Posts Tagged ‘writing life’

When I wrote the first edition of my travel guide several people asked me how I went about it.  I confessed during one talk I gave at Tempe Public Library: “The first thing I did was buy a book.”  Seriously.  I’m one of those people who goes out and buys a book about “how to do it”.  After I signed the contract for my book, I bought a book about how to write a book, hoping it would give me some pointers.  It could have been a one page flyer: Step 1) sit down in front of computer; Step 2) begin writing; Step 3) Stay in the chair and keep writing.

The truth is some days, it’s hard to even do step 1: sit down.  If you’re like me you do the round about approach to the chair.  You might circle it.  Come into the room, touch the chair and then leave again; or you might hover, standing in the doorway looking at it; or perhaps you avoid it altogether and shut the door as you walk by (or close your eyes).  Whatever your choice, you’re avoiding the sitting part.

Sometimes you get to the sitting.  You actually make it into the chair instead of around the chair, but you don’t write.  Instead, you check your email, work on an unrelated project, surf the Internet, get on Facebook, tweet about thinking about writing or maybe about the fact that you made it into your chair.  Which may actually be something worth celebrating.

Some days the problem is with step 3: staying put.  Step 3 sneaks up on me, right when I’m getting into the zone.  It’s like an overload of excitement that forces me up and out of my chair.  I know if I sit long enough it will pass and the zone will take over.  But, some days, the urge to get up and run is strong.  And I find the smallest excuse to leave: checking the mail, answering the phone, bringing in the dog, washing dishes.  It’s hard making the commitment to sit in the chair; having the courage to get started; and finding the determination to keep at it no matter how difficult it might be.

Because in the end, the act of writing comes down to how much quality time you spend in your writing chair.  The chair can change.  It might be a comfortable, ergonomically correct chair in your home office, a rickety wooden chair at the local library, or a saggy beach chair in the sand.  What you do while you’re in the chair is the key.

And no amount of reading, tweeting or washing dishes is going to write your book.  The only way to do it is to sit your butt in your chair and write it.  But, consider starting small.  Maybe the first day you just make a commitment to sit in the chair starting at 6am or maybe 10pm, whatever time you wish.  And you do that for the first week.  Then the next week, you write for five minutes.  Just five.  Anyone can write for five minutes.  Do that for a week.  And every week you add five minutes.  Just think.  In a couple of months’ time, you’ll be up to an hour or more!

Hunh, that actually this sounds like a good idea.  I think I’ll try it!