How do you keep writing when chaos strikes your life? When everything is suddenly different? When you feel like you’ve lost your rhythm?
Isaiah posted this question on my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page:
Hello Mr. Ingermanson,
I am a junior in high school aiming to one day write a novel and hopefully make a career out of writing. I have been writing fiction since I was six years old, but really picked it up when I found your book “Writing Fiction for Dummies.”
Three years ago I came up with a really good idea for a book. Its been steeping in my head for almost four years and now I finally feel that the idea is ready to be put on paper. I’ve been writing it for about two months now, and I finished the prologue yesterday. The truth is that I have never had this much trouble writing, and here’s why I think that is. For seven years we lived in one place, and then we were forced to move, and then we moved again, and then we moved again, and were planning to move again. I can’t make a habit out of writing because my environment is constantly changing, my old desk which made me feel professional is in storage, all my books that sat on my shelf and made me feel smart are buried somewhere beneath all that furniture, and my bedroom walls that used to keep the noise away are gone. Do you have any suggestions on how I can re-kindle my old imagination and adequate ability to put it onto paper?
Randy sez: That’s a good question, Isaiah. The issue I think you’re facing here is that chaos has entered your life. You used to have stability. Now your family is constantly on the move, and that’s extremely unsettling.
You’re not alone. When major changes come up in your life, it’s going to put a crimp in your writing.
This happened to me years ago, when my kids got older and needed the room I’d been using as an office. So I went from having a nice quiet office to having a desk in the corner of the chaotic family room. And that really threw me for a while. It’s hard to focus on writing when people are interrupting or looking over your shoulder or just milling around.
And a few years later, my family and I sold our house, moved halfway across the country, rented an apartment for a few months, bought a house, and got settled in. Once again, major chaos for months and months.
So how do you deal with that?
First off, just acknowledge that a major change in your life is going to disrupt your writing. Unless you’re superhuman, it will. So you need to give yourself some slack here. At your age, a disruption of a few months may seem like forever, but in the grand scheme of things, you’ve got a long, productive life ahead of you. If you live to be 100, you’ll probably still be writing fiction then.
Second, you need to find a writing space. It sounds like you no longer have your own room. Not fun. But is it possible you can find a place outside of your home where you can write?
A lot of writers make Starbucks their office away from home. I’m not kidding. They take their laptop to Starbucks, buy the magic potion of their choice, and settle in to write.
A lot of Barnes & Noble stores have areas where you can sit quietly at a table, and I often see people with laptops there. Maybe they’re writers, maybe not, but even though it’s a public space, nobody is looking over their shoulder.
Maybe you can find a place at the school library or a public library or SOMEWHERE that isn’t home and will keep away the prying eyes and yapping mouths of family members.
Having a writing space is absolutely critical. I’m grateful to have an office with a door now in the house we moved to. I can turn on the music of my choice and get lost in my own world. You need to find your space, and this may take some creativity. But without it, writing is much harder.
Third, you need a writing tool that works with your writing space. For a lot of writers, this is a laptop, but not necessarily.
I know a lot of writers used to love their AlphaSmarts — small, dumb devices that you could type text into. They were light and practically unbreakable and you could upload your work to a computer via USB. Nowadays, a lot of my friends really love their iPads. Those are pricey, but there are other tablet devices that are cheaper.
At one point in my life, I used paper notebooks. They were the small 50-page bound notebooks that you can buy at Office Depot cheap. I used them because I needed to write away from my desk and I couldn’t afford a laptop. I called my notebooks my “laptop” and they worked just fine for getting down the words. I still have a box full of them in the garage, and they never need backups. They aren’t sexy, but they work.
The point here is to find a tool that you can work with. Fancy is not as important as portable and easy to use.
Fourth, you need writing time. You need to schedule it. This is hard. You can’t necessarily schedule the same time every day. But if you don’t schedule your writing time, then other things will crowd out your writing. It’s a law of the universe — little rocks crowd out big rocks.
Figure out when you can write and then try to make that time sacred. Professional writers do this. Amateur writers don’t. If you want to be a professional, then start acting like one, and one day you have a very good chance of being one. This is another law of the universe.
Isaiah, I hope that helps. I won’t pretend that managing your writing life is easy. It isn’t. But it’s worth doing. Good luck!
If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer in public on this blog, hop on over to my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page and submit your question. I’ll answer them in the order they come in.
Fortunately I have my own writing space. Built my desk myself!
Oooh, that’s tough, Isaiah! Randy’s points are really good, though. I think that scheduling your own writing time and sticking to it is especially crucial. Even if you’re just writing for 15 minutes a day, you’re still moving forward. Make a goal and keep it!
So cool of you, Randy, giving that nice kid such good advice and encouragement. Take his advice, Isaiah, Randy’s right. Make sure you write. Every day. I’m almost 63 and started writing a year ago when I retired. I should have started when you did.But I’ll never stop now. Don’t ever deny yourself the joy of writing, for any reason.
