Thread: Keeping Something In Reserve

Does anyone else here work full-time in a mentally demanding job? Do you have any advice on how you manage to keep some mental resources back?

I have an enormous urge to write and what I think are some very promising ideas but I cannot seem to get time and energy together in the same place. I really have very little excuse as I have a tranquil household with no children and an accommodating partner. I've set up a table in front of a window with a comfy wooden chair, lamps, coaster, ideas folders, laptop and even a notice board on the wall next to it filled with inspiring postcards and printed pictures relevant to my story.

I've tried all sorts of approaches including:

- going to work an hour early in the morning to write. This was the best approach but wrenching myself away after only an hour was hard; it took me almost half of the time to get the juices flowing and it felt like no time at all before I had to stop.

- telling myself sternly that I must spend at least one hour per day writing. This merely added to my load of daily pressure and put my writing into the same mental box that all other work/chores go into. Nothing could have been more demotivating.

- arranging to have at least one hour every Saturday or Sunday morning set aside for writing. It's amazing how demanding friends and family can suddenly seem although really I should have been more persistent with this approach.

It seems to me that something deep in my subconscious is telling me that anything, anything at all (especially other people's needs and housework), is more important than my attempt to write, or am I scared that if I try, I won't be able to? I often wonder if thinking about writing is more enjoyable than actually getting on with it.

Has anyone else ever found themselves with the time, inclination, ability and resources but have still struggled with something standing in their way that they can't identify? How did you deal with it?

I write for two reasons, neither of which require me to do much forcing of myself to write. In my much more established field, where I write under my real name, I write to bring light to everyday issues and happenings. I do it because some of the things I hear would drive me crazy if I didn't say what was on my mind. But with fiction I guess I do it for the same reason, to keep my own sanity about me.

Forcing the writing is not ever what I have done. Even though I set up a plan that encourages me to do something "writing related" every day, I never force myself to actually write. Somedays I do write. Others I just sit in a chair with a note pad and jot down ideas. Sometimes I check message boards like this one and post. Other times I blog on my personal site and just say wha is on my mind or what my plans are.

I find that the more options I give myself, all of which help further my writing career, the more organically what I write when I actually work on stories becomes.

I used to have a demanding job and wrote at the same time, usually at night. But it was inconsistent, sometimes I wouldn't write for weeks. Since I have not been working I just disciplined myself to write every day and I have achieved a great deal. Now the thought of going back into a job depresses me.

I would say don't push yourself. Sit down at the end of your day and start writing, even if you are writing rubbish, just write and don't worry about it. Rome wasn't built in a day....

i had the same problem. i used certain "approaches", as you call them to unwind me from the work day.
sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. a certain song and a couple glasses of chianti worked best
for me. "in my time of dying" by led zep was my particular mood song. of course, my suggestions may not work
for you at all. but i bet there is SOMETHING that would unwind you into a writing mood after work, though.

An important part of writing for me is to get away from my house and my life. The more comfortable I am in my surroundings, the less likely I am to be serious about putting pen to paper, and the more likely I am to find something VERY CRITICAL THAT I HAVE TO DO. Diners, coffee shops, Denny's--places like these will allow me to while away as much time as they let me sit there, allow me to observe human behavior in the wild, and get me out of the house and into the creative part of my brain.

Having said that, writing is a very personal pastime, and each has very much their own idea of how best to accomplish the task. A good place for everyone to start might me Sam W's post here. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but is a fair guide to identify how to keep the creative juices flowing throughout the day. Best of luck on your quest!

I do my best work when I get it in my head that this is a cool story and I want to tell it. If I don't get that feeling I can crank out maybe ten or twenty pages but at that point things dry up. I have to want to tell the story. Once I get something in my head that I like or feel has to be told then it just kind of flows out of my hands. The biggest problem is sitting down to do the rewrite. I hate that part.

Hi again all.

Mathias, thanks for that, I think you've given me a good place to start and over time build on with the "do something writing related every day". I blog from time to time to give myself a similar outlet to what you describe.

Rob, so I'm not alone in being drained by my job! I've often felt that if I didn't have to give so much energy to simply keeping a job (especially at the moment with austerity cuts all around me), roof over my head and maintaining reasonable health I would be able to give this creative urge I have more fuel. I find it even more frustrating when I have a reasonable amount of annual leave and find that, after about a week, my brain seems to go into a different gear and ideas start to pop up like mushrooms. This only seems to happen after a rest, though. Worry is absolutely part of my problem, worrying that I'm not writing is just taking up more of the energy that could be spent on writing......!!

Dale, I'll think on this. Certain music and aroma from a scented candle might work well for me - I suppose it would be like performing a small ritual to tell my mind that it needs to concentrate on this task now.

Karl, you know, the last time I managed to get some serious quality idea-generating in was when I vanished for a week to a static caravan in Swanage with my laptop, notes, MP3 player and mobile. I ate a lot of toast and drank tea all day long and came up with more interesting stuff in that one week than I had in the previous year. I've often dreamed of one day being able to afford a Romahome and kit it out as my writing den. I would be able to park it up in high-up places like the Devil's Dyke or pop over to the Isle of Wight for a weekend and brainstorm alone and in private with everything I need to hand. I wish.

