It’s been a week since I started writing my young adult novel, and in that week, I’ve written 28,638 words.
If this surprises you, I guarantee you are not more surprised than I am. And as I mentioned last week, I started writing this after a journaling assignment gone wrong.
And even though brain-dumping my innermost thoughts in that particular way didn’t call to me, my muscle memory of writing early in the morning was already back and I didn’t want to let that slip away again.
So somewhat defiantly, I ditched my journaling assignment and started putting on “paper” the story that has been rattling around in my head for a little while now. And I decided to write it in a month—which I’m still hellbent on doing.
This was terrifying, and still is. Though I’ve made a lot of progress, every morning when I wake up, I briefly wonder if I am capable of doing what I need to to make my quota (which is 2,000 words a day, though I’ve been averaging closer to 3,000—and though last week I said I wouldn’t write on the weekends, I’ve decided to go for it because I am on a roll and am dying to know what happens next).
I am most certainly not a morning person.
I’m grouchy, sleepy-eyed, and in desperate need of coffee. So the fact that I can open my computer and start writing and have it actually make sense is a bit beyond me.
But I have a theory. You know how people tell you to keep a dream diary right beside your bed and jot down the dream immediately or you’ll forget? (If you’re like me, you never write it down—and every time you have a weird dream, you are certain you will remember it this time because it’s crystal clear … but then you literally always forget anyway.) I think part of the reason why writing down your dream right when you wake up is that you’re still in some sleepy state, but I think the other reason is that the things that make you angsty have not yet connected with your awake brain.
So if I write first thing in the morning and I’m worried that I’m not totally sharp, it almost doesn’t matter. In fact, maybe I’m confusing sharpness with busybody-ness. Sure, in an hour or two I might be a bit more alert, but that’s partly because in an hour or two I will have checked my email, walked the dog and potentially chatted with a neighbor, looked at my feed, reviewed my calendar for the day—all of the things that usually stress me out the most and steal my best brainpower.
That means I’m trading in a little bit of alertness for a blissfully empty brain. And in the past week, that has totally served me.
I’ve been writing from 7-9am (sometimes a bit later, though then I wind up being late for my first meeting), and by the time I’m done, it kind of boggles my mind that I’ve accomplished anything at all already when my day hasn’t even really started yet.
Back when I was a runner, I felt similarly. It was an oddly liberating feeling to come home after running many miles and see that the sun had really just come up. To think of all I’d already seen!
Writing gives me the same benefit. I get to world build before I even turn on my work computer. I get to get into a story before I get into the shower. It is (for now) my own little world, and I want nothing more than to take excellent care of it and to honor the authenticity of the characters I am creating and meeting along the way.
For those of you reading this who are curious about what tools or tips I’m using that are supporting my current bout of intense writing, here are a few things that have helped me:
I don’t write where I work. I know this is a luxury I have that not everyone would, but I find it incredibly helpful to physically separate these two activities. I actually write the best in bed, as is supported by the completion of the two books I authored—both of which were written in bed early in the mornings. So I pop up, a coffee fairy (my incredibly supportive wife) brings me a hot soy latte, and I’m off.
I don’t write with my work computer (usually). Again, this is a luxury I have that not everyone would have. I have an old iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard, so that’s my set-up for writing—along with a new bamboo lap desk I bought myself recently (also totally unnecessary but I find it helps with the awkward ergonomics of writing in bed). Though I do have app-blocking programs like Freedom, I nonetheless feel triggered by work stuff and pressing deadlines when I use my work laptop. (This is a reason I really want the super-simple Freewriter Traveler.)
I don’t reread what I’ve written. I’m saving that until the end, and I’m sure it will be a painful process (which you will no doubt hear all about).
I’ve also found the following books and programs to be incredibly inspiring and useful:
Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash
Nash’s corresponding virtual outline course
2,000 to 10,000 by Rachel Aaron (about learning how to write faster and better)
One Stop for Writers, which offers a free trial
brain.fm for epic focus music (listen with headphones on for the optimal experience)
Throughout the past week, I’ve also started setting goals for 2022 with the help of my Ink + Volt planner. Next week, I’ll tell you about some of the lessons I’ve been learning from goal-setting, and describe how you can set some (realistic but also maybe aspirational) goals for yourself (as well as how to hold yourself accountable).
In the mean time, if you need me, I’ll probably be writing this novel. I mean, maybe. Who actually knows?
xo,
jazz