Writing by Heart

This subject continues to come up for me, sometimes when I least expect it to.

Today, as I was traveling to the bank I thought about all of the necessary tasks I must do on a given day, or at least, on a given week in order to stay caught up. Washing clothes seems endless, and the bathrooms are needing me again this week. But with all of the household chores comes writing.

And especially with writing, the duty should never turn into a much needed task, but rather as a much need trek into the heart. Sure, there is a time for editing, but there is a great period of time for writing. And unless you're writing some sort of technical book, expect that your best writing will come when it comes from the heart.

So, here's a little nudge for you today - especially if you're stuck in your head thinking about all the 'stuff' you need to get done.



Today, follow your heart.

Write.

Wondering What's Next?

I don't know about you, but I'm continually wondering, "What's going to happen next?"

I'm talking books I'm working on (and I'm working on one at the moment), classes I'm teaching (I'm giving one tonight and another next month at the LDS Storymakers Conference in Provo, clients I am taking on (I've got two on hold and one coming later this week) plus a bunch of stuff that keeps happening that I really hadn't planned on.

The growth of a tree takes time.
Photo by: Nicholas_T, courtesy of Flickr

If you know about my husband's gallbladder surgery, you'll know a bit of what I mean. I am a wife, mother, a grandmother (my two grandchildren live with me) a church goer (I have a job there, too) and I sometimes wonder how I ever made time for writing.

No matter what anyone else tells you, if you love writing, you'll make time for it. Your writing won't sit on the back burner 24/7 and you'll make time for writing, editing, and publishing. You'll want to speak to others about the craft and take some classes.

And when you feel as if you can't do another thing, God will give you a break. It may mean that you get sick, or your husband gets sick, or you are so overwhelmed that you spend the day watching television or getting a pedicure.



Photo by: cstrom, courtesy of Flickr

But if you don't take some quiet time for yourself, be assured the time for thoughtful reflection will occur one way or another.

No boredom here. No wondering what to do with yourself. Because something is always provided. Something to keep you growing, like those little plants outside peeking out from the once frozen earth.

I love it.

Finding the Best Writing Time for You

Finding the best writing time for you is really as unique as you are.

I find that when I don't schedule my writing time, that my writing time often escapes me. I am rarely able to give the morning hours from 9 -12 the focus needed because I am getting up to re-fill a sippy cup, change the television channel, or put together a puzzle with my 3 year old granddaughter.



Photo by: Trinity, courtesy of Flickr

I wonder how much of my writing time is actually counting for something. I get in the realm of writing and then I'm stopped and have to start again. But it's just not the starting, it's getting back into that realm that's the real trick.

Reflecting on this, I know that my time might be better spent if I got up earlier in the morning or stayed up later at night to work on writing, but the truth of it is, I just don't want to get up that early or stay up that late.

I love my sleep and I'm not really a morning riser.

Finding the best writing time for you may take some work. You may find that you can write with children in the background but that certain creative phases need complete silence. My most in depth creative phase is the first draft after I've done a little outlining. I'm getting the words down and sometimes they come faster than I can type them. An interruption at this time might be deadly.

Have you every thought, "Well, I'll just go do this one thing, and get back to it in a moment?" Only when you come back you've forgotten what you were going to write? For this reason, my deepest thinking moments are usually spent when I can be as alone as possible. And that means someone else is watching the children and I'm not answering the phone or door. I've heard of some writers letting others know when their writing time is so that they're not disturbed. That means, others outside their home know when not to call and when not to drop by.

I have yet to incorporate this wise wisdom, but if we, as writers, don't take our writing seriously, who will?

Finding the best writing time for you may include learning how to write with noise in the background, interruptions, and children hanging on your legs, knowing that the day will come when your children will be grown up and you'll have other things to worry about. You may decide to write late at night or early in the morning or at nap time.

But if your goal is to be published or to get your first novel completed before Christmas, you'll find the time.

Packing Up for the Conference

Packing up for a conference is a little like writing, I think.

In packing, you may make a list so that you don't forget anything. You may choose to pack those things that wrinkle less, you may even pack less (coordinating your outfits) so that you can take a small suitcase.

Photo by: Malias, courtesy of Flickr

Especially if you're flying by plane, you'll want to pack light or pay the extra service fee for baggage. And I can't help but relate this to writing, too.

Writing is a skill, but it doesn't come to any of us (other than J.K. Rowling) all at once. We may pack heavy at first, making our sentences long and winded, not really understanding our voice, rewriting more times than we'd like to count.

We pack heavy.

Photo by: emmamccleary, courtesy of Flickr

We may also forget certain things we've learned. We go to this great writing conference and come home overwhelmed. We just can't seem to remember everything we've been taught. We may be excited to write, or we may take a breather for a few days to get back on track.

Tricks of the trade? Sure, there are tricks in writing--ways to cut time in outlining a book, for example. But in the long run, writing takes work and lots of it. In time, skills are learned and applied and more skills are added to what we have. We learn how to pack the right things in our day, and coordinate our various writing projects so as not to get overwhelmed.

And this takes time to master.

Making Time to Write

I think it's important that we take writing seriously if we want to become a writer. And taking writing seriously means we make time for it.

We may make time for errands
For doing our chores, and that includes household and outside work responsibilities
We may even make time to watch our favorite movie on television

Photo by: Martin Pettitt, courtesy of Flickr

But do we make time to write?

We do if we want to see success in our writing. Without the motivation and action to actually DO something, we're like those folks who are always saying, "I've always wanted to write a book," and then, you guessed it, they never do.

Writing is a job too. We may not think of it as a job because we enjoy it so much, but the best jobs out there pay us to do what we love to do.

Today, if you're using "excuses" rather than "action" to write, take a moment and consider what you can do today that will relive some time for writing.

And then do it.