Last week, my writing group met. Since we’ve been meeting for months without any of us actually doing much writing, I suggested our topic of discussion be what keeps us from writing and what we could do to better fit writing into our lives. Of course we all had a mile-long list of reasons why were unable to write: procrastination, lack of motivation, ADD, baby. All good reasons except no matter what the excuse, we still weren’t getting any writing done.
As you can imagine, when we got to the point of suggestions on how to fix it, the list was significantly shorter. After all, if we knew the secret to making writing a priority, we’d already be doing it, right?
But, of course, it isn’t always that easy. The sad, hard truth is that if we aren’t getting paid for it, it gets put on the back burner. Today, tomorrow, the day after that…and before we know it, we’re meeting again one month later and don’t have anything new to share.
I remembered something I’d read somewhere (on one of the million blogs I subscribe to, no doubt) that every writer has a certain time of day that is his or her best time to write. The distractions seem to be out of the way for a moment, the temperature in the air is just right, the sun (or moon) is shining at just the right angle and the words pour onto the page. Or, at least, we can commit to sitting down for a whole hour, staring at the blank page and thinking of our WIP, if nothing else.
Another of our members has been working with a career coach and she threw on the table a suggestion he’d given her: for one whole hour, set the timer and focus on nothing but the one task at hand. He called it the Power Hour. In a world where multitasking has become the norm, if not expected, it’s actually very difficult to put all our attention on a single task. But doesn’t our writing deserve that amount of focus, if only for one hour each day?
So we combined our ideas to create our vow for the month and I’ve dubbed it the “Power Writing Hour”. We each picked the best time of day where we feel like our creativity is at its peak and vowed to focus on nothing but writing for that hour. For me that best time is 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. (MST), Monday through Friday. By that time, I’ve had the chance to read my blogs, clean the house and get some work out of the way. It’s also the time when baby girl most often naps and before the husband gets home from work. The house is quiet, my pesky chores are out of the way and for the first time all day, I can think about what I want.
There are no rules to this hour, as long as I’m writing. I could work on my novel or write a blog post. As long as BICFOK, I’m successfully completing my Power Writing Hour for the day.
Participate on Twitter
So, writers, are you up for the challenge? Can you manage to dedicate one whole hour to your writing each day? If so, join me on Twitter @jamieraintree and tag it #powerwritinghour. I’ll be logging in at 4:00 MST most days but if there’s a better time of day for you, feel free to log in at any time, tag it, and I’ll check in on you to encourage you along the way.
Now on Facebook
Power Writing Hour is a group to promote writing productivity by holding each other accountable for our writing goals and cheering each other on to success, one hour of focused writing at a time. Share your hourly, daily, weekly and year goals, write together during Power Writing Hours at any time of day, brainstorm your story ideas or ask research questions.
So whats going to happen when I come over during that time? 😛
This reminds me of November…. you know that month. 🙂 Very very good point. My creative most productive time of the day is 10:00-11:00am and I’ve known this for quite awhile. Too bad I’m always at work during this time. :/
Umm…we’ll figure something out. 😉
I know what you mean about not being able to put aside that time to be creative, though. Today, as soon as I logged in, baby girl cried for a diaper change and then a client called. Some days, it’s just not in the cards. But you always have Saturday and Sunday…
Power writing hour is a good idea … Now, if only I could figure out which hour works for me.
You’ve just got to try different hours of the day and see which one feels best. You can probably narrow it down, too, just by knowing yourself. For instance, I KNOW I’m not a morning person. There’s no way I’ll ever feel creative in the morning because any time before 2:00 p.m., my brain is still half asleep. But maybe you feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning.
From what I can tell, you usually write just before work (based on Twitter accounts 😉 ) so whether it’s because you’re most creative then or it’s most convenient, it seems to work for you. The most important thing is that you do take that time, no matter which hour it is!