I picked up Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird today for a little inspiration. Her advice? You sit down, I say. You try to sit down at approximately the same time every day. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively. So you sit down at, say, nine every morning, or ten every night. You put a piece of paper in the typewriter, or you turn on your computer and bring up the right file, and then you stare at it for an hour or so ...
Somehow in the face of all this, you clear a space for the writing voice, hacking away at the others with machetes and you begin to compose sentences. You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story.
If you haven't read Bird by Bird, definitely pick it up! Lamott takes you from beginning to end (with humor and sarcasm included) in writing a novel.
So what resonated in me from this? It's the sitting down part. It's the carving out a schedule. I know to do it. It's how I got my 3 manuscripts written. I sat down every day while the toddler was napping and the girls were at school. I know that if I sit down, my ideas will come. But I think I actually need to schedule it in. During nap time. Because, invariably, if I tell myself that I'll "find time today" - that time will never come. Laundry needs to be done, the kids have homework, I need to hop on Twitter ...
It's the same thing I need to do with hitting the gym!
Do you schedule in your writing?
I don't have a set schedule that I stick to, but I do make myself write a little bit everyday. Sometimes I write a couple of pages, sometimes an entire chapter. I'll have to check out Bird by Bird, I could use some inspiration.
ReplyDeleteUff, I need to. I've been flirting with scheduling writing time but something about the routine of it kills the creativity for me. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteWish I could. Really, really wish I could. But it just won't work for me at this time. One day. Maybe after my children move out.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I kind of schedule in my writing. I usually make a broad statement like: "I'm going to write after lunch." But I think I'd be more productive if I actually allotted specific times. :)
ReplyDeleteI find I can get a ton done when my kids are also in activities and then make a date with myself to write while they're in gymnastics or music or whatever.
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