Ugly Confessions

Okay, confession time:  I'm getting behind on writing.

Wait, what?  Ms. 3000-word-a-day is behind?  What's going on?

Yes, it's true: lately, the days I've been writing, I've been averaging no more than 1000 words... and most days don't get that!  Since I finished my first novel, I've been in a lag as I picked up two part-time jobs to pay the bills, edited the first, began looking for agents (still no success), and tried to start on my second.  The biggest problem is not time, because my jobs still leave me my mornings free.  The problem is endurance and plot - two things I'm lacking.

At first, I was so unsatisfied with the plot of my second novel that I couldn't bring myself to write. So I rewrote it.  And rewrote it again.  Then, by the time I was happy with my story, my writing muscles had gotten out of shape - I'm getting tired after 1000 words.  I've said before that writing is an endurance sport, and since I've stopped, my mind is getting flabby.

Solution?  Discipline.  No, I'm probably not going to get back to 3,000, at least not right away.  But I have to keep pushing myself, and no more excuses to put off what I should be doing first: writing!  I'll try for a week at 1-1.5k, and then push upward from there.  Wish me luck! 

What do you do, when you find yourself slacking?  How long does it take for you to get yourself back shape?