As you’ll have read if you clicked on the bio tab above, I’m writing a YA (young adult) novel called Silent Symmetry. I set myself a 3,000-word weekly target when I started back in January, and I’ve stuck to it apart from one vacation week and one insane work week (when I actually did spend time plotting out the ending). I find that the only way to get any real work done is to have an imaginary friend. Except that this one isn’t your friend – he or she is a horrible boss. And you signed a contract with this boss to churn out X number of words or pages per week. If your imaginary boss is slightly less horrible, your contract may be to work for a certain number of hours per week, but, as it says in the title of this blog, sitting at your desk isn’t work. Just like a real boss who prowls around the cubicles, if he or she isn’t demanding measurable output, you’ll work as though you’re sitting in a cubicle. You’ll do research that slides into surfing. Or to take a “reward break” on Facebook that slides into YouTube. Or create a blog about writing that slides into tweaking a colour scheme…
Writing is easy. People write stuff every day. But if you actually want to produce a written work, you need to hire yourself an imaginary boss. The good news is, they work for free. The bad news is, so do you. For now.
Sitting at your desk isn't work 