How do you write? I got asked that question recently and it took me a while to come up with a truthful answer. In fits and bursts, mostly, scene fragments one evening and then an entire afternoon spent on writing 6k because everything just flows, because it works.
I sometimes like to pretend otherwise, but I don't have a writing schedule. Don't get me wrong, I wish I did. I wish I could follow the standard advice and write 500 words daily, write even if it's just random stuff that won't ever see the light of day.
But I don’t. I write on my phone on the tube, during lunch break or when I'm bored while watching a movie. Sometimes I write until 3am with the knowledge of having to get up a few hours later. Sometimes, I don't write for months.
And you know what that ensures? That I never grow bored of it.
Regardless of whether it's a week long break or if I've just come back from hastily making a tea, my fingers itching because I can feel the next words taking shape, because I know exactly what comes next.
I love the hours-on-end that have me tired and bleary-eyed, just as I love the half-sentences I jot down while waiting in line. When I write, there's a feeling of excitement, which has nothing to do with the theme, the plot or the feedback I might get. It has everything to do with creating something that clicks into place, that grounds itself in reality in a way even real life hardly ever manages. I truly love deadlines too, both internal or external, because they are what helps me finish a project.
I’m not here to tell you this is effective, or that it will work for you. All I can say is, even if you don’t have a strict writing schedule yet, or if you never will, that’s totally okay. You’re supposed to enjoy yourself, and the rhythm in which you write is entirely your own. The only advice I can give you is to always come back to it, again and again, and let the rest slide into place on its own.
