Wednesday Blog Post: Writing Times

Every writing book I've read has said it - every writer has a certain time of day when writing works best for them. Some like to be up at the crack of dawn, others up until the wee hours of the night. My own writing schedule tends to be sporatic, writing during my breaks at work or between classes when I was in college. Then, I decided I was going to do daily writing practice, 20 minutes a day, every day.

I've been following my writing practice routine for over two months; it's how I've been creating scenes for the Imperial Story, by answering prompts. I work in retail, with open availability, so my schedule varies from week to week. What I've found is that I'm happier and more inclined to show up at the page when I write at the beginning of my day, rather than waiting until after work. I manage this most days, since I work a lot of nights, but opens are brutal. It's hard enough to get myself to work on time, much less factor in writing practice too, which means it usually gets left until the day is done. The excuses not to write come to mind so much easier: I'm tired. I'll do it after dinner. I just want to check my email first.

But, at the end of the day, I still drag myself to the desk, promising myself that it's only 20 minutes and I can shut the notebook the moment timer on my phone goes off. Or that I can have ice cream or a cup of tea once I'm finished. It's straight-up bribery, but it works. I've shown up and done the work, every day, since May 15. And I'm proud of that.

They say you can't schedule creativity, that it just happens. But I do know it doesn't happen if you don't take the time and put in the effort to make something beautiful. For me, that means figuring another 20 minutes into my morning routine, when I'm still energized from coffee, using writing to help start my day.