Find focus, not time

There never seems to be enough time, does there? It's something that I hear (and say) all the time. 'If only there were more hours in the day! I just don't have enough time!' And a lot of the time, it's true. But, since adding hours to the day isn't really a possibility... let's look at other ways to get some time back. 

The number one thing that can make a big difference is focusing on one thing at a time. Don't try and do multiple projects at once. For me, this means that when it's time to write a blog post that means I can't also be... 

• watching a youtube video (just for background noise I swear!)
• check Facebook real quick (I'm just looking out for a message about an interview!)
• have my email open (what if something important shows up?)
• carry on a conversation with my roommates (It'll just be a second!)

If I want to get anything accomplished and not have the task be a terrible mess then I need to focus on that one task and that one thing alone. I'm not great at. I like having background noise but I'm learning that my default of youtube isn't a great idea. Even listening to songs with lyrics can distract me. 

So to help with that whole background noise thing, I turn on some binaural focus music on spotify. No lyrics and sounds that are supposed to help with focus. 

Now, in the interest of honesty... I have done none of that for this blog post. I have Facebook open and am actively messaging me people. There's a funny youtube video playing on the TV in front of me. My roommates are hanging out in the same room with me and I have my email open where every ding pulls me from my work. 

It means this blog post has taken an hour when it could have been done in twenty minutes if I'd taken my own advice.

So, do as I say, not as I do? 

Maybe next time, we'll both do a little better. 

Write Like You Because There is No One Right Way to Write

Confession time!

I am a morning person. I love the morning. I love getting up early and getting things done before other people are out of bed. I love breakfast more than any other meal in the world (except maybe brunch) and I want to eat the second I open my eyes.

Most of my friends are night people (RESPECT!) but I would much rather go to bed early and deal with the world in the morning. Things get weird after midnight. What's embarrassing about this is how long it took me to actually admit. I like the idea of being a night person, and the countless articles floating around about how night owls are more creative makes my writer self chafe.

I tried for many years to make night owl work for me. I'd stay up late with my friends, write at night, and generally shun the day, but it never led to me being very good at being well...me. I became a miserable zombie just blindly poking at a keyboard and hoping for the best.

Everyone has their own quirks and their own habits for writing. You develop a system that works. Some people write in coffee shops or else not at all while other people can't write anywhere but their office. Neither one of them is wrong, just different. Over the years, I've realized that fighting against your process is dumb and helps nothing. I know I write better in the morning but I constantly try to write at night because that's what so many other people do. I might be a strong, independent woman but that allure of 'writing the right way' keeps drawing me back even though I know there is no one right way.

Write when you can when it's best for you, and forget what other people are doing. Maybe some people would rather sleep until noon and write until 3 am, if it works for them awesome! Maybe some people write in marathon 10,000 word binge all nighters. But don't ever feel like someone else's process has to be yours.

What works for you might even change over the years and that's okay. Life happens, circumstances change and you keep rolling with it. Writing can be a chaotic, emotionally draining pursuit, don't make it harder by trying to be someone you're not. There is no one magical right way to write, it's whatever way works for you.

Patient Zero- The first draft

I’ve been working away on my latest work in progress, and just crossed the 30,000 word mark last night. I’m hoping to finish it up before the end of this week.

At first I thought I was writing my first draft. And I suppose in a way I am, aside from my outline, this is the first time these characters have seen the light of the page and the first time I’ve told this story to anyone. But, about halfway through, the story veered in a direction I hadn’t seen. I realized I needed to change a major character and rework my main character and the plot in a big way.

For about a day I just stared at this mess of a draft and considered just starting it over again and making all the changes.

I’ve been down that road plenty of times before where I write the first 20,000 words over and over and over in a perpetual groundhog’s day loop of writing.

Instead of sending myself into that kind of hell, I decided to just make a note to myself (set aside with XXX) and keep going as if those changes had already been made.

What this means is that a minor character named Virgil became a main character at word 21,008, and that a main character named Darcy completely disappeared at 24,000 and I never backtracked to fix the words behind them. I’ve even gone back and rechanged the changes I made. So maybe for about 3000 words, Darcy existed again and then was erased for good.

This draft is going to be a mess when I finish, like a Frankenstein monster sewn together with hands on his head instead of ears, and eyes for a belly button. It’s ugly, and gross and going to have to be ripped to pieces to be put back together again. That’s why I’ve decided to call it a zero draft, and not a first draft.

But now that I’m nearing the end of this story, I feel more confident in the characters, in the voice and the story I’m telling. It’s changed drastically, and that’s okay. I’m sure it will change a dozen more times before it’s ready to be unleashed onto the world as a (mostly) right-side together Frankenstein.

The advice I most frequently people at any of the writing panels I’ve been on is to finish what you start, but I’m terrible at following my own advice. I want my first draft to be a perfect story and that just can’t happen (at least not with the way I write) so I make do with what I can make. I paint in the lines as best as I can, and then I go back and clean up.

So, draft zero I hope you’re ready to be finished off…and don’t worry, I’ll get your foot out of your eye socket soon.

