As an author, I’ve taught creative writing and presented workshops and one of the reasons for “not writing” or “not finishing” that often comes up is “I have such a busy life, I just can’t seem to find the time to write.” To which I’d say, if you only write 1 double-spaced page a day, you’ll have written 365 pages. That’s a book (or more…most of my books average 300 pages or less). Maybe not a great book…you’re still at the first draft stage, but as the saying goes, “You can’t edit a blank page.” Here are a few tips to help you carve out an hour a day:
Prepare for a Writing Hour
“What is your most creative time of day?” In a perfect world, your writing hour would fall in this time. In an imperfect world, your writing hour will fall when it falls, and you will write during that hour because that is the time available.
Here are some considerations for making the most of the Writing Hour:
1) Write at the same hour every day. Just as writing every day keeps the story in your head, writing at the same hour every day establishes a routine. Some believe it allows our inner muse to know we’re serious, and so he or she starts showing up, ready to work.
2) Write in the same place every day. If you have to (or want to) leave home to write at a library, coffee shop, on your deck, this may not work for you. If you are a traveler, see comment #3. If you work at home, or if you must have research materials or notes handy, set up a writing station—a writing desk, a corner of the dining room table, a spot in the basement. Fill it with what you need to work, what you require for comfort, and what may perk or inspire you.
3) If you write in different places and/or need to get out of your home or office, make your Writing Hour easier by being organized. Get a bag that is used only for Writing Hour supplies: journal, pens, flash drives, note cards. Have it ready to go at all times so you don’t spend any valuable minutes searching for the last copy of your draft or an important revision note.
Get your Brain in Gear
1) What may be the most difficult part of an uninterrupted Writing Hour is retreating from the world. Turn off your phone, email, TV and radio, and tune out: Social media and housework will still be there when you check back into the world in an hour.
2) Calm yourself. Take a minute to close your eyes or breathe deeply, and relax. Devoting a minute to physical preparedness is worth the sacrifice of a minute out of your hour.
3) Prepare mentally. Think about what you wrote yesterday and what you want to write today. If what you wrote yesterday stunk, and you can’t move on without editing it, accept that and revise instead of writing new words. If you are mired in a scene and have been there for several days, accept that and decide you’ll move on to a new scene. Be in your story before you sit down to write.
Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard
That’s really the magic bullet, the secret sauce, call it what you will. Butt in chair. Fingers on keyboard. Repeat. Good luck and happy carving!
I am lucky to be retired. Nothing gets in the way of my writing, except medical appointments. I do the first two, write at the same time and in the same place. No mental prep is needed because I have been turning over ideas all morning. I find the act of drafting calming. Even editing has its merits. I need to follow these rules for marketing (not so good at that), as I think the same process would work!
Thanks Jane for your comments. Marketing is an entirely different beast. Thanks for the idea for another series of blogs! And keep on writing.
Your writing time should be considered an appointment with yourself. Look at your calendar – there’s dental, hair and all sorts of other appointments. If you’re hoping to spend a certain number of hours on a certain number of days – BOOK IT! The result – when your dentist – or whomever – says you are scheduled for a certain time, you look at your calendar and advise that you have another commitment (the one to yourself) and – what other dates and times are available?
Protect your time and wrap other commitments around it rather than vice versa.
Great advice, John! Explains why you are so prolific 🙂
Sometimes I must be in a “locked in situation” like a doctor’s office or an airport in order to plot a section of my WIP. I must have the scene I’m about to write in mind when I sit down to write each day.
Exactly, Marilyn, mindset is so important. And every setting or situation might be in a book one day!
Great tips, Judy. I like ” prepare yourself mentally”.
I’ve started making a note at the end of my writing session about what my next session will be about. I show up the next day and there’s my note letting me know what I have planned.
That’s a great idea, Rose. I might do that!
“Be in your story before you sit down to write.”
This is vital. I think this is one of the most important tips because too many people sit and stare at a blank screen, wondering what they might write. They start to think they are wasting time. Then they get up. Once they get up, the writing is done for the day for many.
However, if while we’re finishing up the final tasks before we sit to write (feeding the cat, putting away the last washed dish, folding the laundry), we think about our story and what we’ll write and how the scene plays out, as soon as our butt hits the chair, we have something to write, and usually we continue to write. Sometimes we get so excited about what we’ll write, we rush to the chair to get it down.
One thing I’ve learned over the years from people who say they want to write but never do is: they don’t make it a priority. They have time to watch their favourite TV show, go for a run, check out Facebook, wash their car…. Personally, if they have time to watch TV, they have time to write, but TV is the priority, not writing.
Very true, Diane, I will often tell folks just that — treat your writing the same way you’d treat anything else you want to to and schedule it into your life.
Terrific advice. I found in order to get a draft of my very first book done, I set myself a date I wanted to have it done by. That way I had a goal in mind, which helped motivate me.
I do that too, Grace. I used to train for marathons, and you always had a race day to prep for. It’s a lot like that. If you skipped a week, you weren’t about to get to the finish line.
Good advice, Judy.
Thanks Tracy!