post on The Awl where writers answer six basic questions about their writing habits, I thought it might be a useful exercise for me to answer the questions myself.

If you're a writer why not do the same and tweet a link to your answers to @matthwrites

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1) How long have you been working on your novel and roughly how much longer do you expect to go?

I've just finished my first novel - it took roughly 18 months in all and I've now started number two.

2) How do you “pay the bills”?

I work for flatshare site SpareRoom.co.uk - being asked to write a book for work was the main thing that got me into writing in the first place. The book I wrote for work is The Essential Guide to Flatsharing

3) How do you balance work/friends/family with your writing?

I've discovered that the easiest way of doing this is just to make my day longer! When I'm in the writing or editing stage of the process I get up at 6.15 and write before I go to work. I can usually manage at least 1,000 words if I'm writing. The reading and researching phase is a bit easier as I can do that pretty much anywhere and for short bursts if needs be. I can read on trains or listen to relevant podcasts on the move. As half the research stage seems to involve generally mulling things over that part tends to go on all day anyway in the background.

4) Do you have a routine and if so do you reward yourself for sticking to it (and does it involve cupcakes)?

The morning routine is the only one I've got and I tend to punish for failure rather than reward for success!

5) Do you write longhand, on the typewriter, or on a computer (and is said computer online)?

The first draft of the book was written longhand as I find it hard not to edit as I go when I write on a computer. I think it's important for writing and editing to be different stages of the process. That said, by the time you get a few drafts in you end up doing a bit of both for most of the time it seems. When I write I tend to keep email and browser apps closed to avoid temptation (although I will use the internet to check the odd fact as I go).

6) Is there anything else about writing a novel that you've found to be particularly difficult/enlightening from a time-management perspective?

I think it's been good for me to just keep chipping away at something continuously like this. I tend to have a bit of a binary approach to stuff and be harsh on myself (I either can or can't do things and there's no middle ground). Writing a novel has helped me see the long game and realise that it's not even about what I'm writing now so much as simply getting better every day for as long as I want to write.