Planning for Sick Days: How Plotters, Pantsers, and Plantsers Can Protect Their Writing Time
Your AutoCrit Novel90 plan is mapped out down to the daily word count. Then someone in your house comes home coughing, and by Friday, you're the one stuck on the couch.
The last three months of the year are when many of us push hardest to finish a book. They're also full of things we can't plan for, like a sick week or a family emergency that pulls us away from our writing for days.
So, before you plan out every day's worth of writing, why not plan for what you can't see coming? Whether you're a plotter, a pantser, or a plantser, here's how to make room for sick days or any unexpected event, and get back on track when life pulls you away.
When You’re a Plotter
Are you a plotter who likes to map out every writing day before November begins?
A day-by-day plan feels great until the first time something unexpected hits. With no room for sick days, the whole calendar can fall apart.
We as writers might have a plan for our new book projects as we start Preptober and write all the way through November, hoping to publish in December. These are also some of the busiest months of the year, with the holidays and cold and flu season landing right on top of our writing plans.
Solutions and Tips
Last year, in Preptober & Beyond, I shared how to plan your writing calendar and give yourself backup time when your schedule shifts. This year, I’m adding one more thing to that backup plan: sick days.
If you are a planner or plotter, you might want to think about weaving in buffer days. Meaning, you can use Preptober to plan extra days in case you or a family member gets sick. For example, you might plan 5 days of writing 2,000 words a day during your week and be prepared to move those days if someone gets sick. Having buffer days is like having a Plan B. You might also keep your original writing days and adjust your word count goals to something more manageable. There is also the option of setting aside days for tasks that require less energy, such as outlining, right from the comfort of your couch.
My Personal Experience
There was a time when I put writing right into my daily schedule, with a different project for each day. Mondays were for nonfiction. Wednesdays and Sundays were for my faith-based writing. Fridays and Saturdays were for my fiction. Those used to be my days to go out and enjoy myself, so I saved the fun stories for the weekend and did the more serious writing during the week.
It looked great on my calendar app. But my phone and apps kept pinging me with "Writing Time" reminders for every single project, and I started to feel spammed by my own calendar. Then something else would inspire me and pull me in a different direction. Eventually, I gave up on having such a rigid calendar. If a new idea could knock my plan off track, imagine what a sick week could do.
When You’re a Pantser
Are you a pantser who sits down and lets the story lead the way?
You don't have a day-by-day plan to fall apart, and that's part of the fun. But when something pulls you away for a few days, it's easy to lose your momentum and forget where the story was headed.
Say you were in the middle of a scene that was really flowing, and then you come down with a cold. By the time you sit back down a week later, the inspiration is gone. You reread your last page and can't remember what was supposed to happen next.
Solutions and Tips
Before closing your draft for the day, leave yourself a quick note about what happens next. Something simple like “She finds the letter in the attic” can be enough to remind you where you left off in the story after a sick week.
You might also set a weekly word goal instead of a daily one. Pansters tend to write when the story pops into their heads, so a weekly goal gives you the room to miss a day or two without feeling like you’ve fallen behind.
If you come back and the story feels different, that’s okay. Sometimes stepping away gives you new ideas for where it should go.
My Personal Experience
I still have a bit of pantser in me. Every time I restart a draft, I retell the story a little differently. Sometimes it's the same story with new wording, and sometimes I add something I didn't see the first time.
The trouble comes when I step away. By the time I come back, I have multiple drafts scattered across my files in an unorganized mess. I type the title into my search bar and see 20 or more files that all look related, and I have to dig through them just to figure out which one I was working on. That's usually where I lose my writing flow. Throw a sick week into the middle of that, and it gets even harder to find my way back.
When You’re a Plantser
Are you a plantser who likes a flexible plan but still wants to let the story take the lead?
You know where you're headed, but you aren't tied to a rigid calendar. The catch is that when you have to step away, it's easy to come back and not know which part of your plan you were on.
Maybe you had your outline ready and were halfway through drafting when a family emergency took up your whole week. When you come back, you're not sure whether to pick up where you left off or go back and adjust your outline first.
Solutions and Tips
Your loose plan is your map back. Before you start writing again, reread your outline and figure out which stage you're in. It doesn't matter if you're a few days behind. What helps is knowing where you are.
On low-energy days, switch to the planning side. Tweak your outline or jot down a few scene ideas from the couch. When your energy comes back, you can switch back to drafting.
It also helps to keep a simple log of each writing session, noting what you worked on and what comes next. That way, you don't have to rely on memory after a week away.
My Personal Experience
I'm a plantser. It's really hard for me to stick to being a full plotter because I enjoy flexibility, but I don't like being a pantser either, where I don't know where I'm going. So, I land somewhere in the middle.
As an indie author, I make my own schedules and my own methods. I don't have anyone checking in on me, and honestly, I like it that way. I'm an introvert, and I'd rather figure things out on my own than follow every other author's advice.
What keeps me on track is order. I follow the stages of my own Writer's LifeCycle framework, and I log every writing session so I can see which stage I'm in and what comes next. If I get out of order, I get frustrated and a little lost. Life still happens, and things do get me off track. I can adjust. The hard part for me is getting back on track afterward.
This blog turned into a bit of a case study. It started as one of my blind writing challenges, where my focus topic was how important water is for our health. Then I realized flu season was coming, and I went from brainstorming and researching straight into writing, almost eight hours over two sessions. I skipped my planning and outlining stages, and the blog ended up taking a whole new direction. My log even showed me that one session I meant to spend editing turned into designing something instead.
But here's what I learned. Not every project follows the same path or the same order, which is okay. When I felt confident and motivated in one stage, I rode that energy, and I still got content out even with a stage or two missing. What helps is noticing when things get out of order. Once I saw where I actually was, I stepped back into planning and picked up from there.
When the Unexpected Happens
Has something ever taken you away from your writing right when you were finally in a groove?
It doesn't matter if you're a plotter, a pantser, or a plantser. A sick kid or a family emergency doesn't check your writing calendar first.
Solutions and Tips
When sickness or anything unexpected shows up, what we say and do makes a difference. Give yourself permission to say:
"I'm not feeling good. I need to rest."
"I need to drink more water."
"I need to lie down and rest."
"I need some time off to get better."
"My children are sick, so I need to take care of them."
"I'll write when I feel up to it."
While your children are sick and taking a nap, you can get in some writing by doing short writing sprints. You can also switch over to plotting or some light editing if you prefer to do so during this time.
Once things settle down, don't try to make up every missed word in one day. Pick up from wherever you left off, whether that's in your outline or a note you left yourself, and keep going.
My Personal Experience
Personally, I don't have any school-aged children at the moment. My kids are grown up and in their twenties. When my own kids were in school and came home with a cold or the flu, I'd make sure that they were comfortable and took care of them, even if it meant that I needed to take my own personal time to do so, neglecting things that I wanted to do…Even writing.
CONCLUSION
So, as we move through Preptober and into November, why not make room for the unexpected in your plan too? Whatever kind of writer you are, a little planning now can make it a lot easier to find your way back. If a sick week or a family emergency still finds its way into your home, lean on the plan you made and write when you feel up to it. Not every project follows the same path, and that's okay. Your book will still be there waiting for you when you're back on your own feet, and taking a few days to rest now can save you from losing weeks of writing later.
Resources
Preptober & Beyond: Preparing for a Month of Writing – Inspire Books Blog, Jacquelyn Lee, October 20, 2025
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