I Need a Starting Habit: Removing Barriers to a Regular Writing Rhythm
Apparently I don’t need a writing habit, I need a starting habit. Once I get going, usually the words flow easily. But starting, that is the worst; setting aside other things I’d rather do and blocking out other distractions (i.e. Email, Netflix, my children).
I’ve read about various writing rituals people have, and they sound almost romantic. A cup of tea, morning pages and then they turn on the creative tap and write a few thousand words before lunch. The reality of my situation is that the minute I have some quiet, there are no less than ten things which I should be doing. Doctor’s appointments to make, emails to send, papers to grade. Writing always seems to get the worst of me.
Yet, I’m not prepared to give it up. I know that for every writer for whom writing is the primary focus, ten others toil in obscurity on the fringes and margins of their days. In the carpool line, in waiting rooms, on lunch breaks, before dawn and well into the dark hours of the night.
There must be a way to make this work! I’ve found a couple of tricks that work for me. I still don’t have a daily writing habit, but these tips keep me writing when it feels like I’ll never find a free moment again.
Give Myself Permission to Write Short
If I think I only have a short period of time, it’s easy to talk myself out of writing. After all, what’s the point if I can’t give it a solid hour and make sure I produce a solid, gorgeous few thousand words? Sometimes I just need to give myself permission to do the minimum. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 500 words whatever it takes. I always feel like I should be doing more, gorging my writing time to bursting for fear of the famine that may follow. But I know that small consistent habits have better long term results. It’s OK to only do a little.
Allow Meandering and Drivel
Since I often don’t have much time available to me to write, I feel as though I should be more focused. As though I can just sit down at my chair and bang out a few thousand words that are prime quality and ready for the manuscript. It rarely works like that. Sometimes I start with a blog post that I end up scrapping or a scene that will later be cut. I can’t worry about how efficient my writing is, just that it’s happening. If I require my best work every time, I set the stakes too high and I will avoid sitting down at all. The goal is to make it easy.
Reward Myself
When I was potty training my kids, I gave them rewards whenever they used the potty (usually a chocolate chip). My mom has a friend who doesn’t allow herself to have a second cup of coffee until she’s eaten her frog for the day. I need built-in rewards. So that when I’m reaching my writing or editing goal for the day, no matter how poorly it went or frustrating it was, there is a positive payoff, a release of a happy chemical that will make me associate my writing with pleasure later on.
Of course, writing can be its own reward, but when we’re trying to get better at getting started, it never hurts to add extra incentive.
Only Commit to Today
I tend to long term plan, way too long term. If I write two days in a row, soon I’m assuming I’ll be able to maintain that for a year and I’m already imagining how much I’ll get done and the amazing progress I’ll make on my works in progress. Then day three comes, we struggle through school or a child is sick, there are too many appointments to go to or whatever else disrupts my schedule. I don’t write on day 3. Now my vision for the year ahead is shattered and it’s easy to just give up completely and think that this daily writing thing just won’t work for me.
Or I can just commit to today. A bit like AA or NA, I’m only promising myself the strength to complete the words I’m writing now, the keep writing at this moment until I have to stop or until I’ve finished the thought. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow. If I do, that might keep me from starting, and if I don’t start, I go nowhere.
I may not be able to even produce 500 words a day every day, though I sure would like to. But maybe I can get the words moving and fingers tapping as often as possible if I can just get started.
