Balancing Fiction and "The Day Job" (Web Content Writing) [Writing Update]

So, I finally feel like I've achieved a balance with writing fiction and writing content. It's only been a week or so, but it's happening.

Using the pomodoro method (surprise surprise), I'm giving fiction 50% of my work time. I do 4 pomodoros of fiction, followed by a 25 minute break, then 4 pomodoros of content writing/editing, followed by a break.

Rinse.

Repeat.

I pick up each day from wherever I left off. Sometimes that means diving into a short story or this blog post, or sometimes I'll be telling people how to modify a 4x4, the best places to stay in Vegas, or what chiropractic really means.

I'm being disciplined about it, which is key in the experimental stage. I've got a content deadline to meet, so I'm having to write particularly fast when it's the "content turn," but that might be no bad thing.

After writing web content for about 2 years, I worried that it would somehow damage my creative writing. I'll have to leave it to you to decide whether that is true or not, but the signs are good right now.

As a content writer, you need to be able to write well, on cue, on topics you've never thought about before. Often, these are topics that you wouldn't spend much time thinking about otherwise.

As a fiction writer, I need to be able to write well, on cue, on topics I've never thought about before. Hmmm. Not so different after all.

Other benefits of writing and editing a load of web content every week.

• I'm more able to 'turn it on' when I need it, so much more disciplined about being inspired at 9.01am (or 5.01am in my case).
  
• I think my stamina has improved. If I can churn out several thousand words in a day on "uses for gravel," I can surely write several thousand words of short story or novel.
  
• I'm more motivated and eager to write fiction than ever before.
• I'm better at researching a topic without falling into a YouTube hole.
• I've got back in touch with my planning and outlining, so I spend less time staring at the screen and thrumming, and more time tap-tap-tapping. Having an outline is really helpful, and, as usual, I still go off on one, I just know how far into the forest I've gone, I have a frame of reference, and I still have a destination.

I've been calling writing 'work,' without my tongue in my cheek, for a few years. Now this work is getting scheduled rather than shoved around. Deadlines are getting stricter. And these blog posts are helping me stay on track, so thanks for reading.

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