There’s been a lovely, lively discussion floating around the blogosphere about why we write, when we find time to write, what we give up to write. James Scott Bell over at The Kill Zone has a wonderful post about finding the Energy to Write.
My take on it? Coffee: Yes. Check out my profile. At least a pot a day. Three cups before I walk out the door and the rest of the post in my to-go cup. And then iced tea after that for the rest of the day. All day. Every day.
Exercise: No. Unless you count the walking I do when the weather warms up and I’m out of school. Otherwise, zip, zilch, nada.
Morning person? Yes. Unfortunately, I can’t get any writing done before I leave for work at 6 AM. But the ‘furious 500’ sounds like a great idea. I might try that.
Power nap? No. No nap at all unless I’m not at work. Sleeping in front of a classroom of kids is bad form.
Leaving something to kick start your writing the next day? Now that sounds like something I can do.
Go check out Bell’s post and let me know: What do you do to find the energy to write?
Awake between 5:30 & 6. Blog before baby goes to school. Two cups of tea. Write from 9 - 12. I can of coke. Lunch. Write from 1 -4. Deal with real life.
ReplyDeleteNo exercise, well not yet. Even though the weather broke it's going to rain until Sunday.
And I absolutely cannot leave something on the page for later. I have to have all my thoughts played out for the day and where I'm going written on a pad by the computer, otherwise I'll lose the train of thought and all will be lost.
Sometimes I get the creative urge on the weekends and can blast out a few thousand words but those are few and far between.
I'm still looking for the energy. My kids are wearing me out so the only time I usually have to write is at night after they go to sleep. If they have been sleeping well then I have the energy to do it--if they don't the energy sinks out me. It has been frustrating at times but I'm getting there.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, tea, hot chocolate, chocolate and cherry coke help too but then I have to figure out how to fit in an exercise routine. :)
Sadly, I only have the energy to write after I've finished my day of lectures, late at night. I AM NOT a morning person, although I really wish I was... I don't do much exercise but find long walks in the chilly evening air wake me up enough to get writing.
ReplyDeleteOh, plenty of cups of Tea help too :~D
I usually write mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Sometimes after the kids go to bed.
ReplyDeleteOMG, you got James Scott Bell to interact with you?! I LOVE his writing books. But dang, I am way too shy to comment on his blog. :-(
ReplyDeleteHaving my head in the right place gives me the energy to write--prayer and journaling are a help, as are regular doses of friend time and silly humor (yay YouTube). I definitely limit my caffeine, especially since doctors blame caffeine for my hubby's cardiac incident last fall (when a fit 40-yo has chest pain, it's pretty freaky!). Getting up and walking around--even if it's just to use the water cooler on the next floor--can help shake the groggies.
Oh, I so hear you on the coffee! I try to limit my intake but I'm not always successful. And I definitely write best in the morning. I kind of flake out after lunch!
ReplyDeleteI wake up at around 4:30 to 5:00 most mornings. I usually try to write as soon as I get up, or at least edit what I already have going. Forcing myself, currently to write through my block, or Writer's Mood, as a friend calls it. Whichever it is, my mind is blank :)!
ReplyDeleteI'm a morning person, I get up before the kids do and write, or else I write a bunch of nonsense at night that doesn't make any sense because all I can see in my head is play-doh, sippy cups, and diapers. But oh I love them :)
ReplyDeleteI have given up TV to make time for writing. I've given up cleaning my house (unless mother is coming over). I wake up in the middle of the night and read my w.i.p. If I left off the editing at a rough spot before I go to bed, I rest uneasy and find myself stumbling around in the dark. I, too, can drink a pot of coffee by myself. Especially on my days off when I don't have to rush out the door.
ReplyDeleteI'll check out the Bell post. Thank you.
Actually, talking to people, especially other artists. I've started a coffee shop drama, so I gave myself permission to sit around coffee shops, listening to conversations, and writing - a couple hours here and there.
ReplyDeleteMy house has suffered for my writing obsession.
ReplyDeleteHere in Louisville, Kentucky, the therometer hit 70 degrees today. The pretty weather has given me a renewed energy to write. I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts. :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I am really impressed and quite awed by how dedicated and disciplined you all are balancing real life demands from all sorts of places with the time needed to write. You really rock at juggling kids, work, husbands, housework, being sick, and all manner of other things. :)
ReplyDeleteI really need to get better at doing that. I'm such a slacker.
Energy is something I've been lacking lately. I basically force myself to write! But, like Amber, our weather has been great here. And there's nothing better than sitting in the sunshine, writing a kissing scene. : )
ReplyDeleteHee! Unless it's sitting in the sun reading a kissing scene. :) Seriously, I think we all need some sun. And I totally get the lacking energy lately thing. I feel like I'm moving underwater in the haze and my limbs are so heavy I can barely drag them along.
ReplyDeleteI drink lots of tea and water. Then when it's night time, I drink whiskey. Not a lot. Just enough to relax me. Both drinks create a very different writing mood. I also do yoga and surprisingly, making yarn balls is great for making those creative juices flow.
ReplyDeleteI never have much energy. Actually, I'm still trying to figure out how I get any sentences in. I write generally in the middle of the night, which really stinks. But caffeine definitely helps. Aside from that? Sheer will, I think. Ha.
ReplyDeleteI get up anytime from 1:30am to 4am. I get almost all my writing done from whatever insane time I wake up until I get my kids up for school at 5:50am. Then I get another hour and a half after the middle schoolers leave and before I have to get the youngest ready at 8am. A full pot of coffee in the overnight hours and a nap later in the day makes it all work out just fine, as long as I can get that nap. I'm sooo lucky I don't work outside the home, otherwise I'd really be in trouble.
ReplyDeleteWhoever Yvonne is, must go check out her blog, that is everything I do, except the coffee. I'm a diet Coke fiend myself.
ReplyDeleteYou, Talli, and me are the coffee triplets. If I don't have a sub job, my new goal is to work from 8-12, while I'm still fresh. Yesterday, I just posted a "journal" about my productivity.
ReplyDeleteHee! Whiskey sounds really great. :) I think yoga sounds good, too.
ReplyDeleteCarol and Susan? It sounds like we're all a bunch of insomniacs. :)
Hi, Karen. Everyone in my family can drink diet Coke but me. :)
Hi, Theresa. Yay!Coffee!