Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office, CA
Weather: sunny, 49º
Nothing seems harder than actually getting down to the work of writing. Writers are constantly alternating between feeling waves of guilt for not meeting writing goals and experiencing a strange euphoria for exceeding that goal. You see the acronym BIC showing up in writer’s advice all the time. It stands for Butt-in-Chair, which is what the quest actually entails. The simple truth is, no writing gets done unless we put our body in our chair and engage with the keyboard.
We often think that multitasking–not only writing but also marketing, networking, Twittering, blogging, Facebook-ing and, oh, yes, taking care of families, church and household duties–is a new wrinkle in the world of publishing. Listen to what writer Virginia Woolf said in her diary: “I’ve shirked two parties, and another Frenchman, and buying a hat, and going to tea with Hilda Trevelyan, for I really can’t combine all this with keeping my imaginary people going.”
In a wonderful article in Victoria magazine (January 2009), Jan Karon says, “When I write, I dive headlong into the work as into a river, where I swim for my life, or, depending on the tenor of the story, float on my back, gazing at the clouds. I inhabit that river for five hours or two minutes, ten or thirty, whatever the day may yield. When there’s nothing more to say or conjure, I make my way to the shore, trying to separate fiction from fact, and get on with the business of living.”
Let’s talk about how we get the actual work of writing done, including deadlines, interruptions, page counts and goals. Tomorrow let’s see how several writers manage this. We’d love to have your input. Please use the comments section and let us know how you do it.
Great topic! I never feel like I have enough time…when I’m not writing. When I purpose to write and actually do it, somehow I get pretty much everything I want to do done, or at least those truly necessary things, including the writing. This usually means I’ve stepped away from the television, I’ve put down whatever book I’m reading, and I’ve engaged my children in ways that will afford me at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time, time I typically stretch to an hour or more.
It’s all about training my mind, I think.
Thanks for this post. I am excited for input from others. I have two days a week built in for my writing, Mondays and Thursdays. On those two days I have no problem with BIC (butt in chair). My struggle is with the distraction of email, internet, twitter and such that find me at my keyboard. I’ve never been able to “just take a second to reply to this email.” The next thing I know thirty minutes is gone. I intentionally built in a “break” at lunchtime. During my break I read my favorite blogs (like this one), comment (like this) and allow my A.D.D. to otherwise rule the hour. In a few minutes, however, I will be back to work. Technological entrapments OFF! That’s a little of the method with which I combat the madness.
My biggest obstacle to getting the actual writing done is myself. I let the distractions of the internet, blogs and twitter led me astray and next thing I know precious time disappears.
My best remedy is to pause and remind myself I am a professional. That image helps me to refocus and concentrate on what is important.
Yes, there is a lot to get done, isn’t there?
I usually try to get my blogging/facebooking done in the morning. Then monitor Twitter throughout the day as time allows. I write over lunch, after the day job, and then most of the day on Sunday. I do all my blog posts (6 per week) on Sunday and schedule them to appear each morning…so that helps too.
If at all possible, I try and do a little writing every day, just to keep the juices flowing.
The fact that I don’t have kids give me a lot of free time to put toward writing. I’ll be interested to see how other writers fit it all in. **smile**
Let’s see, first I make strong coffee (lately Peet’s Mocha Java), then I adjust the thermostat. Then I make sure my favorite chair and ottoman are rightly related. Then I open my laptop. I must just the right music playing on Pandora. Then I look at email, Facebook, and Twitter. I follow some Twitter links, and check out the method for bringing my inbox to zero (ha ha ha). I try to blog something.
Then I launch Microsoft Word, opening my WIP (a cool acronym I learned on Twitter from Kelli Standish, I think). I stare blankly at my WIP for a while, wondering who composed such poo.
My nose says the coffee’s ready, so I get up to pour a perfect cup. After than, I settle back into my chair with my Mac, and double check if an offer has come thru from Janet… not yet. Bummer. They all hate me.
Back to the WIP. Great. I edit and re-edit what I’ve already written, leaving just enough time to squeeze out half a sentence before my kids get up, and it’s time to start my day. First I have to check if that offer came thru. Nope.
Writing anything is a miracle.
Bill
Oh, Patricia, I think you nailed it. You used the word “purpose” and “training the mind.” That’s a key for me– having a plan and using discipline.
Darin, I hear you! I quoted Virginia Woolf but that’s the difference between writers of her age and ours– we are inundated with distractions. Delicious, interesting distractions delivered right to the very tool we use for writing, our computer.
I love what someone said about Twitter (and it applies to Facebooks, blogs, etc.)– it’s a stream. You just dip into when you have time. I tend to feel I need to “keep up.” there is no keeping up.
Lynn, I love the way you schedule the “distractions.” I think that’s a valuable technique.
I had to laugh, Bill. . . your routine sounds way too much like mine. And why is it when writing needs to get done nothing sounds quite as good as cleaning the house or pulling weeds?
Hi,
I loved the article about writing, especially what Jan Karon stated in Victoria magazine. It made sense coz i feel the same way most times. Keep writing.
Swapna Raghu Sanand
http://petalsfromtheheart.blogspot.com
That coffee thing usually gets me. Stop. Get another cup of coffee. What kind of coffee do we have? Oh, yeah, I want to try this one! (I just got a new Keurig and there are, apparently, a variety of coffees!)
Seriously, though, I am anxious to hear how others tackle my one obstacle–never being “good enough.” (And a few critical voices around me, too,add to that.)
Wendy,
Thanks for addressing the discipline of writing. I loved what your quoted from author Jan Karon. Sometimes I go to a coffee shop as my “office” to let pre-writing and a first draft flow. I write by hand on lined paper, skipping lines. Then I take my material to the computer. I appreciated honest comments sent to you from other writers about their use of time.