Ever since I was little I've been telling stories. It started, I think, when I went through a phase of not being able to fall asleep at night. My dad's solution -- make up a story; theoretically this would distract me from trying to fall asleep, making the process easier. And it worked. It also ignited my imagination in a fantastic way. I had a whole series that centered around moving to Seattle and solving mysteries -- while meeting a super cute boy of course. I would write sequels to my favorite books and alternate endings to those that didn't end quite to my liking. I'd spend car trips imagining adventures for myself or fictional characters.
At some point, I began writing some of my stories down; but I'd get discouraged, or lose steam and not finish them. I cringe at the fact that I threw most of them away. Fast forward -- I still love to write. But I'm a lazy writer, I'll admit it. I've attemped NaNoWriMo twice and missed the goal. But the stories are still in my head and they want to get out! My previous philosophy of "write when you have spare time" just doesn't work (did I mention I'm lazy?). I need a plan and a schedule that I can stick to. But when to schedule time? I work, and I have a family and social obligations. But...I had an epiphany. I'm currently training for a half marathon. I run Monday-Thursdays, plus Saturday. During the week, I get up at 6:45 or 7 in order to make it to work on time. Friday is a rest day. So I've just been getting up later -- bingo! What if, I asked myself, I still got up at 7, but instead of running, I write. Doing something during that time is already built into my daily routine.
I know it's only once a week, but I'm focusing on baby steps right now. An hour a week is better than nothing. And hopefully, it'll grow into something more. And hopefully, some of my stories will gain their freedom during that hour a week.
Sounds like a great plan to me! It's always better to take baby steps, get your feet wet and go from there. Plunging in with unrealistic goals -- like, I'm going to write every single day for an hour, no matter what -- only seems to set me up for failure. I've learned to pace myself, and an hour once a week is a good stepping stone!
ReplyDeleteI can be a "lazy" writer, too, but have had to put that aside once I started writing full-time for work. Come hell or high water, I have two columns a week to write -- and that's definitely helped me become more disciplined.
You can do it! Go get 'em. :)