Promise.

Opportunity + Preparation = Luck

Recently I saw an incredible quote that finally summed up what I felt about luck. It's from a Business Insider article, and is something that Betty Liu heard from her television coach.

"Opportunity + Preparation = Luck" (hence the blog post title, I'm so clever)

You can be in the exact right place and meet the exact right person but if you're not prepared then it's for nothing. Imagine meeting a Hollywood executive looking for his/her next big movie option, and runs into you. You don't have a screenplay written, you've just got a kind of half-formed idea. Even though you're in the right place, things probably aren't going to work out for you because you're not prepared.

Luck comes to people who work hard and put themselves into positions to luck out. You're never going to just get lucky and land a new job in a different field by sitting at home and never learning those skills you need. You're never going to just happen to sell the next Harry Potter sitting at home never writing.

You have to put in the time and effort for all the pieces to fall into place.

Using No to Make More Time to Write

Making the time to write isn't always a matter of just sitting down and writing. It often means saying no to a lot of other things, things you may really want to do. It isn't a choice between 'scrub the grout in my shower' or write. More often than not, it's 'play this new game I'm excited about' or write. It's a eries of scarficies made. But how do you get to the point where that feels doable? Here are some things that have helped me find my way to putting writing first. As always, your mileage may vary, so take what works for you and leave the rest. 

1. Write out a list of all the things vying for your time. 
See what all is on there. You can make this as exhaustive as you want. Include all the nitty-gritty like grocery shopping, bathroom cleaning, etc., if you want to, but it works just as well with only the big things on your list. Your family, friends, favorite TV shows, favorite games or other hobbies, everything that calls to you. 

2. Prioritize the list. 
Be ruthless if you have to. For me, that's meant that I keep up on very, very, very few shows anymore. I made the commitment that writing was more important than having seen the latest Games of Thrones episode. For you, maybe that means that you only go to game night with your friends every other week. Figure out what you're willing to sacrifice now so you don't have to figure that out in the moment. 

3. Commit to it. 
If you decide that once every other week for games is all you can manage, tell your friends and stick to it. It's going to be hard for a while, but it will slowly become a habit and take less willpower to do. Write out what you'll say to yourself about putting your writing first, give yourself support. Future you will thank you. 

4. Forgive yourself when you screw up. 
A bad day at the day job can send you into a Netflix marathon without much of a thought. That's okay. Beating yourself about it, isn't going to make it any better. In fact, beating yourself up is only going to make it harder to get back to the writing. 

5. Do not sacrifice things required for a healthy life. 
I know there's a #goals around not sleeping and hustling harder, but that is not a great way to live. Sacrifcing your health is not the answer. 

Taking time now to commit 100% to your writing is the way forward and the way to help keep your writing going. I'm not going to say it won't require sacrifice, because it will. Right now I've not watched American Gods, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, The Handmaid's Tale, Blackish, and on and on and on because that is what I've decided to sacrifice to make the time to write. 
But you can do it! 

Avoiding Research Quick Sand

Research can be a vital part of writing. Whether you're writing a historical novel or a science fiction dystopia, you'll need to do research to help make your writing the best it can be. But a big problem can be getting so sucked into doing research that you never actually get any writing done. So where's the line between researching enough and researching too much?
Well, as always, there's no perfect answer for everyone, but here's what helps me. 

1. Start broadly. 
If you only know vaguely what you'll need, start broadly. Writing about space? Start with a general book, a textbook for instance, and poke around. Take notes, see what sticks in your mind. You may find something that suddenly adds a whole new interesting elements to add in. Things you never even knew about! Take lots of notes, read the references and see if any of those sound great. 

2. Utilize your library. 
If you have access to a library, use it! Ask for help with your research. Librarians are made of magic and awesome and most would love to help you find the perfect book to answer all your weird little writerly questions.

3. Don't buy all the books. 
This is my biggest problem. I decide to research something and the next thing I know, I've got 15 new books sitting on the floor and no idea where to even start. Begin with books you can borrow, check them out and see what you need. 

4. Outline. 
An outline will help you see if you're going to have specific questions. Train fight? You're going to need to read about some trains, better know that now and get the research a-rolling. Prepare in advance and you'll save yourself a lot of effort in the future. Take care of your future self by preparing now. 

5. Set a research time limit. 
Give yourself a set amount of time to do your research: a week, a month, a day, whatever amounts feels right for you. Then stick to it. I know it'll be super tempting to research 'just one more thing' but stick to your goal or you might get stuck in the research forever zone and never write. 

6. Make notes as you write. 
Start writing and then keep notes about questions that pop up while you're writing. This can be in the document itself (I like to leave notes to myself with xxx to make them easy to find later), in a seperate notebook or word document, or on a whiteboard somewhere nearby. Just don't let the questions totally derail you. They will pop up and that's okay. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect or have all the history exactly right. 

And that's what helps me stay on track to actually write and not get stuck in a research loop. 

