Writing Myths: The Perfect Time/Place to Write
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I remember being in my twenties, out of college and unhappy with the banking job I had. I’d been an English major and was planning on writing, but was waiting for the right time. I’m not exactly sure when I thought the right time might be, but it didn’t seem to be when I was in a stultifying mortgage banking job. I’d remembered reading about the Lost Generation in Paris in the 1920s. Birmingham, AL in the 1990s didn’t seem to be quite the same.
Directly following my banking stint didn’t seem to be any better, either. I had a baby . . . a pretty active one. I was juggling playgroups, diapers, and grandparent visits. It definitely didn’t seem like the right time.
And that effectively took care of my entire 20s, ha. :)
After a move to NC and baby #2 came, I started looking at things a little differently. There wasn’t going to be a mythical right time, was there? There were always going to be other obligations. There may not even be any peace and quiet. But writing was important to me, so I decided the right time was then and there.
Maybe you’re in the same spot. Maybe you’re wanting life to calm down just a little bit. But there’s that niggling thought in the back of your mind that you should be writing.
Here are some tips that helped me out:Learn flexibility in terms of place and time. Can you write when you first wake up? During your lunch break? While your baby sleeps? In the carpool line? On paper? On a laptop?
Learn how to tune out what’s going on around you. You’ll get so much more done if you can block noise out. Or if you can write while listening to some sort of music or white noise in your earbuds.
Reduce your expectations. Shoot for something small and doable. 15 minutes. 5 minutes. A single page. Two paragraphs.
Value consistency over excellent work. To keep your project moving forward, it’s helpful to realize that you can always edit later.
How have you adjusted your writing time in order to get more done?
There Isn't a Perfect Place or Time to Write:
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