Understanding what works for you only requires taking an honest inventory of the way you relate to your everyday to-do list. Writing is a practice, sure, but so is getting dinner together every night, staying on top of the laundry, or making time for some exercise, and I bet you make some semblance of those things happen with reasonable regularity. Take a moment and consider the you that’s off social media—the one who’s #notwriting, with a messy house and plenty of obligations beyond your writing life—and make a judgement-free plan of action based on the kind of motivation you respond to.

No matter the genre, editing is essential. Audrey Wick and her editor, Julie Sturgeon, give readers a behind-the-scenes peek at the process of editing the first chapter of a manuscript.