In any writer's life, there are going to be times of inspiration, when the words just seem to flow through you as easily as if they had been uploaded directly from the cosmos itself and deposited into your brain. And then there are other times, when you stare at your paper or computer screen for hours, struggling to come up with a single coherent sentence. That, as they say, is the biz, sweetheart, and if you want to be in this biz, then you'd better get used to it.
Time itself - or the lack thereof - can also help or hinder the natural ebb and flow of inspiration and productivity. We're so busy these days: with work, with family and friends, and all the other minutiae that makes up our existence as a whole. They're obligations we can't ignore, and it takes time to make it all work, time which often causes us to place our creative lives lower and lower on our list of priorities.
So, what can you do?
In my opinion? Accept it. Accept that you will not always have time to write, or to write much. And when it happens, don't kick yourself. But watch out for those small moments that you can take advantage of for writing. Lunch breaks, commute times on public transportation, after the kids are asleep, or in the morning, before they awaken. These are great times to whip out pad and pencil, or laptop, or even a voice recorder, and get to work. If you are fortunate enough to be able to carve out a specific, consistent block of time for writing during the day, then let it be known to all friends and family that this is WORK time, and you will not be answering your phone, texts, or emails. You will also be ignoring the doorbell, or knocks at your office door.
On your end, your obligation is to WORK. That means putting away all the little distractions that eat up the little time you have. Social media is the worst. Sure, it can be entertaining. And for the writer looking to get the word out about your projects, it can be very useful, indeed. It's also the biggest timesuck in existence, and it's an easy way to find yourself looking at the clock, only to learn that the time you had allotted to writing has been used instead to look at videos of children and household pets being adorable and clever, or thumbing through 10,000 pictures of someone's vacation or concert experience or whatever.
Games like Candy Crush and Plants VS Zombies are another easy way to lose huge chunks of time. They're loads of fun, no doubt about it. But they also tend to be addictive and almost as time consuming as social media. You think: Oh, I'll just get through this one level, and then I'll get back to work. Only, by the time you do make it through, you're more likely to have wasted an hour (or two, or three) of the time you should have spent coming up with the most beautiful passages ever recorded. And who do you blame for that? That's what I thought.
So, to summarize: life happens. And sometimes, you just have to stop and deal with it. That doesn't mean that you're not dedicated enough, or that your muse is doomed to sitting on the sidelines, ignored for all eternity. It just means that you're going to have to be creative in making time for your passion so it doesn't wither and die for want of attention.
That shouldn't be a problem for you, should it? You're a writer, after all.
"Creative" is what you do.
Now, get to work. Me? I've got to go study for a professional certification exam.
Ciao,
Chris
Time itself - or the lack thereof - can also help or hinder the natural ebb and flow of inspiration and productivity. We're so busy these days: with work, with family and friends, and all the other minutiae that makes up our existence as a whole. They're obligations we can't ignore, and it takes time to make it all work, time which often causes us to place our creative lives lower and lower on our list of priorities.
So, what can you do?
In my opinion? Accept it. Accept that you will not always have time to write, or to write much. And when it happens, don't kick yourself. But watch out for those small moments that you can take advantage of for writing. Lunch breaks, commute times on public transportation, after the kids are asleep, or in the morning, before they awaken. These are great times to whip out pad and pencil, or laptop, or even a voice recorder, and get to work. If you are fortunate enough to be able to carve out a specific, consistent block of time for writing during the day, then let it be known to all friends and family that this is WORK time, and you will not be answering your phone, texts, or emails. You will also be ignoring the doorbell, or knocks at your office door.
On your end, your obligation is to WORK. That means putting away all the little distractions that eat up the little time you have. Social media is the worst. Sure, it can be entertaining. And for the writer looking to get the word out about your projects, it can be very useful, indeed. It's also the biggest timesuck in existence, and it's an easy way to find yourself looking at the clock, only to learn that the time you had allotted to writing has been used instead to look at videos of children and household pets being adorable and clever, or thumbing through 10,000 pictures of someone's vacation or concert experience or whatever.
Games like Candy Crush and Plants VS Zombies are another easy way to lose huge chunks of time. They're loads of fun, no doubt about it. But they also tend to be addictive and almost as time consuming as social media. You think: Oh, I'll just get through this one level, and then I'll get back to work. Only, by the time you do make it through, you're more likely to have wasted an hour (or two, or three) of the time you should have spent coming up with the most beautiful passages ever recorded. And who do you blame for that? That's what I thought.
So, to summarize: life happens. And sometimes, you just have to stop and deal with it. That doesn't mean that you're not dedicated enough, or that your muse is doomed to sitting on the sidelines, ignored for all eternity. It just means that you're going to have to be creative in making time for your passion so it doesn't wither and die for want of attention.
That shouldn't be a problem for you, should it? You're a writer, after all.
"Creative" is what you do.
Now, get to work. Me? I've got to go study for a professional certification exam.
Ciao,
Chris
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