Best,
D. Wayne
That’s great advice, Randy. I hope Isaiah does well as a professional writer. And, Isaiah, remember, getting a rejection will prove you’re really a writer.
Isaiah, I’d say you’re pretty smart already, to ask Randy anything about writing. And I know you’re smart without your books around you. Your determination and continued writing will make you a professional, no matter where you write or on which surface. I can tell that because you searched for advice from someone who does what you want to do. You’re going to find the tools and tips you need in Randy’s advice, you’ll start writing consistently – no matter what – and one day Randy, and all of us, are going to be buying your book. So be sure to let us know when it’s released!
Isaiah, I have had to write on the go, too, wherever I can find a place. One thing I’ve found to help is to have some token, something that tells me I am in my writing place, that now my mind should turn to creating fiction.
I know two people who use particular pieces of clothing for this — one wears a specific baseball cap, another woman has a bracelet with charms like a pen and a typewriter and so on.
I have a “mini altar’ to my muse. It’s just an old Altoids tin, and inside I have a few iconic-to me tokens.
Like a round tuit. It’s basically a wooden nickle with ‘TUIT’ painted on it — as in, I’ll get to writing when I get around to it.
And a tiny rabbit figurine. Because it’s a plot bunny, and you will never run out of ideas, then, because plot bunnies breed like rabbits.
And a little plastic Ninja Warrior. As a reminder of the old advice, if you don’t know what to write next, have someone attack your character.
And a couple of even sillier items. 😀
So whenever I settle to write I set that Altoid tin beside my notebook or laptop, and it helps me feel that I am in My Writing Place, even though I may never have been to that place before.
Just a little psychological trick, but it genuinely helps me.
Hi Isaiah,
Randy gave you great advice. Your situation reminded me of my circumstances four years ago. I was 47 and had dreamt of writing a novel for most of my life. I’d finally written something that an agent was interested in representing. I signed a contract with him and he was shopping my manuscript to publishers. But then my life got painfully complicated. I moved out the house where my husband and young adult sons lived. I moved into a small bedroom at a friend’s house. Nothing was the same and I couldn’t make sense of it. A week after I moved, my agent called with an offer from a publishing company–they wanted to buy my manuscript and contract me to write two additional novels! But…I’d left all my books and belongings when I moved. I didn’t have any of my normal writing tools and I didn’t really have a writing space. And I was depressed about the break-up of my marriage. How could I possibly write another novel? And this time write it with a deadline looming? I did most of the things Randy suggested, but I ended up moving 3 more times that year, got very sick, and couldn’t concentrate. But then I figured out something… When I could write, even if it was only for a short time, I was happy. Writing became my “place” of peace and comfort during challenging times. And the more I wrote, the more I could focus. The more I wrote, the less difficult the rest of life seemed. So I just wrote. Whenever and wherever I could. So that’s my encouragement to you: Just write. Even if what you write is terrible, just do it. And enjoy it….
Tell me you wrote a novel about THAT! It has Lifetime movie written all over it.
🙂
Hi Isaiah,
Randy gave you great advice. Your situation reminded me of my circumstances four years ago. I was 47 and had dreamt of writing a novel for most of my life. I’d finally written something that an agent was interested in representing. I signed a contract with him and he was shopping my manuscript to publishers. But then my life got painfully complicated. I moved out the house where my husband and young adult sons lived. I moved into a small bedroom at a friend’s house. Nothing was the same and I couldn’t make sense of it. A week after I moved, my agent called with an offer from a publishing company–they wanted to buy my manuscript and contract me to write two additional novels! But…I’d left all my books and belongings when I moved. I didn’t have any of my normal writing tools and I didn’t really have a writing space. And I was depressed about the break-up of my marriage. How could I possibly write another novel? And this time write it with a deadline looming? I did most of the things Randy suggested, but I ended up moving 3 more times that year, got very sick, and couldn’t concentrate. But then I figured out something… When I could write, even if it was only for a short time, I was happy. Writing became my “place” of peace and comfort during challenging times. And the more I wrote, the more I could focus. The more I wrote, the less difficult the rest of life seemed. So I just wrote. Whenever and wherever I could. So that’s my encouragement to you: Just write. Even if what you write is terrible, just do it. And enjoy it….
Well I was going to suggest writing at the public library and writing on notebooks, but you’re too smart for me. 🙂 Seriously though, one time I wrote a whole chapter (a few thousand words) in a few hours at the library–that’s some kind of record for me. And I’ve also got notebooks full of stuff. When I write on my laptop I tend to edit relentlessly as I go, but when I write on paper, for some reason I don’t do that as much. I tend to freewrite better when I write on paper because it’s not as easy to erase or throw away.
