It’s so easy to feel like writing is something that can just be jumped into. We like to think of it like sky diving, a story idea taking us up and then we free fall as the words pour out of us in a smooth, endless string that eventually forms a story. Trying to keep that focus can prove to be the most challenging part. In an age of endless texting, social media notifications or the dreaded ‘just one quick video for ‘research”, it is so easy to drift off from a blank writing document. I think–like many writers joke about–most of my chores around the apartment get done in the time that I had set aside for writing (“Just gonna do the dishes real quick”). Even grabbing a fresh cup of tea is a potential disaster for distractions on the way to and from the kitchen.
If I have a good stretch of time off during the day, I like to try and set some of it aside for writing. To stay in the habit I’ll write a little each morning before work (usually not much), but if I have a day off (from library work or volunteer work), I’ll carve out a good chunk of time for writing. To make the most of it, I do everything I can to settle into the space before getting to work.
I always start with a fresh cup of tea. It’s usually very meditative and slows my pace long enough to think about where the story is and where I think it should go during the next few steps. I’ve always found the process of tea very calming: having to wait for the water, the feeling of a tea mug, the warmth of the boiled water, and all the smells that come from that first, fresh pour. I’ll also grab a snack so I’ll have one less excuse to get up at some point during my writing session (recent snack of choice? Peanut Butter Pretzels).
Something that I do struggle with is my mind wandering. I’ll put on music if there’s a certain mood that I’m going for, but I also enjoy listening to a few podcasts while writing. Some of my favorite podcasts to write to come from the McElroy brothers since I can kind of tune in and out without missing too much of the story. I jokingly call it the Golden Retriever Effect (ya know, like when you turn on the TV for your dog so they don’t feel like they’re alone? Kinda like that).
Making the most out of the time available is very important. Focus can be really hard to master, but giving yourself a conducive writing space is the easiest way to find your rhythm and stick with it. Forming a mental bubble around your space is more than just a good writing practice, it’s a survival tactic to keep your focus on what’s important!
What rituals/things do you do to make your writing space the most efficient it can be?
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I train myself to focus on small bits at a time. If I’m going to write this paragraph, I concentrate on that. I can’t think too ‘big picture’ when writing, because then analysis paralysis takes over, and I end up writing nothing. Anyway, thanks for this post!