Hey First name / friend, 

 

Did you sign up for my collaborator's Patreon last week or check out her art on Instagram? Either way, I hope you enjoyed the showcase of her art in last week's email! 

 

This week, I want to tell you guys about a really cool process I've created to stay productive without getting burned out.

 

I haven't kept it a secret that drafting⁠—the act of sitting down and writing one word after another⁠—has historically been really, really difficult for me. My chronic health problems, including previously undiagnosed ADHD and suspected autism, felt like solid brick walls I just couldn't break past. 🧱 But no one else could see those brick walls!

 

The point of all this is to say that even writing 500 or 1000 words in a day used to burn me out really quickly unless I was feeling extra-good. 😴 But extra-good all the time just isn't realistic. I knew I needed to come up with a system where my productivity didn't rely on my emotional or physical state each day, because those are at times beyond my control and tend to fluctuate a lot.

 

🧠 After years of "brain-hacking'' and psychological research, I decided to reread Chris Fox's 5,000 Words Per Hour. Even though I'd read his book before, his conversational, down-to-earth style along with practical advice and exercises were exactly what I needed to get back on the horse with Dragon voice dictation. I finally figured out what I was missing: structure and accountability.

 

First, I focused on creating a new routine based on the Pomodoro Method: do one 15-minute writing sprint each morning before getting out of bed. 🍅 When that felt good, I added two more sprints after breakfast. 

 

But I really needed to hit around 3000 words per day to keep up with my publishing schedule after two painful weeks of stress and burnout. Even with those three sprints, I was only hitting around 1500. 

 

So, I added the last secret ingredient: accountability. I invited a few of my very best friends and most active supporters to a Discord server for something we now call “productivity hours”. ⏰ I screen-share an online Pomodoro Timer using Discord's streaming technology, and my friends join the stream to see my screen. We all work together on our writing projects (or work projects, or taxes) during the 10- or 15-minute sprint, then we talk and compare progress during the breaks. 🗨

 

Working with my friends this way caused a huge shift in my mindset toward writing. The thought of sitting and writing used to fill me with dread and anxiety. 😨 I would wonder if my writing was good enough, if spending all this time would ever truly amount to anything.

 

Now, I associate writing with coffee, laughs, and good times with my friends 😊 Even when I'm writing by myself, this mindset shift has made it possible for me to write consistently every day without getting burned out! 💥 That mindset shift, coupled with the power of voice dictation, has allowed me to hit my daily goal of 3000 words for 4 days in a row, something I wouldn't have believed to be possible two weeks ago. And I feel like I could keep going!

 

At this rate, the first draft of Girl in the Snow will be completely finished by January 3rd, 2022. 🎉

 

Do you have any questions about my writing or productivity methods? Want to know more about the courses I've taken to learn how to use Dragon dictation 🐉 and how to “hack” my own brain into doing what I want? 

 

Reply to this email and let me know your thoughts! I promise your email will end up in my personal inbox (or, at the very least, my spam folder: which I've learned to check regularly!) and not in a swirling corporate void. 😂

A spoiler-free review from the other co-founder of the YA SFF blog, E.V. Everest!

 

Three teens fight for their lives and each other in this breathtakingly suspenseful first book in the twisted, New York Times bestselling Unwind Dystology series by Neal Shusterman.

After America’s Second Civil War, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies came to an agreement. According to their Bill of Life, human life may not be terminated from the moment of conception until the age of thirteen. But between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, the child may be gotten rid of by their parent through a process called “unwinding.”

By repurposing a teen’s organs and other body parts in living recipients, the unwound child’s life doesn’t technically end. According to society’s leaders, unwinding leads to a healthier and safer community, as troublesome and unwanted teens are used for the greater good.

Connor is a rebel whose unwinding was ordered by his parents. Rita, a ward of the state, has been slated for unwinding due to cost cutting. And Lev, his parents’ tenth child, has been destined for unwinding since birth as a religious tithe. As their paths intersect, they start to fight for their own destinies. But do they stand a chance of escaping their fate or proving their lives are worth saving?

DISCLAIMER: Some links within this email could be affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and choose to sign up or pay for the product or service, I will receive a small commission. This does not increase the price for you. I am paid by the company that provides the product or service. These commissions help keep Nicole Adrianne Author running and allow me to provide you with more books. You are under no obligation to purchase via these links, but I thank you if you do!