Another idea that might help, weather permitting–write outside. I’ve done this a few times, and it’s actually quite refreshing. Go sit on a park bench or on the front porch or wherever you can find. Who knows, it may really get your creative juices flowing! 🙂
I write better on paper also. I have a yellow notebook I take to work with me so I can write during my breaks. I bought twenty refills for the pens I use 5 years ago, and still had about seven left at the beginning of October. I got on a creative streak a month ago and have gone through four of them!
I write wherever and whenever I can. If the ideas pop up and I run a scene through my head once it twice at work, I find a stopping point and go write it down real fast. On the weekend, I keep the notebook in the kitchen with me when I am cooking and cleaning so I can stop and write. In the evening, I type it all up in Word and edit it. I just bought Snowflake this weekend – I have six stories about the same character going at once, so it will take me a while to get it all set up, but I love the idea.
When I first began to write, I had three very small children and a husband to work around. Since I only need five hours of sleep each night, I decided to condition myself to maximize my writing efforts. Remember Pavlov? Bell rings…dog salivates. Worked for him, why not me?
At the time, I had an ancient, finger-strengthening typewriter. I threaded a roll of early-school computer paper into it and typed onto it every night from 10pm-2am. But that wasn’t enough. Before I’d start, I’d pour a coke, and turn on my cassette player with my writing music (Intergalactic Touring Band & Allen Parsons’ I, Robot). Granted, I had to flip the tape over and over back then, but the system worked.
To this day, when I turn on that music, the words just flow…and I crave a coke. (Gotta be careful with Pavlov.)
Many things have changed since then, but my environment has not. Sure, I use a laptop now, and I sit in a rocking chair, but when I put on the headphone. BAM! I’m off and running.
Furthermore, let others around you know that you don’t want to be disturbed. Include them in your process by, at least, giving them your schedule. You might be surprised how far a heartfelt plea to parents that you are writing the great American novel whenever you don headphones can get you. Sometimes they can be trained/encouraged to work with you on that, too. This system still works for me–decades later.
I have known others who use portable visual stimuli the same way. They set up dry erase boards with notes or create collages of art which inspires them. There are no limits to what can be done. I wasted a decade waiting for the right time, or place, or circumstances to align within my life during my transitory phase, only to discover that the solution was within myself.
SO, click your heels three times and say, “There’s no place like home.” Then build one…preferably a mobile home. *grin*
Good luck, Isaiah.
Isaiah, everybody goes through what you describe. We moved two years ago and it took me almost six months to find the time and space to write. Your situation must be many times worse. The only thing I can add to the advice above is: if you don’t have a computer to write with, and not a lot of spare change for supplies, the are dollar stores in every city in America where you can get composition notebooks for $1 each and pens 10 for a $1. Use them. Go to the library. There are quiet spaces and many have writing groups. Ask a librarian. There is always a way, always a place, and always help.
As for school: learn all you can, not just about English, but everything. School gives you knowledge, which is important, but also the discipline to finish what you start, which is crucial.
When it seems impossible, be still and listen; we’re all rooting for you.
Thanks for the tips, Randy. Isaiah, he’s right, you’re not alone. I think we’ve all run into a similar situation.
The physical space is not as important as the mental space away from everyone else, right? We can’t always control our surroundings. So… one trick I’ve used is listening to meditative music (no lyrics) with headphones. It helps eliminate outside distraction and creates a “space” in itself. I find if I listen to the same tracks every time I write, it’s easier to jump back into the story because I’ve associated that sound with the creative process. Kind of like when teachers tell you to eat M&M’s when you study at home AND when you take a test – associative conditioning.
Good luck!
Oh, that is excellent advice. I have a ton if meditation tracks, including some that are meant to put you in a “creative flow state” – why did I never think of listening to those when I write??
From my own experience, movie soundtracks tend to do the trick for me. This is particularly true when the music (at least the emotional mood of the music) fits the scene I’m working on. Upbeat, heart pounding tracks for action scenes; deep, slow soundscapes for tense scenes; light, melodic songs for heartfelt moments.
By using music as the backdrop, I typically find the psychological “place” I need to write; however, that doesn’t exclude the need for an uninterrupted, physical place to work as well. For me it doesn’t always need to be the same space, but it must still allow mental isolation where I can be alone with my thoughts (and maybe a cappuccino).
Pretty sweet advice.
Thank you all so much for the support, I really appreciate it. Thank you Randy for the advice, now my imagination is flowing smoothly and I get more writing done daily. Again, THANK YOU!
Isaiah, you may not realize how lucky you are to have asked this particular blog your question. The answers are uniformly kind and supportive. Nobody said, well, gee, is this your excuse for developing writer’s block? I’m on board with everyone, and hope you continue to look for creative ways to honor your wrtiting desires. Good luck. PS – Panera’s is another good out-of-house option, although my first choice is the public library because research resources are at my fingertips.