No Time to Write in December?
Try this:
Close the door to the room where your desk or a desk is.
Turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode.
Set your timer for 20 minutes.
Write about any holiday moment in your memory. Here are a couple of starts I could use. What are the starts you could use?
It’s fine to start with “I remember…” I remember the time my sister opened a Magic Mushroom package one Christmas when I was visiting and my parents weren’t. Inside was. . . OR I remember the year my new husband and I spent Christmas Eve on a boat somewhere on the east coast. This wasn’t my mother’s Christmas because . . .
If there’s anything intriguing there, you can turn it into your own story. Better still right about your childhood, teen, adult, and possibly senior memories, but just pick ONE at a time.
Done? Take a few more minutes to read it over.
Like it? Who can you share it with? You can share in person, over the phone, on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter or your blog. Of course you can also share it here.
Don’t like it? What do you want to change? If someone’s knocking on your door, you can do it tomorrow. Otherwise do it right now. Then put it away and re-read it tomorrow and see what you think.
Like this process? Repeat it tomorrow. Use small moments. There’s no pressure.
🌲 🕎 ❆
What You Can Learn From the Writing Routines of These Four Famous Authors
By Eleanor Hecks
Writing and publishing a book requires immense passion and dedication to the work. Many famous authors are naturally talented, but beyond that, there is a crucial ingredient to their success — routine. Their routines teach the importance of sticking to a convenient and consistent schedule and how it can accelerate publishing success.
Harumi Murakami
Harumi Murakami — touted worldwide for books like Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84 — followed a strict schedule every day. He woke up early in the morning and worked for six hours. He said this repetition became essential to his writing process, helping him reach a deeper focus state.
Murakami’s routine showcases the importance of consistency. The more you work on your writing, the more expertise you build and establish a habit. You progress in your book when you follow a schedule.
Maya Angelou
The celebrated social activist and author of classics like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings once said she worked in a hotel room from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. She then went home and took a break to focus on her life outside of work. When she wasn’t working, she put her writing away and didn’t think about it.
Angelou’s habit is a reminder to take a break from work and build a life outside of it. Work-life integration is proven to be vital for anyone to stay engaged in their work, and prioritizing health and well-being is vital to avoiding stress and burnout. A good work-life balance can promote better health, focus and productivity, giving you a fresh mind when you go back to writing.
J.K. Rowling
The bestselling author of the Harry Potter series used to sit in noisy, crowded cafes to write her manuscripts. Rowling also had her baby with her when she wrote and often worked until late at night when the child was asleep.
Her style teaches the importance of focus, regardless of distractions, chaos and interruptions. When you’re focused, you build dedication and commitment to realizing your writing goals. Focus also improves efficiency and productivity when you’re penning.
John Steinback
Instead of seeing his unwritten books as a bulk of blank pages that needed to be filled, Steinbeck saw the task as writing one page a day. This reinforces the concept of monotasking, which is the opposite of multitasking.
Paying attention to one thing at a time and not allowing distractions helps you complete the job efficiently and promptly. It also improves mindfulness and improves your ability to prioritize your schedule.
Routine Is the Key to Realizing Your Writing Goals
These authors built their empires and legacies by committing to their routines, even when faced with challenges and setbacks. Having your own routine — however small — will set the pace for realizing your goals and publishing your work.
Author bio:
Eleanor Hecks is a writer and editor with a passion for helping writers of all genres. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine, and her work has appeared in a diverse range of publications, including Fast Company and HubSpot.
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“Everybody has great stories to tell. What’s yours?”
Jump Start Your Writing in November
I’m told that smell is a powerful way to trigger memories, but I can’t judge that because my sense of smell doesn’t work. I’m curious to see whether it works for you and what you come up with.
Here are the steps:
- Have a trusted friend, peer, roommate, or partner, take a piece of cotton and saturate it with an odor. Probably they should use a liquid.
- They give it to you and let you write or seal it in some container and give it to you so you can write later.
- Set a timer for 20 minutes. Start by describing the odor. (This always fascinates me. See if you can help a non-smeller understand what this fragrance/odor smells like.) If you like, start with “I’m smelling…”
- As you write, see what it reminds you of. Freewrite about any memories that come up.
- If you want to keep writing when your 20 minutes is up, go for it. Otherwise, find a stopping place.
This could be the start of a story, a personal essay, or a poem. As always, we’d love to read what you write, and you can send it to us using the Contact Box on the home page. We’ll write back telling you what we love in the writing.
Thanks in advance for sharing with us.
ALTERNATE PROMPTS:
Pick a prompt from the list of sentence starts below. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Finish the sentence. Freewrite, and go wherever the writing takes you.
- At the beginning…
- If I knew why…
- A place for love has…
- The best piece of writing advice. . .
- If I could change one family rule. . .
- I can control . . .
Want to share what you wrote? I’ll only say what I love unless you ask for suggestions because this is raw material. Please click on the contact box on the home page to send it to me.
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Prompts for October
Be a winner. Write a story or scene from the point of view of a jack-o-lantern, skull or any other Halloween decoration.
Make a list of memorable Halloweens you’ve experienced.
Write about an October holiday that is not Halloween. Click the link for an amazing list and note the first item on October 20th.
Write about the changes in the weather and how they affect your thoughts and feelings.
Write about whatever is on your mind.
Write a dialogue between a teenager and her parents about anything.
Write a dialogue between an intern (any industry) and her/his supervisor.
Make a list of the things that are going well in your life.
Want to share? We’d LOVE to read whatever you write. We’ll only say what we love unless you ask us for developmental suggestions. Why not give it a try?
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Need Perspective?
Here are 20 questions to ask yourself when you need perspective on any draft. You can write your answers in your journal.
Tired of your own opinions? Try answering as your protagonist would, have her or him write you a letter, and see what you discover. How is her voice different from yours?
- What does the main character want?
- What can she do to get it?
- What is in his way?
- Does each character have a unique voice or do they all sound about the same?
- What message am I trying to convey in this story?
- What is the action?
- What conflicts exist?
- Does the tension rise? How much? Why does it matter?
- When one conflict is resolved, does another one come up?
- What makes the conflicts matter to the reader?
- Who will my audience be?
- What are they expecting to find in this story?
- How can I entertain them?
- How can I surprise them?
- What is unique about this story?
- What is universal about this story?
- What can I delete to improve the flow?
- What can I add to improve the imagery?
- How can I get perspective on this story?
- How can I answer these questions without getting feedback from others?
Want some perspective on your writing? Click here to see what we offer.
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