John, I'm still ironing out kinks in the world-building stage but I'm almost there. Then I have the stage and the props and will work on the actual Story!

Thanks for your comments all, this has been helpful and has got me thinking about the issue again. I have my folder with me at work to keep reminding me to make this a higher priority than it currently is.

Just as your mind gets itself geared up everyday for the work you do, so can it get geared up for writing by establishing a regular routine. I am at my most productive when I make myself sit down at the keyboard at the same time everyday and force myself to put in at least an hour of writing. Sometimes it's like do-it-yourself dental work, other times the creativity flows like a mountain stream, but every time I do it my book moves forward. The schedule itself makes the writing easier. My mind becomes conditioned to shifting into 'writing mode'. I open my manuscript, read what I wrote the day before (or the week, or month before if I've gotten lazy) and start writing. Sometimes what I write is garbage, sometimes it's ice cream. The garbage I can re-write (and learn from) the ice cream I can build upon. The longer I stay in my routine the more ice cream I get.

How you manage your creative urge is, of course, a personal decision. You must do what works for you and for your goals. If your goal is just to write and be creative then waiting for the perfect time, or waiting until inspiration comes upon you is absolutely fine. But, if your goal is to improve your craft, to publish, to be a working writer, then that requires discipline. If you read interviews with professional writers you will see that virtually all of them have established writing routines. They make time to write.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

Originally Posted by Cath Humes

Hi again all.

Rob, so I'm not alone in being drained by my job! I've often felt that if I didn't have to give so much energy to simply keeping a job (especially at the moment with austerity cuts all around me), roof over my head and maintaining reasonable health I would be able to give this creative urge I have more fuel. I find it even more frustrating when I have a reasonable amount of annual leave and find that, after about a week, my brain seems to go into a different gear and ideas start to pop up like mushrooms. This only seems to happen after a rest, though. Worry is absolutely part of my problem, worrying that I'm not writing is just taking up more of the energy that could be spent on writing......!!

If you are worrying about not writing, then write about that. Write that you are sat worrying about not writing. One night I could not sleep, my head was tired but it wouldn't go down. I had no inspiration to work on my novel either. So I switched the light on and started scribbling down in a pad about the fact I could not sleep. I ended up writing a bit of intrigue about a character who was trying to sleep under a railway bridge. So you can inspire yourself.

Keeping a journal might help. I have been keeping one for just over a year now, writing an entry once a week on average, and it helps get me in the mood to work on my projects if I'm not feeling like it beforehand. Sometimes the entries are very mundane and just a recounting of the day's experiences, but at other times some very strong emotions come to the surface and I've allowed myself to just go with it, and I've gotten story ideas from them. For some entries, the quality of writing is as good and inspired as anything in my larger projects, so I often feel like I'm working on my abilities as a writer as well.

My first impulse is to tell you to stop worrying about the time you may or may not have to write and just sit down and write something--anything. I've killed many a good hour writing about how much I don't feel like writing.

However, I can't make you do that and apparently neither can you. I'm not sure I agree with the whole "wait for inspiration" thing though. I went a whole year without writing more than maybe a thousand words because I wasn't "inspired." It took me a whole year to realize that inspiration doesn't always just arrive while you sit around and wait. Sometimes, yes, but after a year, I was tired of waiting.

And what I've found is that, for me, reading other good fiction in the vein of what I wish I could write is what inspires me. As for time, you just have to make some. All last week, I left my house at 8:30 in the morning and I didn't get home until 9:00 in the evening, but somehow, despite twelve-hour days, I still managed to meet my quota for NaNoWriMo (at least 1667 words per day). The trick is to stop worrying about how you might not have the time or you might not know what you're going to write about and just start writing. It might not be award-winning prose, but I've never met anybody who could produce that in a single draft.

At least you'll have something written to build on, work with, or tweak--which is always better than a blank piece of paper and a sinking feeling in your stomach.

I was sitting at my keyboard last night slowly inching my way forward on my new book when I was disturbed by a knock at my door. I rolled back my chair, stood up, stretched my old back, and opened the door. Standing there was a beautiful woman dressed in flowing robes. On her face was a smile I thought only existed in renaissance paintings. Her hair was like liquid gold and moved slowly as if to some unfelt breeze. When she spoke her voice was like the sound of wind chimes. "Terry," she said, "I am your muse and I have come to give you my gift of inspiration."

"Where were you last night?" I asked. "I needed you then too."

Her smile never wavered as she replied, "My calling takes me to many places, and many other writers wait for me. You must be patient. I will come to you in your turn."

"Inconsistent, bitch," I said, slamming the door. It made a satisfying sound as it hammered home and I could envision the muse's poetic smile faltering on her flawless face as I went back to my desk and hacked up another two pages.

I didn't have a high-pressure job because I would never allow it to be so, sure there were pressured times, but I made it a point of principle not to let work dominate my life - If my employers didn't like it, they were at liberty to sack me. For me, family came first; no customer had my home phone number, if one by some means acquired my mobile number, I accepted the first call and told them never to use it again - I am retired, the mortgage was paid off years ago,I have, for the moment, my twenty shillings and sixpence, and am relaxed; I would rather be poor and happy than well off and worried.