Time management, or not so much time management, is about setting a daily routine so a project can be completed.

…

It’s not so hard, really.  After all, to build underground railways or any multi-billion-dollar project, they trot out a project management tool and plan it from start to finish.

For me, I use the simplistic method of planning a novel based on the fact that I’m trying to write 50,000 words a day for 30 days in November.

Yes, you guessed it – NANOWRIMO.

That’s 1,633 words a day, and that’s easy, isn’t it?.

Well, over time, I have managed to get the hang of writing a novel every November.  I will admit that I
Start thinking about the process much earlier than just sitting down in November and starting to write.

The reason for that is that I tried the first time and, like any novel written from the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants method, you can only go so far before the ideas dry up and suddenly, with pressure mounting, writer’s block sets in.

I still don’t necessarily plan every detail, but I do have the start, which is usually a short story written in April as part of the A to Z month.

And in the period between April and November, a few more stories might appear, basically giving me a head start.  So, despite the fact that I say I’m what they call a pantser, I really do some sort of planning before I tackle a novel.

Of course, that is not the only novel I write for the year; there is my series of books, long and short, The Cinema of my Dreams, and series like those involving Zoe the Assassin.  They take longer, and a few years to write, in between everything else.

However, what works for me may not work for you.  It’s just a starting point, and over time, you will find your groove.