Routine, Routine, Routine...

I think the hardest thing for me is to get back into the routine of writing more than anything. I mean, I made the decision a couple of months ago to stop drinking so much soda and have not gone back to that old habit. In two months I may have had a total of 6 sodas. During National Novel Writing Month, I got into the routine of writing something every day, but that honestly burns me out. If I have to work under a deadline, I know I can do it. However, I need to take some time to work things through with my story, listen to the voices in my head (my characters) and let them tell me what to do next or how to solve a particular problem.
It works. I did take some time off and now am getting back into the routine of writing once more. I started out the other night telling myself, "Just write like 500 words and go to bed." So I did. I told myself the next night, "Just 500 words, easy-peasy." I ended up writing over 1,500 words instead.
My husband is such a great listener! He has helped me to create this world as well as some of the characters in it. So I will read to him the latest developments and ask him if what I have written is staying in tune with the character's personality. So far, so good.
I am reaching the end and will be looking for Beta Readers soon. Beta Readers are people who give me feedback, to tell me I am staying on course, the story either does or doesn't flow well in certain areas and help to find mistakes in spelling or grammar that I haven't caught. I have a couple of Beta Readers for my Black Rose story, which I will have to finish editing first before I move back to this one. In the meantime, I am working on getting this story finished before I continue my editing processes.
Gotta love having a routine!