The Write Time
Written by:
I don't know about you, but sometimes, I find it excruciatingly difficult to make time to write. I've just returned from a long holiday in Spain, and being back at work is...well... a lot of work. So other than this blog post, not much writing for me this week.
Or so I thought. As it turns out, I seem to find MORE time to write when I'm actually at work than I did on holiday. It seems that relaxing takes a lot of time.
Go figure.
That just goes to show how important structuring your time can be. When I was in Spain, I slept late, I had a very, very slow breakfast, I went to the beach, shopping, to town for a coffee, nothing at a set time, no fixed dates. I did some writing, but not as much as I'd planned on doing. There was no structure to my days. This isn't a bad thing when on holiday, but in order to find the time to write, I've now figured out that I need some semblance of a time plan at least.
And then I can write anywhere.
Ten minutes extra at breakfast before going to the office? I get out my notebook and jot down a few lines. A coffee in town as I pick up the mail? Perfect! Sit down and write a bit. Back home from work? The weather's beautiful, so I sit on the terrace, watch my dogs make fools of themselves trying to catch a mouse, and write some more. I'm writing this blogpost right now while the news are on TV.
Ten minutes extra at breakfast before going to the office? I get out my notebook and jot down a few lines. A coffee in town as I pick up the mail? Perfect! Sit down and write a bit. Back home from work? The weather's beautiful, so I sit on the terrace, watch my dogs make fools of themselves trying to catch a mouse, and write some more. I'm writing this blogpost right now while the news are on TV.
I guess it's the limits placed upon my time when I have to work that make me MAKE time to write.
Limits, it turns out, are a good thing.
Especially for me. I have this recurring problem with consistency - consistency in my writing, consistency in my characters, my storylines, consistency in pretty much everything. If there's nothing that structures my time for me, I tend to not do it at all.
Bad Tessa.
So now I'm back at work, back in the structured 'normal life' (although to be fair my job isn't all that structured in and of itself...), and - oh! - there it is, the Write Time, all there for the taking. And I grab it.
Bad Tessa.
So now I'm back at work, back in the structured 'normal life' (although to be fair my job isn't all that structured in and of itself...), and - oh! - there it is, the Write Time, all there for the taking. And I grab it.
Good Tessa.
Mr Muse would be so pleased. And yes, Margaret, my Muse is a Mr Muse. At the moment he chooses to look like Jim, here. Cute, isn't he?
He does it just to distract me, of course. Mr I'm So Good Looking You Can't Possibly Help But Be Inspired By My Glorious Self.
Sorry, I digress. Margaret did a post on Muses yesterday.
Back to the Write Time. So, apparently I can find time when I'm already busy with work, but not so much when there's nothing else to do. Weird, huh?
How do you find yours? Do you find it easier to write when your time is structured? Does your Muse (male, female, other, they all count) prefer holidays, when there's nothing but you and your writing (and family, and housework, but never mind that)?
Do you have a strategy to secure your writing time every day? A set limit for the week, the month?
Does your system really work for you, or are you like me, setting either no limits/goals or unreachable ones?
Mr Muse would be so pleased. And yes, Margaret, my Muse is a Mr Muse. At the moment he chooses to look like Jim, here. Cute, isn't he?He does it just to distract me, of course. Mr I'm So Good Looking You Can't Possibly Help But Be Inspired By My Glorious Self.
Sorry, I digress. Margaret did a post on Muses yesterday.
Back to the Write Time. So, apparently I can find time when I'm already busy with work, but not so much when there's nothing else to do. Weird, huh?
How do you find yours? Do you find it easier to write when your time is structured? Does your Muse (male, female, other, they all count) prefer holidays, when there's nothing but you and your writing (and family, and housework, but never mind that)?
Do you have a strategy to secure your writing time every day? A set limit for the week, the month?
Does your system really work for you, or are you like me, setting either no limits/goals or unreachable ones?
ps. Thursday is my posting day, but it's already Thursday where I am, so sorry if this seems a little soon after Margaret's great post to all of you on the other side of that big pond thingy....
Yes, go figure. They say to give a busy person a job and they'll get it done, so the same applies to writing. Maybe we get panicky that we'll not get time to write so we make more of an effort to find time. But, hey, a holiday in Spain. Just a notebook to jot random thoughts etc, not serious writing. That would be my way..:)
Tessa - no no, I don't feel crowded out or unappreciated or anything like that. You people over on the other side of the big pond thingy really need to fix your clocks. They're all about 8 hours too fast, give or take. hehe.
Sorry Margaret...
I tried scheduling the post for later but Blogger hates me. It kept trying to tell me my post would go up December 18th (which really made no sense at all) so I gave up.
Hi there, Tessa!
I NEED structure, but then again, if I've got too much of it, I don't like it.
I write at 5:00am.
*sigh* I've scanned my schedule, and there's no other time.
It's either that, or nothing.
But on the weekends, it's me, my laptop and my coffee. Mmmm.
I get to write for about 3 hours a day on the weekends.
Tessa - I'm just giving you a hard time! Don't worry about it. It's a great post!
@ Kelly - 5 AM??!!??
OMG
I don't think I'm alive yet at 5 AM.
*checks spreadsheet* When I'm at school, I write more consistently, but when there's a lot of homework and tests, I don't write. *glares at depressing weeks where zero words were written* Yes, entire weeks went by when not a single word was written.
When my summer holiday started this year, I wrote. A lot. But it means I went to bed late, because that's the only time I felt I could write. Then it got really hot, and I couldn't write anymore.
It was really hard making myself write again, but I did it. And it turned out I just needed to get away from the noises and distractions in the living room. Writing at my desk, alone, was much easier.
Now that I'm in England with my family, they're not too happy with me writing all the time. We should be sightseeing and all that, but when the words keep coming after being stuck for so goddamn long, you don't want to stop.
But at least I don't have to stay up until 5/6/7 am to get my minimum 250 words (see http://www.inkygirl.com/inkygirl-wordcount-challenge/). I once got 700 words written by 5 pm!
(Sorry for such a long comment, but hey: it means your post was inspiring.)
-Kayleigh
@kaileigh you have a spreadsheet for your word counts??? OMG I am SO disorganised you wouldn't believe it...
Kayleigh- I love you! You're obsession with spreadsheets makes me feel almost normal! I'm so glad there's another OCD writer/spreadsheet guru out there =)
@Tessa: Oh, I am not THAT organized. (Seriously. You should see my room.) Only when it comes to writing. And even then, I have millions of folders and several copies of the same story and-- It's clogging up my computer.
@Courtney: You're actually the one who started my obsession with spreadsheets. Once I started using your plot spreadsheet, I couldn't stop making them. I have one for my characters, one for my word count, and of course the one for the plot.