How I Mastered Time and Space.‘Where the f**k did you find time...

How I Mastered Time and Space.

‘Where the f**k did you find time to write a book?’ asked literally everyone I’ve spoken to over the past year.

Well, contrary to the opinion of my best mate, it wasn’t by manipulating space/time (Though I totally could if I wanted to).

No, to write PULSE: The Trial and the sequel, ‘PULSE: Moonlighter’ I did three simple things.

Plan. Write. Adapt.

I planned out what I would write, when it would be written and where the writing would take place.

Then, I wrote some shit. And I kept writing some more shit until there was lots of shit on the all the pages.

Finally, because it was shit. I kept adapting until it was shit no more.

But that’s not actually what I meant by adapt. Adapt means to find a way to plan and write no matter what circumstances you are in. I can illustrate this by recounting for you what one of my busy days looks like and how I squeezed writing in everywhere it was possible.

Here goes:

5AM - Wake up. Just kidding. Go back to sleep because its 5AM.

6AM - Actually wake up. Run 5K. Because fitness. Achieve terrible time because too much time was spent mentally choreographing Stella’s next fight scene.

6.45AM - Shower. Because hygiene.

7AM - 5 month old son tries to wake up. Put him the f**k back to sleep.

7.15AM - Abandon breakfast plans because 2 year old daughter wakes up. Get her ready for nursery. It’s world book day and she wants to go to nursery dressed as Elsa? Why the f**k not?

7.45AM - Nursery run. Try my best not to verbally or physically assault anyone in front of daughter.

8.10AM - Kiss gorgeous wife. Play with son. Ensure that I’m late for work.

8.30AM - At train station. 8 minutes till train. Planning time. Here I use google drive to go over my notes for the next scene. It’s all been worked out in advance, so this is just a refresher course. Train is delayed. F**k southern rail. But at least I have another 11 minutes to straighten out some inconsistencies in this scene.

8.49AM - On the train. Crammed in the seat nearest the toilets that smell like someone is raising a litter of pigs inside. F**k southern rail. Approximately 38 minutes till I have to change trains. Switch to Google Docs. Write the shit out of this scene while being elbowed by the 6’8” man sitting next to me reading the financial times.

9.35AM - Arrive at depot. You didn’t think the train was going to reach its destination on time did you? Bless your naive little heart. Additional minutes spent polishing this scene. Delete character development. Replace with unnecessary action. Boom. 10 minute walk to tube station. Work synced to Google Drive. Continue reviewing scene on the move.

9.45AM - Bumped into 17 people while on the move. It’s London so… who gives a f**k. Jump on the tube. No mobile data. Switch to Google Keep. Here I keep a list of everything wrong with what was just written and new ideas as they crop up. I tick off the list of things I’ve already fixed and chalk up some new changes.

10AM - Arrive at actual work. Because money.

1PM - Lunchtime. Socialising. Small talk. Hell nah. Time to write. Another half chapter smashed out.

3PM - That big important presentation that is critical to my role in the company… can go to hell because I’ve been thinking about the best way to describe someone’s getting mauled by a dinosaur. Luckily, my sub-conscious has been hard at work preparing what to say. Presentation NAILED.

6PM - Train home. Make sure I’m first to board at the depot by slipping in between the elderly and pregnant passengers, then avoiding all forms of eye contact, thus ensuring myself some prime seated real estate. (Just kidding, I’m a mother fu**ing gentleman out here in these streets.) Another chapter comes into existence before, finally I return home.

7.30PM - Clean those kids up. Recount tails of an extraordinarily greedy caterpillar to put them to sleep. Prepare astoundingly good cuisine for the Mrs. Then gossip about everything and everybody we know.

9PM - Catch up on the Walking Dead and Supernatural. (Hahaha. Oh, Dean. You get me every time.) Miss out on crucial story developments while updating my plan for tomorrow on Google Keep.

Originally posted by littlehobbit13

Tomorrow. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

The moral of this story. F**k southern rail. But also, there’s always time.

Someone once told me that time is like a predator. It’s stalking you. Time is going to hunt you down and make the kill.

But I like to think that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment… because they’ll never come again.

Yes both those quotes were from Star Trek: Generations. Whatever.