Three Tips For A Successful Writing Week
On Monday, I traveled to Nashville for an author brunch hosted at a friend’s house. MapQuest showed that my agent’s office was only five minutes away, so I popped in and chatted with him for a bit.
My plan after that was to stop by Parnassus Books to say hello and then Panera Bread for a warm drink and some writing time.
Needless to say, things did not go as planned.
That morning, I’d taken my laptop upstairs and set it on the desk above the treadmill. I leaned down to plug in the cord, and the laptop slid off and landed like a bomb on the treadmill, popping out the battery.
I’m telling you, it almost killed me dead.
At Panera Bread, I’d just gotten situated when my computer flashed red and notified me that it had 15.2 seconds until it was going to shut down. I scrambled beneath the desk and beat the power cord’s battery on the floor.
It was to no avail. The computer shut down, taking my leisurely writing time (sans toddler) with it.
Tuesday, my writing time resumed, albeit at a sluggish pace. Now, most of this was my own fault. I am so routine-oriented that when I do something unusual at the start of my week (like the Nashville brunch), it usually throws off the rest of it as well.
On Wednesday, I determined to get a hold of myself. I set my alarm for five and six a.m. I told myself before bed that I really, really was getting up at five.
The next morning, when my alarm went off at five, I shut it off and rolled back over. At six when it went off again, I felt that I had slept in and groggily hit snooze for ten minutes until I pulled on my bathrobe and staggered out to the computer.
On Thursday, I was meeting my sisters-in-law for coffee before they went to work, so I had incentive to get up without hitting snooze. I hit my 1,000 word count in the morning, and then returned in the afternoon, put Miss A down for a nap, and wrote another 1,000.
On Friday, bolstered my Thursday’s success, I churned out 3,000 words.
Therefore, I have determined the three key elements for a successful writing week, or at least the elements that work for me:
1. WRITE FIRST!
If you know in advance that your writing routine’s getting thrown off later (and everyone’s routine is getting thrown off during the holidays), set aside time to write before you do anything else. That morning my laptop flew off the treadmill, I wasn’t planning to type, but to watch downloads of James Herriot on BCC. I should’ve written from 5-6 and then gotten ready for my day.
2. TRICK YOURSELF!
Setting my alarm for an hour earlier than I anticipate getting up has actually worked so far. Now, it’s only been a few days, so my foggy morning brain might actually catch on. We shall see . . . .
3. REWARD YOURSELF!
On Thursday, I told myself that I wasn’t going to meet the girls for coffee unless I had written 1,000 words. Now, I probably would’ve met them anyway, but we’ve all got to start somewhere, right?
Writers, what works for you?
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Nina Badzin
Jolina, you’ll be proud of me . . . I’ve been getting up at 5:15 every day to write for an hour and a half. No internet. Just essays! That Panera story would break any writer’s heart. The blinking 15 seconds. Noooooooo!
Jolina Petersheim
I am so proud of you, Nina! That actually kind of kicks me in the behind (you have FOUR kids!) and makes me want to actually wake up at my first alarm tomorrow! 🙂
Melissa Crytzer Fry
I am with you, Jolina… I MUST start with writing first thing (and that means no checking email or anything. Wake up, go blindly to the computer and start). Or I end up with days like today where I ONLY worked on freelance and read fiction on the treadmill. And then I spend the rest of the day beating myself up. I also need to train myself with some tough love: “So you didn’t sleep well last night? Tough. You’re still getting up at 5:15 and writing. Suck it up. Just do it.” I did NOT do that today… Ho hum.
jolina
That blind stumble to the computer is really so important for starting our writing day on the right foot. Let’s keep each other accountable, eh? 🙂
Cynthia Robertson
Wow, you’re so lucky your laptop didn’t break when it fell. Yikes! I absolutely must write first thing, or, like you, there’s no telling if it will happen at all! Love the ‘trick’ of setting two alarms. I hadn’t thought of that – I’m gonna try it!
jolina
You and Natalia inspired me to try writing in the morning. Nina Badzin just wrote a great post about this as well. It seems when we’re able to conquer writing in the morning, it sets the tone for the rest of our day. And, thankfully, I have cloud storage–just in case my laptop ever break or is spilled on by me or Miss A! 🙂
Julia Munroe Martin
WAY TO GO! I love writing first thing in the morning — but even if that doesn’t happen, I’m learning to force the issue and just make myself write. Whenever. (Even if I have to pretend it’s first thing)
jolina
I have to do that as well! Sometimes those mornings just don’t work out. I guess it’s all about diligence throughout the day–not just in the wee hours.