I can think of all kinds of reasons why now is not the right time. As a writer, here are some things that keep me from getting to work:
Conditions must be right. Is my desk cluttered? Must take care of that first. In fact, if my kitchen is cluttered, I can't do any writing. I don't know if it is a deep-seated fear that I'm putting my writing above family, or just another excuse; but if the house is in chaos, I must address that first.
Is there a block of free time in which to write? I can't be pressured to write knowing I only have 15 minutes to do so. (Although one of my favorite things is to join the Five Minute Friday community and write for five minutes on a word prompt.) But still!
And then, the kicker: Do I have my piece of writing already thought out in my mind where all I have to do is let it flow from my fingers onto the keyboard?
Yeah, thought so. Better wait until tomorrow and see if inspiration comes.
Here's the thing. It's going to be very rare if all these things line up to hand me a perfect writing day on a platter.
I've heard Jeff Goins say a writer needs to just put their butt in a chair and write everyday. No excuses.
Just sit down and begin. What comes out first may be junk; but it gets the creative juices flowing. Sometimes you start writing thinking you will be talking about a certain subject and by the time you are done, you have went in a totally different direction. That's okay. You had to do a little mining to get to the gold.
Only have five minutes to complete a task? Whether it is writing or anything else, you'd be surprised how much can be done in five minutes. Once you get going, it's much easier to stretch that five minutes into ten or even a half-hour.
Just do it. Begin.
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I followed my own advice and got up early today to sit down and just begin Anita Ojeda's #Write28Days challenge. (Go here, if you're interested in joining, too.) But I didn't have time to make a graphic and link up before church. That's okay. I will do it when I get back home.
It doesn't have to be perfect all at once!
Isn't it funny how your mind wanders when you sit down to write. It is like everything that I have forgotten to do in the past week comes back to my mind when I sit down to write. I agree just pushing past the excuses and to start tapping away at the keyboard is the best way to get the creative juices flowing. I hope that you have a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing how long 5 minutes really is. :)
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