Have you ever cleared an hour or so after school or work for writing, got everything set up, opened your novel, fetched your favourite drink, turned on your best soundtrack, sat down to write and then…Nothing? No words, no inspiration, no motivation? I know I have. Usually, at this point I get an overwhelming urge to watch YouTube, rearrange my desk, surf Twitter, or do one of the other 101 things that are not writing. All of a sudden creating is the last thing I want to do at that moment.
I don’t know about you, but I find that really hard. It can be hard enough sometimes to clear a solid block of time to dedicate to writing without suddenly finding myself unable to actually do the writing when I have the time. However, I have found one trick that helps me get into the writing headspace a lot easier and helps me feel more motivated when I sit down to write in my creative time.
Start early
By ‘start early’ I don’t necessarily mean getting up at four to write. Unless of course that is when you create already, in which case, keep right on going. You’re doing fabulous things already. mean you have to get up at four to get start. I don’t even mean that you have to schedule your creative block in before midday in order to get things done. Life can be just too busy to give up those precious daytime hours..
It’s not about getting your writing finished early. It’s about getting started.
One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that it is easier for me to feel motivated earlier in the day when I am fresh, no matter what kind of day I’m having. Maybe it’s because I am less tired. Maybe there’s just more space in my brain. But I don’t have to feel quite so motivated initially in order to be able to sit down and write something.
Getting something, anything down first thing in my day sets me up for a much better writing day all-round. It’s not even that I need to write much. Maybe I scratch out a hundred words. Maybe I just jot down a couple of ideas for the future. I get those down and I’ve done the hardest part. I’ve started. My brain is now actively engaged with my book again. And when I come back in the evening, the struggle to begin isn’t quite as strong, because my subconscious remembers what we were doing earlier.
Of course, some days are just too draining for creative work. I get that. And certainly, I’ve had days where I have just been too exhausted at the end of the day to work. But doing even the smallest thing early in the day means I accomplished something. I made a little progress. And a huge part of the battle is just keeping forward momentum and holding onto the discipline of creating as regularly as you can. I’ve found that the more often I touch base with my novel in progress, the easier it becomes to get into the writing headspace when I do sit down to work. Removing the resistance to creating is a huge step towards being able to use that time you set aside well.
