I love reading routines of writers. It’s so interesting how differently writers write. On the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course we all has to describe the place we write. Mine is pictured above. It’s a small foldable desk in the bedroom of my flat in central London. On the walls I have post stick notes of all my chapters which I stare at constantly, especially as I do my day job from this desk due to the pandemic.

I try and write almost every day. On weekdays, I will try and write 1,000 words after work. I usually do this between 9pm and 10pm. Sometimes I don’t quite manage 1,000 but I try and make those days few. I try not to write much longer than an hour so I still have some of my evening to watch TV or read.

I’ve planned out my chapters so this helps. Sometimes I still get writers block or find some chapters much harder to write than others. I’m at the 50k mark at the moment and am struggling to get through the clunky middle part of the novel. I can’t wait until I’ve finished the first draft so I can edit and redraft. I change the structure constantly. Some chapters don’t work and sometimes I realise I need something more. Sometimes I think of new plot points I hadn’t considered.

On a weekend I try and write 2k words a day. It’s easy at the moment as we can’t make plans due the pandemic. I’ll stick a writing podcast on or some music and just write.

So far, writing little and often is working. Since I started doing this at the start of January 2021, I’ve written 30,000 words. If I keep going at the same pace I should have a 90, 000 word novel by mid March. That excites me.

I still have a long way to go. Lots of editing and I’m sure the structure will change. My goal is to have my novel is a shape ready to query agents by the end of summer 2021. That’s the same time as my Faber Academy course finishes. Fingers crossed.

Rhi