Ever taken a break from writing and then found it difficult to get started again? Or wanted to get on with writing, but struggled to find a couple of free hours of peace without interruptions?
Yeah, me too. The answer is to get used to writing regularly. Not necessarily every single day, but at least a couple of times a week, even if it's just for a few minutes. At first it might seem like you're not getting very far, but trust me, you WILL make progress. I wrote my first two novels (Paint Me A Picture and Escape To The Country) mostly in tea breaks at work and on trains going to meetings. Now a great deal of my writing is done in the van at photographic locations, waiting for the right light. I might have hours to write, or have to stop before the laptop has booted up. I'm not saying that's ideal, but you definitely can learn to work that way.
To get into the habit of writing in spare moments, how about trying short exercises every day? My book A Year Of Ideas; 365 sets of writing prompts and exercises, has suitable exercises for every day of the year - plus prompts and suggestions for turning them into a longer piece if work if you get the time.
If you'd like to contribute a tip to this blog, here's what to do
11 comments:
Thanks Patsy, I agree a specified time for writing does help form good habits and sometimes you can be surprised and how much writing you can produce in short writing spells.
At our writing group, we have successfully adopted doing timed tasks. Obviously, we only have a limited time in the afternoon anyway, but it focuses the mind if given an end point. I'm not suggesting this should ever squash creative thoughts if doing a longer task.
I don't lack discipline and (sorry) I don't need prompts to create ideas. I have plenty of ideas. It's motivation that I need. Success feeds motivation and when there's no success, then motivation suffers, I'm afraid.
I agree, a little every day is the key. I'm on a roll at the moment & actually writing but when I take a break I do find it hard to get back into it. Then I love dipping into your book for inspiration until I'm up & running again
I've taken really lengthy breaks (months! years!) from fiction writing, mostly because of headspace issues around work and family responsibilities. Usually I've got back into it because an idea has really gripped me or because I've realised that I can't just let the writing fiction go completely. During our lockdowns, when we received pandemic payments, I really got on a roll with writing, but I've struggled to keep it going since then, with work taking up much of my time. But I'm on a work break at the moment, one that's likely to extend for a while, and am enjoying being able to write every week. I don't write every day, but I do write most most days. I'm working my way through my list of ideas and trying to match and tailor them to the most likely markets.
I'm finding it so so hard to find the time to write at the moment. I have a really busy job at a charity and when I get home at the end of the day, just want to switch off.
But I know that if I wrote stuff down creatively, I'd feel better for it.
Maybe a ten minutes a day discipline could help me.
@ Elizabeth - I think we can be more productive if we know we don't have all day to do something.
@ Marguerite - Those short bursts can be really effective for getting something down to work on later.
@ Sharon - We're all different, but I find that if I push myself to write a little even when I don't feel particularly motivated, that can restore my enthusiasm.
@ Sheelagh - It's surprisingly easy to get out of the writing habit, isn't it?
@ Liz - I'm doing the same kind of thing with my ideas file at the moment.
@ Ruth - Maybe you could take a few minutes writing time as a mental break between working and your evening? Make a drink, set a timer for ten minutes, pick up a pen and see what happens.
I try to hold myself to account by keeping a paper diary specifically for writing. I use it not only to note down deadlines etc, but also to make a brief note of any time I have spent writing. When I look back over the week I can see how frequently I've made time for a writing session. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, and sometimes I realise that I need to devote more time.
Especially when you're starting out, I think it can feel very difficult to justify taking time away from other responsibilities for something as 'frivolous' as creative writing. But if you are a writer, you need to write, and I would suggest that, even if it is not yet paying much or anything at all, it might be helpful to think of this time as serving your apprenticeship, which most of us have to do before finding any real success, and which is a tried-and-tested and valid use of time. My mousemat says 'Writer' and my favourite mug says 'Storyteller', because I need every little bit of affirmation and would recommend seeking out any and all encouragement, human or inanimate, to improve your sense of legitimacy when writing. Sharon, I'm so sorry to hear that your motivation has slumped and hope you will get some better news soon - I suspect most of us writing here have had to summon up a great deal of resilience just to keep going, at times, and we all thrive on encouragement. My related tip for general consumption is to please carry a notebook and pen at all times, so that, when you do get an opportunity to write, your ideas are jotted down and ready to develop. Thanks, Patsy, for hosting another discussion, and best wishes to all.
Many thanks Eirin. It can be difficult to find that resilience at times. I'm still having little things published, so it's not all doom and gloom!
Ally27
@Sharon at A Quick Read I couldn't agree more. Success breeds motivation but even if you're brimming with ideas, if you feel like you've reached a stalemate, motivation and enthusiasm are stymied and it's very hard to overcome that block. It's a vicious circle.
Post a Comment