It’s a bright, breezy, rainy day and everyone is at home, with no plans to do anything. And I have a lot of writing on my to-do list. This can go one of several ways, but almost all of them are noisy.
I’ve never been someone who needs absolute quiet and zero distractions to get any writing done. I’m a mum – if I needed that, no books would ever be written. In a decade and a half of parenthood I’ve developed several methods of writing that play to my strengths, which are primarily based on organisation – and being organised covers a multitude of sins.
To start with, I use all my thinking time productively. If I’m washing up, picking things up off the floor, driving, picking things up off the floor, walking the dog, picking things up off the floor (you notice the theme here) I’ll think ahead to what I want to write that day, and how I’m going to begin. When I sit down to write there’s no delay – I already know which words are going to start me off, and if I’ve only got ten minutes to write in, that time-saving is invaluable.
Secondly, I’m not precious about how I write or what I write on. If the only thing to hand is the back of an envelope with a half-drawn picture of a dogosaurus-snake (this is an actual creature), no problem – I’ll make my notes around it. I’ll use the shopping list to write words that are important for my next scene – something akin to a story spine (which I will cover in an upcoming workshop) and if I’m out and about I’ll make a voice note or send myself a quick email. Driving is a sticking point – unless I’ve had the foresight to set up my dictation app, I’m mostly reduced to saying my thoughts out loud in the hopes that I’ll remember them by the time I’ve parked!
Days like today, when there are four children, a husband and a dog at home, I have to be creative. Pen and paper on hand (to avoid any screen-time hypocrisy) and snatched moments here and there for mini writing sprees – it’s amazing how much you can get down in ten minutes. And when screen time has been agreed, I avoid any arguments by saying, “You can play for as long as it takes me to write a thousand words…” thus ensuring that I write as efficiently as possible.
If I can, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Both are inspiring whether or not they are directly related to writing and publishing. I have a lot of interests outside work and it’s nice to fill my brain with other lives and possibilities, to refill the creative well. Children’s books and podcasts are just as inspiring, especially since they often frame things in ways that I haven’t thought of – and the kids are happy to draw / paint / play with lego whilst they’re on. Win-win.
And then there’s the final and most important piece of advice, the one thing I remind myself of over and over (and over, in the holidays) – the sky won’t fall if I don’t get all the writing done today. And if I don’t live, none of the writing will be worth anything anyway. Play the game, listen to music mindlessly, build lego, walk the dog, watch a film, listen to the kids.
Time to demonstrate my merciless capitalist skills and defeat the less fortunate play monopoly with my children. Happy writing!
