I can't write until I have my perfect writing desk! Essential, indulgent or just an excuse?

Given that creative writing is not my full time job, I have very limited windows of time that I can dedicate to my novel. Saturday mornings are usually when I accomplish the most. But as we head into holiday season, I know that my weekend writing time will be eaten into. Also, now that I am really getting serious about my book, writing one morning a week just isn’t enough.

So, last week, I committed to add weeknights to my writing “routine” – spending an hour a night (8:00-9:00pm) with my keyboard and creative self. I made a deal with myself…if my inner writer and I were getting along, I would extend the writing time past 9pm. If we fought, I would walk out on her right at 9.

Turns out, we didn’t fight. But I really struggled to give her my full attention. My focus was constantly being interrupted by a series of whines: this couch is uncomfortable; it’s too dark at the kitchen table; this chair is too stiff; I need a window; hmmm…isn’t House Hunters International on? Then the dog would walk over and nudge my leg. Or I’d suddenly feel thirsty and grab some juice. The hour passed quickly and two sentences were all I had to show for it. And they weren’t even critical sentences to the story.

I got angry with myself. Told myself I was making excuses. Who needs a special writing chair and desk to write successfully? Am I just not creative on weeknights? Needing a specific creative space…it’s just so…pretentious, indulgent, precious…isn’t it? So I did some research.

I stumbled upon an interesting posting from Chapter and Verse, and it confirmed the experience I have been living (http://www.chapterandverse.ca/worth-reading/380-the-importance-of-routine-for-writers.html). A routine signals to our mind that it is now time to focus. Which explains my issues writing at my dining table, or on my couch. When on the couch, my brain is getting the signal to watch tv. Suddenly House Hunters is all I can think about. At the dining room table, I am suddenly getting signals that I am thirsty, hungry. Those items of furniture – couch, dining table - already have routines and signals attached to them.

So, I needed a space that signalled nothing but creativity and writing.

After some almost back-breaking work, I managed to transform my old dining table (which I have been trying to get rid of on Kijiji forever; now I know why it wasn’t meant to sell) into a writing surface, and hauled it – by myself - up my winding staircase to my second floor den. It fits perfectly in the corner, in front of the window, right next to an electrical outlet. Go figure.

And then, I sat down at this new table, looked out the window, and wrote non-stop for 2 straight hours. 10 sentences finished. All critical ones. And I'm excited to go back to it tonight.

So…what’s critical to your writing routine?

Enable that inner writer who is begging for your attention

I know I am not the first aspiring novelist to have a non fiction-writing-friendly day job. Until making millions off a best-selling first novel, a corporate day job is necessary. Yes, I dream of writing novels for a living, but for now, my day job is a very necessary - and decent - taker of my creativity.

But - for anyone who has a writer lurking inside them - what I am about to say will ring true. You can have the most creative of day jobs but, if you aren't putting pen to paper (or finger to keypad) and getting your own original thoughts down on paper, you aren't fulfilled.

Now, I've trained my inner writer to accept a less fulfilling life than she would choose. I have reasoned with her, patiently explaining that until she jolts me awake with a fresh, ready-to-unfold story for the masses, that she'll just have to keep quiet from 8am-6pm every day, and allow me to earn the money needed to keep her in the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed (afterall, moleskine notebooks, apple macbooks, soy lattes, and writing desks don't grow on trees).

While she is far from thrilled with this arrangement, I must say, she hides it quite well. I have yet to sit in front of a blank page and suffer. The words always come (though I'll admit, some days the words form better sentences than others). And the story ideas do, at times, jolt me awake. However, they come into my mind far from ready-to-unfold.

And unfold they must. This is when she starts to get demanding. I've given you the words, she reminds me, AND the high level plot outline. All I ask is that you sit yourself down and take care of the unfolding. A few nuances, some bridges, and BAM! you'd have your book. YOU'D HAVE YOUR BOOK!

For all of us who have a book inside us...this is what we face. That inner writer begging for a bit of our attention. A few more hours a day, or even a few more hours a week. To pay attention to our words. To put our original thoughts down on paper. Unfold our story.

This week, I commit to sitting down with her from 8-9pm every night - with a glass of red wine. That's right, she'll get an hour of my time, every night this week. If the sparks are flying, I may even add a second hour (and a second glass). If we end up fighting, I'm walking out on her at 9.

How can you appease your inner writer this week?

Happy writing!

Steph :)