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| Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash |
I’m having a hard time figuring out what to write this month.
I read so widely, that it’s hard for me to pick a genre for this month’s question.
But I’ve had a win lately. After years of struggling to find time to write, especially since I returned to work full-time, I found a solution.
1. I write in the mornings before work. I set the bar really low for myself. I try to get up a half hour earlier than normal. It's been working. I don’t write every day, but I write most days.
2. For my morning writing sessions, I handwrite. I draft and brainstorm ideas in a notebook. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I’m finished with the rough draft and move on to editing, but I’m thinking about printing off my chapters and editing in longhand as well.
Why longhand? I find it hard to add any more computer time to my day. And I can write a couple pages long-hand in 15 minutes, but I’m not able to do that typing. I also find I feel more willing to experiment when I can cross something off. Typing is different. It feels permanent and harder for me to change—or take risks.
3. On the weekends, I input whatever I wrote during the week into my computer. I do some light editing, but I’m not going crazy since it’s a rough draft.
4. Another thing I’m trying, since I’ve set aside too many writing projects lately, is that I’m keeping this one a secret. I haven’t even talked to my family about it, which is unusual for me. I have learned that both criticism and praise can kill my momentum.
5. I am gentle with myself. Some days I’m too tired to write. Some days the words just don’t come, and I write notes or read a book instead. That’s okay. The road to creating anything, especially writing, is never straight.
Aside from actually getting some writing done, a few of the fringe benefits:
1. I’m happier. I have a job that’s a giving type job and a family. It’s easy for me to feel burnt out sometimes. But getting even 15 minutes to jot down part of a scene or some ideas makes me feel like I still have a life outside of being a teacher and a mom.
2. No more excuses. I’d become really good at coming up with reasons for why I wasn't writing regularly. Now I feel so empowered. I can do this—even if it’s just a few pages at a time.
Yes, I’m still battling insecurities. My feelings about this project go up and down from day to day or minute by minute. Like always.
But I finally feel like a real writer again. And that, my friends, is priceless.
What about you? How do you find time to write in your busy schedule (because we’re all juggling a million things)?
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I love your solution to squeezing in writing time while working because that's the best thing for your family. It was the same for me. I have a similar technique though I write on the computer. When I have lunch, I reserve that time for my writing. And with consistent writing and editing, my manuscripts get done.
ReplyDeleteI love your solution too, Natalie! --Jenni
ReplyDeleteGood job on finding a path to writing that works for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandra! 🙂
DeleteGlad you found a system that works for you. Yes, typing can feel permanent even though we can change it.
ReplyDeleteI know! Something about it being there in black and white...
DeleteI love your post. Especially, when you say you are gentle with yourself. That is probably the best thing you can do and it will free up your writing more than anything else. Having permission to write--or not--takes a lot of pressure off. It's so good to see someone find their way. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for such a sweet comment, Charity! I've found that the internal editor is the worst thing for creativity!
DeleteJenni, that's so wonderful you are able to write longhand in the mornings. Those pages add up. I agree with the feeling of it being too permanent when it's on the computer. Because I'm in revision mode, I have to fight my perfectionist tendencies--it can become the enemy of the good. It's not always easy to judge.
ReplyDeleteThanks, V! Those perfectionist tendencies are so hard. It's so easy to edit things to death.
DeleteBattling insecurities is the fuel of real artists. That you have found a way to protect your creative time is a win.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Thank you!
DeleteI have been writing very little lately. I should take lessons from you.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks! It's a constant battle to find time, isn't it?
DeleteGlad you found a time to write that works for you. I like your writing rules. I'm the opposite of you. Embracing technology is the only way I've been able to squeeze in writing, using my phone and digital tablet at sporadic moments throughout the day. Hey, at least we're both writing.
ReplyDeleteSo great to see that you are finding ways to write! #5 is so important for me. It's ok to be tired and do something else. I find that even those something elses can help me stay creative or even propel me back from writer's block (a character quirk in a TV show, a setting in a book, etc.) I also work full time and have young ones, and I get about two 15-minute blocks of time during the day. Any words during that time I count as a win!
ReplyDeleteI see some pointers you've shared helpful, I am going to try them and see how things work out for the better given my schedule!
ReplyDelete