Writing Through Chaos: Three Tools by Rochelle Melander

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything. —John Irving

Last week during the class I taught online (Three Shifts You Must Make To Succeed As An Author), a participant mentioned that she’d tried scheduling time to write, but it never worked. She asked: how do you write if your work or life schedule is too chaotic to depend on?

It’s a good question. All of us experience times in life where it’s hard to find time to write. Here are three ways to make time to write when life is crazy:

+Piggyback. Attach writing to an established habit, the stuff you do every day or week. Even in the land of crazy, you do a few things every single day: get up, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, check email, go to bed. You also do a few things every week at the same time: go to yoga class, stop by the coffee shop, visit a family member in the nursing home. Take one of these constants and attach writing to it, either before or after.

+Drop everything and write. In my daughter’s school, they have DEAR time every single day—drop everything and read. In her school, not having a DEAR book is an offense punishable with detention. How many times do you find yourself stuck in time, with nothing to read or write? Despite owning a smart phone, it happens to me more than I’d care to admit. Take a moment to consider what you’d need to carry with you if you wanted to be prepared to drop everything and write at all times. Then do it.

+Social Media Steal. Use your social media habit to write.  According to a 2013 article, we spend about 3 hours on social media per day.  Wow. For the next week, note the time you spend on social media. Pay attention to what tool you use to surf—are you on your computer, smart phone, or tablet? At the end of the week, ask: how could I use some of this time to write? Find a writing app that works best on your surfing mode of choice. Then, next time you log on to Facebook, Tweet, Tumble, Pin, or Link: use that app to write first.

Your turn:

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