I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say life is hectic. Hell, it’s bat shit crazy for most people most of the time. I ain’t special. There will always be something or multiple somethings that will dig into your writing time and often your sanity. I’m a firm believer that if you wait for things like inspiration or the perfect conditions to write–you won’t get a lot done.
But even knowing that, over the years, I’ve noticed the way I balance my writing with my cray-cray life, tends to change over time. It’s a fluid thing. Sometimes I find myself being rigid with structure because I need that self imposed task master. Other times I find I’m forgiving of my inconsistencies because, at that moment, I need that too. Some days life has beat me up and I really don’t need to add to that. It thrills me that I’ve arrived at a point in my life where I can reinvent myself every day if I need to. I’m very proud that I’ve discovered the benefits of flow. I spent many years of my life being flowless and struggling with the need to seek a perfection that I’ve discovered does not exist. I’m more flexible than I’ve ever been.
Yesterday I had a kickass writing day. And the day before yesterday I had a kickass writing day too. *fist pump* And what I stumbled upon in my post-holiday-back-to-focusing-on-writing-spree, is that at this moment in time and with this manuscript, the thing I need the most (to finally complete what I’ve working on for so long) is continuity. I finally know my story. It’s inside me–I’m not searching for it any more. And I understand how to make it happen. And to do that to the best of my ability, I need to be immersed in the world I’m creating. Long periods of time would be ideal, but more importantly, if I don’t have that option (remember the bat shit crazy life stuff) I think it’s necessary I be there frequently. It feels necessary to keep my wheels greased and moving in order to keep all the bits and pieces of my story in my focus. So–right now–my goal is to visit this story as much as I can every day. And if I can only stop by for a brief period of time, then I shouldn’t berate myself. Instead I should be really proud that I’ve showed up that day, despite all the other really important things that are happening around my writing.
My focus is to have flow, frequency and continuity until I send this piece out to my critique partners–and to be proud of it–the work and the way I made the writing happen.
What is your writing strategy for 2016? Does your approach to writing change with the place you are in your work and with the outside forces in your life? Are you too hard on yourself or not hard enough? Do you have your own version of flow that helps you navigate a bat shit crazy life?
Subscribe via Email
My writing strategy for 2016 hasn’t changed much from previous years except for method. In the past, I would just sit down and write, just figure it out based on what was in my head. I can’t do that anymore if I want to write and publish frequently because it takes too long and is too inconsistent. So now I plot, I write beats before I sit down to write, and I make a habit of getting in a certain word count every day until a draft is done. I’m also adding in dictation which makes hitting the word count easy, almost effortless, and leaves me with more energy to do other things. It used to be I would have to be immersed in a world to write it. I changed that so I could write whenever I had the time. This is something I’m big on: experimenting with method to get the best results. Not everyone wants to do that, but when they ask me how I get the writing done, this is what I tell them!
Out of frustration on my current project, I’ve started to research some outlining/pre-planning techniques that would work for me and not be overwhelming and when I’m done with this project, I’m going to attack the next one with a more similar approach. And I LOVE experimenting too!!!