Wednesday was my bimonthly writing day with a couple other writer friends. Hang on a sec...does bimonthly mean twice a month or every other month? Please hold while I check the definition. Click here for easy listening hold music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDeO46FwdeU
Okay, I'm back. According to dictionary.com, "bimonthly" actually means both of the above:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bimonthly
As so often happens in writing, I must now revise my previous statement for clarity. Wednesday was one of my twice-monthly writing days I share with two writer friends. I believe that clears things up. Now I've forgotten my point. Oh, right. The writing day. Well, it was productive. I got ten pages revised, and worked out some stumbling blocks from another four pages. Not bad for 5 hours.
My non-writer friends often ask why I would schedule a writing day with friends. "You don't talk to each other while you're writing, do you?" No, we work in silence.
"Do you critique each other's writing at some point?" Nope. I have a critique group for that.
"You're not in your own house, so you can't just sit in your robe." Well, I suppose I could, though I would feel rather foolish driving in a robe and slippers. But I do bring my slippers with me. And sometimes a little blankie.
"Do you have your computer with you?" Yes, I have a laptop that is strictly for writing. No wireless capability. Keeps me from distracting myself. Or blogging.
"Why can't you do all this at home?" Because at home I have laundry to do, bills to pay, gardens to weed, windows to wash (yes, I would really rather wash windows--how warped is that?), phone calls to make, phone calls to answer, grocery shopping to do, and a cat who wants all the attention I possibly have to give her. At a friend's house, I have none of these distractions.
"So what happens when you host the writing day?" My friends don't allow me to leave the computer until it's time for lunch. My friends keep me on task. My friends keep me motivated. They make it easier to follow the one simple rule of writing: B.I.C. (butt in chair).
Writing is a lonely business. Some people prefer it that way. But for extroverts, it can be soul wearying. To simply share the same oxygen in a room helps refuel the soul. And at the end of the writing day, when I can look at the progress and actually SEE it on the page, my motivation is refueled as well. I watch the end of the process move closer, and it becomes easier to sit down and write when I am alone, to maintain the momentum from my bimonthly/twice-monthly writing day, to make my own writing days matter more.
I don't know many writers who prefer the isolation. In fact, as I think about my writing colleagues, I can't think of anyone who actually squirrels away into oblivion to write, at least not 100% of the time. At some point, we all need the support and motivation of the other squirrels so we don't go nuts.
So thanks to my squirrels. You know who you are.
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Where's Walden when you need one?
ReplyDeleteWriting with friends is a great way to avoid the distractions. I've heard of others doing it too. I'm struggling with this a bit right now. I follow so many blogs and there's so much else to do, like gardening, with the little free time I have. I'm hoping to be more disciplined this week.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, make that one of your goals this summer. Find even two more writers and schedule a once-a-month day. We meet around 9:00 am, have some light breakfast (fruit, muffins, that sort of thing), then write until lunch. While we eat, we talk about little issues we might be having. Today, I talked to my friends about a character name I was struggling with. Got it completely worked out. Back to writing until our eyes glaze over, usually around 3-3:30. You only need the two others. If one person can't make it, the other one will keep you working.
ReplyDeleteAnd P.S., my garden beckons, too. But it will be there tomorrow, and I can't guarantee that my motivation will be!