Writing in the cracks

Hi everyone.

Today’s Sunday and I’ve realised from past experience that I don’t get much writing done on Sundays. I used to think: Oh Sunday’s the weekend, I’ll get LOADS of work done, but it’s never the case. I hang out with family and I have a perfect day. Just not a writing day.

I struggle to get time to open my laptop. But I always do because I have a requirement: I must write one word everyday. And it works for me. I always write more than a word when I actually open my laptop. I didn’t finish my scene but I did make progress. And I’m happy with that. Especially for a Sunday.

But it got me thinking about what I do when I’m super busy and I feel like I can’t write. Years ago, I learned to write in the five or ten minutes or fifteen minutes of empty space that fill our day, eg waiting in a carpark for my kids—I do a lot of writing in carparks.

I didn’t do this at first and it caused months of no writing. And I lost complete touch with my manuscript. And yes it was when my kids where younger and I was in a very busy phase of my life, but the moment I decided to write, even if all I had was five minutes, even though I wasn’t in the zone, or in a conducive writing environment, I stopped having no writing days.

Those five minutes kept my writing habit, they ensured I didn’t lose touch with my story and even helped me make progress, pushing the story forward until I typed THE END.

You don’t need to be in the zone to write. All you need to do is touch your story everyday, and even if you aren’t in the perfect creative mood to write, it doesn’t matter, you’ve maintained a habit for when the creative fairy does come to visit.

I have to sign off now. See you tomorrow.

Happy writing,

Joanne.