Return of the Writer

I’ve spent the past few years working on my education. I gained a couple of certifications, a degree in 3D Animation, and a new outlook on life. My storytelling has evolved, but I’m happy to say I’m back in the writing saddle again. It’s 2018! We just moved to a new state to be close to my mom, and things are as hectic as ever. I don’t think I know how to slow down, honestly.

You won’t see a long list of books I want to get finished this year or even a giant project list like those in previous years. I want 2018 to be the year of sustainable productivity.

What does that mean for you guys?

I’m going to experiment with my schedule, figure out what works and what needs to be discarded and focus on releasing quality stories that my readers will enjoy. I have multiple pennames that have suffered from my long hiatus, but that means I get to start from the ground up and really focus on what I want to accomplish instead of fumbling around and trying a thousand things at once.

I have three weapons in my productivity arsenal: my Passion Planner for scheduling, my bullet journal for tracking, and Trello for keeping me organized across my different pay streams. Since Trello can now integrate with google calendar, my life just got a whole lot easier. Over the next few months, I hope to show you exactly how I tackle my day in the hopes that we can all learn what works for us and discard the rest. I want to share my journey because you never know when something I say or do may inspire you to break through a wall.

I’m looking forward to 2018 and can’t wait to get started. Two weeks in, and I already have a new release. It debuted at #16 in Kindle World Action Adventure and became the #2 Hot New Release in the same category. That’s one heckuva positive start.

Will you be joining me this year?

See you soon, and keep writing!

Dawn Montgomery

January Goals

• Write, Edit, Publish From the Ashes Done, released January 17th

Was it a sustainable schedule? No.

What could I have done differently?

1. Follow the original schedule
2. Accept that life is going to interrupt and account for that from the beginning
3. Schedule writing-related things on your digital calendar so that you can always check your phone if you’re trying to figure out what’s supposed to happen that day
4. Be more forgiving about first drafts. They’re never going to be perfect.
5. Schedule at least two days’ rest between writing and editing to prevent a giant headache (or in my case, an actual migraine).

• Readthrough, Revise, and start the final writing for Desperate Measures (due in February)
• Readthrough Primal Hunger, begin Revision Notes for the novel
• Record podcast #1-3 (scripts already written), Edit and upload in February

My 40 hour work week for this week (Monday through Saturday, Mon and Sat are half days)

4 hours Revision for Primal Hunger

12 hours Revision, etc. for Desperate Measures

4 hours Podcast recording and script tweaking

4 hours Promotion and Design

12 hours Misc home stuff (new place, lots of work to do)

4 hours Rebranding