Writing tends to follow a cyclical pattern. Anybody who has been writing for a significant amount of time knows that it's difficult—or impossible—to sustain a very fast writing pace for a long period of time. Events like National Novel Writing Month can help motivate writers to knock out a large chunk of words very quickly, but at the end of that month, it's normal to feel like you just can't write any more words—to feel drained.

That's because writing takes energy! Just because we're sitting at our desks (or on our couch, in the woods, at the pool, whatever) doesn't mean that we're resting. Writing is mentally and emotionally exhausting. It's easy for us to see that in the short term—you finish a particularly emotional scene and slump back in your chair, totally drained—but sometimes we set unrealistic expectations for our long-term productivity. If scenes are able to drain us in that way, it stands to reason that we can expect periods of exhaustion over months and years.

I like to compare this natural pattern to the tide, so let's talk about what to expect during high tide and low tide—and how to be a productive writer while taking care of yourself and ensuring you don't burn out.

​Writers—especially those working on their first books—tend to obsess over word count. Maybe that's because a manuscript's word count is one of its only truly objective elements. Character, plot, style, and voice are all difficult to define, and books change with each reader's response. But a manuscript that is 82,749 words is exactly that. So it makes sense that writers want to control this aspect that we can control, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Word count is important, especially for writers planning to pursue traditional publication, and understanding word count goals can make the drafting and editing processes more efficient. But sometimes focusing on word count can be a detriment. Let's discuss why word count is important, how to use your current and projected word count to your advantage, and when word count should be the last thing on your mind.

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​The number one nemesis to any writer struggling to get that draft written is your inner editor. She's got a grating voice and constantly nags you about your grammar, your sentence structures, your plot development. "Change this. Fix that. Make it better."

One of my favorite writing quotes is from William Faulkner:
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​I love this quote mainly because it emphasizes that waiting for inspiration is not the way to get things done. But it also promotes a common piece of advice in the writing world: Write every day.

Like much writing advice, the "write every day" mantra is often lauded as the be-all-end-all. And like most writing advice, that is simply not the case. Although I am a proponent of writing every day in many contexts, I do recognize that the advice is not perfect for every writer in every situation. Whether writing every day is a good idea depends on the individual and can change for each individual.

Although I generally find writing every day to seriously boost my productivity, there are times that I need to slow down or (gasp) take a break. So remembering that all writing advice has positives and negatives, let's take a moment to look at the pros and cons of writing every day so you can decide whether it's the best idea for you at this specific stage in your writing journey.

On Twitter, Paula Puddephatt responded to my blog post about the myth that all writers are alcoholic, depressed, and starving.

Her words struck a chord with me. As writers, we use our experiences to inform our characters' emotions—even when their experiences are different. It's just like method acting, I thought. After all, how many times have I been in a bad mood after a writing a particularly difficult moment in a character's journey? My writing bleeds into my daily life. In a sense, I become these characters—I take on their emotions. Is that not the same as method acting?

A quick search of the term "method writing" shows that I am not the first to consider this.

I believe that we make things happen through the actions we take. Sometimes those actions are big—huge risks that either pay off or don't—but sometimes it's the smallest actions that have the biggest impact. We choose our paths through the seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day. Do we choose to spend an hour writing or working out, or do we spend that hour watching television? Do we get enough sleep at night? Or do we down a couple cups of coffee and hope that's enough?

All these small choices will eventually determine our futures. But today, I want to talk about just one choice:

​Picking up our toys.

If you've ever lifted weights or been in a room with someone who does, you know there is one thing that everyone loves to do and talk about. Whether we're talking about Olympic weightlifters or powerlifters, they all love max days and hitting PRs (personal records). They love pulling heavy deadlifts and massive snatches. In other words, lifting heavy shit. It feels great, and there's nothing like that adrenaline rush. But guess what? PRs don't happen overnight or by accident. They happen because of hard work and hours spent doing the stuff no one really wants to do. In other words, PRs happen because of rep days.

​But we're not talking about weightlifting. We're talking about writing. I've compared writing to working out many times, and I hold that there are tons of similarities. In both disciplines, hard work = awesome gains. Whether the goal is to lift heavier or write captivating words, the only way to achieve goals is to put in the work.

This July, I'm participating in Camp NaNoWriMo. But unlike most, I didn't set a word count goal.

If you're not familiar with Camp NaNoWriMo, it's just like November's National Novel Writing Month, except instead of setting their sights on 50,000 words over the course of the month, participants set their own goals. They may want to write 20k words—or 80k. It's all up to the writer.

This July, my novel is not my main focus, for a few reasons. I'm spending a lot of time building my business. I'm in the early stages of house hunting. I'm spending more time in the woods, hiking and backpacking (which has been a huge contribution toward my continued sanity). I'm also querying a previous work. And I'm taking care of a new puppy and spending as much time as possible with him.

Oh, you haven't seen pictures? You must not follow me on Twitter.

Last month, Jade asked a fantastic question:

I thought this question deserved more than a 140-character answer, so here we are. Let's toss betas and critiques into an arena, let 'em fight it out, and see who wins.

First of all, what are these things?

We all know the first draft is shit. (Hemingway said it, not me.) But does that make it any easier to put those stomach-churning sentences to the page? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t. For those days when you can’t seem to do anything but stare at a blinking cursor, here are five ways to smash through the wall of self-doubt and convince yourself to write that first draft—in all its typo-riddled, repetitive, ambiguity-filled glory.