It’s the fantasy, isn’t it? That life as a writer means getting up at the crack of dawn, shuffling off to the kitchen in your sloppy but cute topknot and yoga pants for some coffee, and clacking away at the keyboard for an hour or two before anyone else gets up? The coffee mug is always classy or sassy in that fantasy, too. It’s never one with a giant crack down the side. And you’re never driving to a gas station for half and half without a bra on hoping you won’t run into anyone who would enjoy seeing you look like a hobo.
Anyway, this idyllic case wasn’t my reality when I was working full-time. It wasn’t the case when I was a full-time graduate student. And to be completely honest, it’s not the case now.
The last time I had a daily writing practice was when my kids were five and six.
And you know what? I’m fine with that. Because I don’t buy the notion that you have to write every day, especially if you are working another job, have a family, and are trying to cram quality time with your book in between life moments.
There are a lot of reasons why I don’t stick to a daily routine, starting with being a busy mom and ending with I don’t feel like it and you can’t make me. But the fact that I don’t write every day doesn’t mean I don’t write on purpose. I make time for writing. I don’t wait for time to find me (because that doesn’t happen near often enough, and I think selfishness and self-preservation are two very different things). It also doesn’t mean I’m not productive. In fact, it means that when I’m writing, I’m more productive. Because I know myself and my life, and I do what I gotta do to make my writing time count.
I think that’s the key to a sound writing practice as far as time management is concerned. You figure out what works for you and you do more of that.
I’m kind of a binge-writer. I’ve mentioned before that it takes me a super long time to get in the zone. Like up to an hour sometimes. I used to write on my lunch break at work, and sometimes I thought there was something wrong with me that I was just starting to write sentences when my time was up. This is why I prefer to do my writing at the end of the day. I can keep going if I’m into it. If I spend an hour getting into the head-space to write, you bet your sweet ass I’m not getting up until I’ve done some work. So I like to have a good sized block of time to write, or I don’t even go there. What constitutes a good sized block of time might be as little as two hours or as much as eight for me. (Don’t I love a wide open day! Marathon days are my favorite, but it doesn’t happen very often.)
This isn’t to say that I don’t shut myself in my office for an hour if the mood strikes me. It’s just that I don’t force myself sit at the keyboard hoping that my muse will stop by during some allotted time each day. That obviously works for some writers, or they wouldn’t advise it, and it’s cool if it works for you. I’m super envious of you, by the way. But I want you to know that if you’re thinking something is wrong with you because it’s not working for you, you can stop beating yourself up now.
I’d much rather write for four hours straight on a weekend than for an hour a day.
Does that seem unequal? It’s not. If it takes me an average of 30 minutes to get moving every day, then I’m only actually writing for 3.5 per week in both scenarios. You know what? In the first scenario, I’m more productive. Because in the first scenario, I’m on a roll for that 3.5 hours. I’m not coming or going.
Now I think if writing is your job, you should probably treat it like one. And I’m not suggesting that you only sit down if you have a two hours to write. I think you take whatever time you can, if you can reasonably get something done with it. But if you prefer to binge-write, and large chunks of time are kind of hard to come by for you, by all means figure out a way to have more and stop trying to make yourself be like “other writers.”
Maybe that means you write a couple of evenings a week instead of every day.
Maybe it means you do the yoga pants and coffee thing on the weekend when you have someone to help with the kids.
Maybe you make your great escape to the coffee shop or the library because it’s the only place you can reasonably expect people to leave you alone for two hours.
Or maybe you hole up in a hotel when you’re away on business trips.
The “write every day” advice is just advice. Take it or leave it. Only you know what’s best for you. And if you are taking yourself and your writing seriously, that’s what matters most.