Crossing Through No Words Land

Sometimes in life, you hit a patch where the words just won't happen. I don't just mean a writer's block or the dreaded soggy middle. I mean the times when your whole mind turns into an arctic tundra where nothing thrives. You can't think of a new idea, you can't think of writing at all. The idea of writing fills you with sickly dread. It sucks. So what can you do? Well put on your snow boots and let's figure this out. 

1. Take a break.

Sometimes you just need a break from writing. Take a day or a week and just rest. Give yourself some slack and time to recharge. This is especially true if you have been really pushing yourself hard for a while. 

2. Read out of your usual genre. 

If you write romance, pick up a western. If you write horror, pick up a space opera. Read something totally different than your usual fare. Sample something different and give yourself some fresh ideas and new genres to look into. You never know when you might find your next beloved book. 

3. Enjoy a nap. 

Seriously, sleep is rad. Take a nap and see how you feel after some well deserved shut eye. 

4. Skip that scene you hate. 
 

If you're avoiding writing, unable to write or just hating everything about the certain scene or chapter you're working on... just skip it. Put in a placeholder in and move on. If you hate that scene than does it have to be like that? Figure out a way to make it fun for you and the reader.

5. Get help. 

Sometimes this kind of a block is a big red flag that something is wrong. I know for me, when I found myself unable to write for months I knew something was wrong and went to find help. For me, this tundra of no words is a big ol' sign post that I am entering the depression bad lands and it's a good time to talk to someone and get help. There's no shame in needing help. 

So that's what helps me when I enter the tundra of no words. Is a sucky place that I don't even like to visit but sometimes you just have to cross it and get to the other side. Writing is hard mental work and it can be taxing to do. So keep on plucking on and we'll get to the other side together. 

Willpower and Writing

Willpower. It's one of the biggest things we rely on to make changes. Want to start a diet? It's going to take some willpower. Want to get up at 5am to write every day? Going to take willpower. And the struggle is that willpower is limited. We don't have an unlimited reserve and unlike mana in a fantasy roleplaying game, it can't be recovered by just drinking a potion. 
So what can you do to keep making these changes that take a lot of willpower to do. Well, first of all... don't rely on just willpower. 

Look, we usually take the path of least resistance when it comes to just about anything. We want to do what's easiest and that doesn't always mesh with what we say we want to do. It's the idea of saying 'I'm not going to drink sodas anymore' and when you get tired in the afternoon getting a coke 'just this once'. You're actively going against what you said you wanted, what's the deal with that brain? 

The way around that is to change your environment to change your habits. 

I've been working back towards getting up at 5am every morning to write and it sucks. I mean it just does. My bed is soft and cozy and my office isn't. So how can I make that easier for myself. Here's what I've done that helps.

1. Set everything up the night before. 

I get my word document open with my plot notes right there before I go to bed. That way when I get to my computer there's no distraction, just exactly what I need to work on waiting for me. 

2. Make my office more inviting. 

After a roof leak, I kind of hated my office... so... I finally bit the bullet and got all the water stains dealt with. I rearranged the furniture and put an oil diffuser in there and now it's nice and I enjoy being in there. I'm savig up to get a better desk and floor mat but for now, it's great. 

3. Alarm across the room. 

Having my room across the room helps wake me up. I also have found that standing in place and counting to 5 before allowing myself to get back into bed makes a world of difference. Also it helps to have cats demanding to be fed. They make it hard to go back to sleep. 

4. Know what I'm going to write. 

It helps immensely to know what I am planning to write and to be excited about. If it's a fight scene I've been itching to write that's a ton more fun than staring at a screen with no idea where to go with the story. 

5. Music. 

I love making playlists for my books. I have one for most of my works and some that are just general moods: western, fighting, sad, romantic, etc. Having those playlists ready to roll really helps get me ready to start writing as soon as I sit down. 

Those are things that have helped me get a little better at being part of the 5am writing club. It also has helped me pay attention to making all kinds of other things easier. I am better at working out because I've stopped hiding my workout clothes and instead keep them upfront and center in my office. 

So help yourself win by giving yourself a boost. Look at your environments and ask 'what would make it easier to do ______?' then do that! Give yourself a break and work on making things easy as you can. 

Fight for your words

At almost every event I’ve spoken at or every time I’ve mentioned I’m a writer, someone comes up to me and says, ‘I’ve got a great idea for a book but I just don’t have the time to write.’ Well, you do have the time, you just have to make it.

I’ve written before about how books are written with time stolen from other people and it’s true. The truth is that you have to fight for your words. You have to fight for the time to write, it’s never just going to show up in a nice basket with a ‘free to a good home’ ribbon attached.

If you want to write that book that’s been floating around in your head then you need to pick up that (metaphorical please) sword and start cleaving away time for it. That might mean getting up earlier, going to bed later or maybe only going to the gym 5 days a week instead of 6. It might mean you don’t watch your usual TV/Netflix/Hulu before bed and instead you get your words down on page.

It might mean that you write during your lunch break at your day job or that you start taking the bus to work and write on your commute.

It means stepping back and taking a strategic look at your day and clearing time to write. The words won’t happen unless you make time for them to so don’t be afraid to fight for your right to write.

If it matters to you, find a way.