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I’ve got all day to write…. Um, now what?

IMG_0099This is a magical time of year. I’m done with my day job for the summer, the kids are still in school for the next few weeks, and my calendar is more white space than blocks of color. Ah, free time. I should be a writing fool.

But last fall when I cleared my calendar for a month to finish the novel, I discovered that more time on my hands didn’t translate into more chapters on my hard drive. What happens to me when the calendar sits open for too long is that I fill it with coffee dates, that appointment with the dentist. I clean for the first time in, well…you don’t want to know. I spin, spin, spin until the clock winds down.

More time to write can be just as daunting as no time to write.

So, what to do this time when I’m gifted several days in a row with few, if any, of life’s obligations? Learn from experience and follow the advice of other writers who’ve also learned from experience.

IMG_0645Start with Steve Holt’s article in the most recent issue of Writers Digest. In “Take Your Writing Away,” Holt talks about physically getting away by planning your own writing retreat, which I have done before. But, his tips on making the most of your sacred writing time out of town work just as well when I need to stay close to home. Every inch of his article is worth reading, underlining, and quoting. Today, though, I’ll hit on three of his points that stand out to me most.

“Choose the location carefully.”

“…with as few distractions as possible,” he says. For me, that means leaving the house. I’ve talked before about my challenges with writing at home. While I can tackle some projects in tiny increments in between sideways glances at the dust building up in the corner of the dining room or the laundry growing cold on the couch, I am much more productive with one hour off-site at a busy coffee shop. Give me two hours and I can crank out a significant paragraph or two on the novel (I measure my progress in inches down the page) and do some revisions on a short essay. So, figure out where you write best, block out your calendar, and stake your claim at a table there for as often as you can during the days you have free.

“Be healthful.”

You know what else happens to me when I find time to write? I eat. At that happy, little coffee shop, I feel I must buy a big fat muffin or that huge chocolate chip cookie. It’s like a reflex. In taking up space, I think I should fill up my coffee cup at least twice. Even with creamer–wait, especially with creamer–I’m riding the low end of the “healthy” continuum. Be healthful. I’m still working on this, so if you see me standing at the counter about to place my order, push me in the direction of the fresh fruit or that cup of herbal tea.

“Reflect on your routine.”

Here Holt talks about writing after the fact on “how your schedule is flowing, how the accommodations are working out, notes about each writing session….” For me, this kind of writing happens before I open a draft: what day it is, where I am, how much time I have in front of me. These reflections are more like a release. I not only scratch out any frustrations I just walked away from but also any anxieties I have about delving into chapter 9 or 10 or that 400 word essay I really want to re-submit. But, I think Holt’s point and how I look at it are the same: clear your mind. Examine what works, what doesn’t, and what gets in the way of this writing session or the next.

If Holt’s article were online, I’d say bookmark it. As it is, you will need to get a copy of this month’s Writers Digest to read the article in full–worth every penny, as he also shares a daily schedule that balances writing with other activities, keeping the mind creatively engaged but not overwhelmed.

How do you schedule your free time?

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Author Melanie S. Hatter on Writing & Time

Melanie S. Hatter lives out east, and I imagine her smile lights up the city today the same way it did a tiny island last year when we met. Melanie and I both attended the 2013 Salt Cay Writers Retreat in the Bahamas, and one of my favorite photos from the entire week is one I took on the day before we all left for home.

Melanie & MeI’m grateful to have met Melanie and honored to host her on the blog. In her post, she talks about what I always brood over: time.

The Time to Write, Eventually

by Melanie S. Hatter

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do the day after.”
~ Oscar Wilde

When I changed careers a couple of years ago, my goal was to create a more balanced lifestyle that allowed me to work on my fiction writing. After 10+ years in corporate communications, I had burned out and decided it was time to make a complete change. So I waved goodbye to the corporate world and headed off to massage school.

Yes, massage school.

I wanted something completely different, something that would be fulfilling but still provide an income while I completed my second novel. (My first, The Color of My Soul, was recently released as an e-book.)

In the first few months after graduating from massage school, I worked at a nail spa that also offered massage. I started by giving free chair massages just to get clients familiar with me, and eventually I was paid for each massage I booked. I was required to be onsite every Saturday and most weekdays to sell massage to clients coming in for a manicure or pedicure.

Being a lousy salesperson, I mostly ran errands and generally played girl Friday, providing free labor for the spa’s owner. I grew frustrated that I was spending most of my time standing around a spa without getting paid when I could have been at home working on my novel. Though I was grateful for the experience, I started searching for a more lucrative job. Very quickly, I found a position as an independent contractor at a massage center where I only had to be there when scheduled to work on a client.

I slowly built a clientele and have been there now for almost two years. I achieved my goal in finding a regular income but also found a supportive work environment. I know my physical limitations and do massage on a part-time basis, so to supplement my income, I continue to do freelance writing, manuscript editing and attend the occasional book fair to sell my novel.

Without a doubt, I am living the life I had designed for myself: balancing writing with massage and continuing to pay my bills without the stress of a regular nine-to-five office job. That doesn’t mean I have no stress – being self-employed has its challenges (paying my own taxes and healthcare) but I love the freedom to create my own schedule.

That said, this lifestyle has not made the writing process any easier. I do have more time to write – I spend most mornings writing while working at the massage center in the afternoons and evenings three days a week and every other weekend. Now that I have the time I used to complain about not having, I still procrastinate. It’s an affliction most writers have. Just since starting this blog, I’ve put a load of clothes into the dryer, checked the freezer for what to cook for dinner, and folded sheets that have sat in the basket for more than a week.

One of the best methods to keep me on track was having a writing buddy. We would create a schedule each week for when to write – as much as two hours and as little as 15 minutes, depending on our schedules. We would call each other to begin then call again when the time was up to discuss what we had done. It was the best accountability and I credit this system for getting me to finish a first draft of my novel-in-progress. Unfortunately, my buddy switched jobs and, not having the same free time, has since left me to my own devices.

As a result, my attention to my novel has been a bit sketchy of late. I like to think that in my state of procrastination, my unconscious is mulling over a particular scene or formulating where the story must go next. Thinking is writing, I tell myself. It’s part of the process. And inspiration can come at any moment.

But while most writers are procrastinators at heart, we also have a resolve that keeps us pushing forward. There’s a determination inside me to get this book finished and see it blossom in the world. We possess willpower, quiet as it may be, to finish what we’ve started. We must keep sitting at the screen or staring at the notebook. We write because we must.

So, once I finish the laundry, load the dishwasher, check Facebook and catch up on episodes of “Criminal Minds,” I will open the laptop and write.

~

Melanie S. HatterMe_0913 lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She has a background in newspaper journalism and corporate communications. She also is a licensed massage therapist and practices in Maryland.

Her novelette, “Taking the Shot,” was published in electronic format by Etopia Press, and her short stories have appeared in,  The Whistling Fire, The Lipstick Pages and Diverse Voices Quarterly. Her short story, “Obsessed with Claudia,” won the First Annual Romantic Tales Writing Contest.

Born and raised in Scotland, UK, Melanie is bi-racial (rumor has it there’s some Cherokee in the bloodline somewhere down the line) and is pleased that the US Census now allows individuals to identify as more than one race.

~

COMS_1Check out Melanie’s website for more information on (and links to purchase) her novel, The Color of My Soul, and her novelette, Taking the Shot.