I've been posting about this on twitter, but maybe it's time to mention it in my actual Alpennia blog? For two weeks now, I've written at least a paragraph every day on Mistress of Shadows. So far I've been working on chapter 2 (in which I do emotionally traumatic things to Barbara and make her cry) because chapter 1 involves a new character and new setting (Zobayda in Marseilles) so I worried about getting bogged down by tackling it first.
One of the hardest parts of writing for me is making that transition from getting the last book out and starting the next book. I wish I had the time and energy to start writing the next book with the last one is in edits and whatnot, but I don't. The pandemic took out a number of my productivity habits, simply because I'm very much a creature of habit--having the time doesn't mean that I'll use that time for a specific task if my context for that task has been removed.
But I very much need to be writing again. For the sake of my self-identity as a writer, I need to get the next work out into the world. And that starts with getting back in the habit of writing every single day, no matter what.