Cutting the Clutter: My Streamlined Writing Workflow
How I’m simplifying my tools, batching my writing, and finally getting things done.
Using One Tool That Works
I love new and shiny things. As a creative, every tool—whether a paintbrush, pencil, or AI assistant—feels like a doorway to new possibilities.
And naturally, you want to dive in.
To experiment. To tinker.
But then you get invested. Especially if there’s a subscription involved. Suddenly, you’re rationalizing their use, stitching together a workflow that forces them to fit. You’re producing something—but not stopping to ask:
Does this even make sense?
I stopped. I cut it all out.
No more Cold Turkey Writer or NovelCrafter.
No more Claude or NotebookLM or ChatGPT (mostly).
Now, it’s just Notion and Notion AI—one tool that keeps my process simple, efficient, and focused.
Coming soon: I’ll share my Notion template and detailed workflow as soon as I finish edits on A Slave to Memory. That should be the real test.
Supporting Binging, Forcing Batching
Weekly releases have two big problems for me:
I settle into the rhythm of weekly deadlines. Instead of building momentum, I coast—writing just enough to finish a chapter per week.
Readers drift away. A week between chapters is enough time for them to forget the story.
Releasing four chapters at a time should keep them hooked. That’s the theory, at least.
But I know batching is better. It keeps me deep in the world, in the flow, without constantly resetting my brain. No mixing up timelines, characters, or plot threads.
And that ties into my next point...
Reality check: I haven’t nailed this yet. My last batch took six weeks, and I still scrambled to edit in time. Writing consistently? Still a work in progress. No magic formula—just doing the work.
Doing One Damn Thing at a Time
I cannot write two novels at once.
I cannot edit Book 1 while drafting Book 2.
I’ve tried. It doesn’t work.
Every time I split focus, I lose track of character arcs. I want to revise canon because the story evolves later. It’s a mess.
So my focus is singular: finish Book 1 and release it as a novel.
Aside: Amazon locking readers out of their own books pisses me off. It’s access, not ownership. And that’s straight out of The Company’s playbook.
I might get an editor first—though, for some reason, spending money on editing makes me uncomfortable. But my art is worth it. It will happen.
Before that, I’m taking Jim Melvin’s advice and creating a codex—a reference guide for my characters, settings, and magic system.
He wanted it as a reader.
I need it as a writer.
Because the richer the foundation, the stronger the world.
These are the first seeds of The Djinn Protocol.
Avoiding Perfectionism
A weekly newsletter feels like a one-shot.
That mindset leads to over-editing, endless polishing, and never hitting publish. Not sustainable.
So I’m shifting: instead of weekly pressure, I’ll release a monthly digest—a single drop linking my thoughts, projects, and experiments. I’ll track what resonates through clicks and engagement.
And I won’t over-edit.
I’ll write down my thoughts, make them coherent, valuable—then hit publish.
That means you’ll start seeing article seedlings—early versions of longer, more detailed pieces. Over time, I’ll refine them into substantial guides.
Your feedback and questions will shape them.
This is better than sitting on half-finished drafts forever.
It’s time to stop letting perfectionism slow me down. Expect more raw, unfinished thoughts. Because done beats perfect.
