Fitting in Writing Time

We writers often discuss this, finding time to write. It's not so bad when you're single and childless, except when you give in to procrastination, which even the best writers do at times. If writing were as easy as sitting down and churning out an endless stream of words without pause, many more books would be written. Maybe. Once you add in family obligations, day jobs, children and outside stresses, finding this time becomes more difficult. Some find it impossible and give up altogether, watching the years pass as their dream of publishing a novel or book of poetry fades away.

There is something we can do, even in the midst of chaos, to complete our short stories, our book of essays or our novel. One page a day. That doesn't sound like much, but pages, like pennies, do add up. Even on your busiest day, instead of giving up on writing because you're too tired, too stressed or uninspired, just try for that one page. In a month, you'll have 30 pages. In a year, 365 pages.

On those days when you have more time, you can spend them going over what you've already written. You can edit and polish and try to make it perfect. Instead of viewing the task of completing a book as huge and insurmountable, you can break it up into single sheets of paper that aren't as intimidating. One page a day will yield something tangible and complete one day. When you break it down like that, it almost sounds easy, doesn't it?

Finding Time to Write

A number one complaint I hear from my writing friends is, "I don't have enough time to write." I wrote an earlier post about the ABC's of writing--Apply Butt to Chair. This time, I have a couple suggestions on finding time to write, and these may seem strange at first. But please, read on, and maybe even try one.

FIND YOUR BEST TIME OF DAY
Are you a morning glory or night owl? Do your creative juices flow with the rays of the sun or the glow of the stars? If you can figure this out, you could produce more quality work and probably more words per minute. The Internet is full of quizzes on finding your right time of day as well as articles with research on honoring your internal clock. Just go to any search engine, type in “morning person,” and check out a few of the sites.

Writer Lou Turner prefers to write at night because it’s quiet. “I live in a house with two sons, one husband, one grandson during the week, two male dogs, and one male cat. And none of them can find the kitchen or laundry rooms by themselves. When they go to bed, I turn off MTV, the golf channel and rock station, put my ceiling fan on low, open the window a crack so I can hear the fountain outside, and I write.”

Night writing doesn’t work for everyone. Writer Amy Harke-Moore says, “At night, a brain fog sets in.” When working on a deadline, she has written at all times of the day and found the morning to be her favorite.

Everyone is different. Taking the time to figure out when you are the freshest and when your creative juices are flowing can produce more quantity and quality in your writing.

EXERCISE
What does the E-word have to do with writing? Believe me, sometimes I wonder the same thing.
In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wellness, authors Patricia Smith and Muriel MacFarlane tell us, “Working out can improve mental vigor, reaction time, acuity, math skills, creativity, and imagination.” Scientists have conducted studies on the connection between individuals who exercise and their response time to mental challenges or their improved scores on intellectual tests. With a healthy flow of blood and oxygen, the brain is protected and works better.

I have to admit when I exercise, I have more energy in all aspects of my life. If I have more energy for everything, that means I have more for my family and friends and job, but most importantly—my writing.

Exercise has a fringe benefit, too. It gives you time to think about those parts of your story, article, or poem that are driving you crazy. During a set of jumping jacks, you can rescue your hero from the villain. While racing around the track, you may create the perfect title for the love poem you polished off the night before. Cycling down a forest trail allows time to discover another spin on a nonfiction article about spider webs. Besides more energy and time to work out plot points, the fat will fall off, muscles will tighten, and you can eat more chocolate whenever you get writer’s block.



**A portion of this post originally appeared in Beginnings Magazine, Summer/Fall 2004

by Margo Dill
www.margodill.com