Scheduling Your Writing Life
One of the obstacles that often keeps us from pursuing our life-writing
work is the "put-it-off" demon. If we let this demonic force have its way,
we'll come to the end of our lives with our stories untold, our histories
a mystery to ourselves and to others. One of the major tasks in a writer's
life is finding the time to do the writing she wants to do--and there's
no better time to begin than right now! Scheduling isn't a task that most
of us love, but in our fast-paced, hectic lives, if we don't schedule what
we want to do, it'll go to the bottom of the list of things we've done.
Here are some ideas that might prompt you to schedule the writing of your
life-story into your daily life.
Write today, write every day.
Think about your daily schedule,
and identify a period of about 30-40 minutes (ideally every day) when you
can be alone with your thoughts and your writing materials (journal, computer,
typewriter). Most of us are employed, so our personal writing needs to
be done early in the morning or in the evening. When are you freshest?
What days in the week are least hectic for you? Would it be helpful to
get up an hour earlier to do this? (Personally, there's something magic
for me in those early-morning hours, with a cup of fragrant tea and my
journal.) On your calendar, pencil in those times as a gift to yourself.
Once you've begun to honor your promise to use that time for writing, it
will become a habit. All successful writers have made a personal commitment
to a regular writing period. It's your first step to your own writing success.
I like what Natalie Goldberg says: "Finally, one just has to shut up, sit
down, and write."
Give Yourself a Break!
If you're like me, too much scheduling
begins to feel . . . well, a little compulsive. So if you're regularly
meeting your commitment to write, feel free to give yourself a writing
break now and then. Take a notebook to the beach, or into the woods, or
to your favorite coffee shop. Write right there, instead of writing
in your regular writing spot. You're taking a break, getting a new view
of things, opening yourself to new ideas, but you're writing--and that's
the important thing!
Write about Writing.
One way to renew your commitment to your
writing is to write about writing--about the joy of writing, and the pain;
about the challenge of writing every day, and the pay-off; about the things
that help and the things that hinder. The more you write (and the more
regularly) the more you will become conscious of yourself as a writer.
And the easier it will be to reach down inside you and find those life-stories
that you want to write about.
Want more ideas for writing your life? Go to the Story Circle website
and click on LifeStory
Briefs.
--Susan Wittig Albert