C25K Day Nineteen: Play With Yourself

Days 16, 17 and 18 were simply ‘write your WIP for 20 minutes’. Though I might not be doing writing every day, I’m pretty sure that when I sit down to write it’s been for at least an hour at a time. So I’m going to call these days complete.

Day 19 was another ‘write your WIP’ for 20 minutes day, but there were some questions attached to the email so I’m going to answer them – but not set myself a timer.

I think that when I really get in the zone, as it were, then I usually find uncomplicated joy in my writing. For example, at the retreat I definitely didn’t want to go home. I definitely didn’t lose steam, even when it was the afternoon sprint.

The true problem is, I don’t know how to recreate this – so much stuff seems to be happening all the time, that I don’t know how to find a way into the zone, particularly often. I think this is also because I don’t really have a space in my current house that is free from distractions. Our only table is in the same room as the TV, there are always other people around talking or playing games. The once that I went upstairs into Pitard’s bedroom, I managed to get some stuff done, but then I was distracted again by the internet.

It used to be that I could write anywhere, at any time. It was like reading a book – I didn’t focus on anything except what I was writing. That definitely can’t be recreated though, because that was when I was at school. I never used to listen in lessons because I would be writing instead. I still got all my work done, but it wasn’t the same level as pressure as there is with adult-life and work, etc. Now there is a lot more demanding my time, so I have to find a way to balance that.

At school, seeing friends was easy, and I did it every day. Now, I have to make time to see them, which takes time away from writing. I think… maybe I didn’t watch as much television, as a kid? Not stuff that I focused on, at least. There are a lot of great shows now, and it’s so easy to get hold of them online. I never had to cook for myself, which I do have to do now. Plus, school was 8-3, whereas work is 9-6. That’s three more hours, with less breaks in between.

Essentially, I need to start using my time better, and making a space for myself where I can focus. If I can do those two things, then writing itself should be easy – and writing is always fun, for me. I think at the moment I haven’t gone back to the book WIP because so many other deadlines are fast approaching, but I really should get back into writing that on the commute, too, because it was breaking ground. I just know I’m going to have to go back to the point where I decided to change track with the plot… that does feel a little bit like going backwards, but I think the stuff I’ve written can still be useful.