What is your writing routine? Do you have one?

I'm often asked if I have a writing routine. Do I write every day? Is this in the morning, afternoon or evening? How many hours a day do I spend writing?

I have been writing full time since 2006 so have had many years now in which to perfect my routine but this changes as my circumstances change. It is flexible depending on family demands, speaking engagements and other commitments, including the occasional short holiday breaks! However, having said that yes, I do write every day.  Some days it will be a very limited amount, it might simply be jotting down ideas or mapping out aspects of the plot, or conducting research. Other days I will spend a long time thinking about my plots while I'm knitting or walking, I count that as writing time because it is in an essential part of crafting that novel.

The actual time I spend bashing out the novel, or working on plots and research, can vary depending on what stage of the novel I am at.  Also how long my eyes and wrists can bear it, not to mention my back and shoulders being hunched over the keyboard!  Nowadays I try to limit this to a maximum of two hours, then a break, then another couple of hours. I would say on average I work on a novel four hours a day.  Some days this might be six other days two .

I usually write every evening, by that I mean actually on the keyboard.  I have a glass of wine about seven fifteen and boy does the writing flow well then!  I'll crack on until about seven forty-five when my husband calls me for dinner. I'm glad I have someone to feed me otherwise I am in danger of forgetting to eat especially if the creative flow is going well.

When I am working on first drafts I like to set a goal to write these within two months, three at the most. Once I have the first draft written, albeit in its crudest sense, and I have roughly 80,000 plus words on my computer, I can then take a breath, slow down and take time to re-shape and refine the novel.

My aim is to write two novels a year. This can be an Inspector Andy Horton and an Inspectorr Ryga, or a Horton and Art Marvik.  I have just finished writing Inspector Ryga number six which will be published by Joffe Books in June 2024 and I've also finished DI Andy Horton number eighteen.  This will agian be published by Joffe Books in 2024, probably early autumn.

I'm currently working on Art Marvik mystery thriller number five and pleased with its progress, while I have the setting for Inspector Ryga number six and have started some of the 1951 research around it.  I also have the basic idea and location for DI Andy Horton ninteen.

Plenty to keep me busy!