writing & yoga

September 5, 2007

Bringing this up out of comments, ’cause…well, *someone* might be interested… :)

said, “I still don’t see how you crank out so much writing in a day.” Although I suspect this was not actually intended as a literal comment, I took it that way, and replied (with some modification and expansion for the purposes of posting on the front page):

Well, when I’m doing it like this, quite literally *how* I do it is to get up, go straight to the writing computer (which has no net access) and write for 45-60 (usually 60) minutes, in which time I expect myself to write ~1000 words. If I succeed, I am permitted 3 games of solitaire.

I then take a 15 minute break for breakfast, go back and write for another 45-60 minutes (earning another set of solitaire), break for a quick shower, write, break for a snack, write, and then take a half hour for lunch. I’ve discovered an hour loses too much momentum, but half an hour is enough to eat and turn on the net-connected computer to check LJ and email.

The net-computer gets turned off after lunch and I return to my writing/break pattern until around 2 or 2:30, which is Time For Catie To Leave The House. This is critical, because it is very, *very* easy to hole up until you’ve got cabin fever if your job is done at home. So I often get a 90 minute or so break in there, but I try to be back at the computer by 3:30 or 4, and then write until 5 or 6, depending on how much I’ve accomplished and how close I am to a major goal.

On the flip side, I actually went to the yoga class, which was very pleasant. I’m surprised at how many people were there (15 or so!) and it confirms that whatever sort of practice that was, it is calming and relaxing and not a great deal like exercise, although I suspect it gets more exercisey as the class goes on. There’s another one with a different teacher next Monday that I think I’ll go check out. These are both fundamentals classes, and if I like them both maybe I’ll TAKE them both! Hah! Crazy talk! Although jeez, getting me to go to one might be job enough. Anyway, it was nice and I’m glad I went. (I had to, after posting on LJ. I would’ve felt *particularly* lame if I hadn’t.)

6 thoughts on “writing & yoga”

  1. Margaret Weis is my boss. This has benefits in that she will occasionally share advice to me on writing that she’s picked up in more than two decades of writing full-time. Her routine is a lot like yours, although she more or less stops writing at lunch. She spends the morning writing, spends the afternoon running errands and thinking about what she’s written, and spends the evening doing whatever she likes because she’s not working. Apparently it’s been very successful for her (and for Stephen King, whose routine is similar.)

  2. I tend to do the similar, with the day job interspersed. I do find that if I write first thing in the morning, whether on the weekend or weekdays, I’m much more likely to come back and write more later in the day (whether after I return from the day job, or later on in my day off). If I don’t write first thing in the morning, my motivation later in the day goes wastes away to nothing and it’s a struggle to get to the keyboard and my mind on the story. I usually go for 30-50 minutes at a time, which, if I’m in the groove can net 1000+ words. Then, if time allows, I take a short break, and it’s back to the keyboard. Sometimes, if I’m really into it, I can get 2 or 3k in a single sitting (which may go for longer than an hour).

    But then, sometimes, if I’m really struggling with the story or in burn out, getting 100 words is a mission impossible :D Luckily, that’s not the case at the moment, but it was for a while.

  3. Also, good on you for going to the yoga thing. I’m crazy shy and introverted, so I totally would chickened out.

  4. I’ll presume to throw my 2 cents in (presumption because I don’t know any of you except by LJ entries). Anyhow — Hello!

    I, too, am a 1,000-words-per-hour writer. I gave myself permission to write badly a long, long time ago. So, I let it flow and mutter “I’ll fix it in post” or pop in a comment to remind myself that it’s crap what I just wrote.

    After a hiatus from writing, I’m back to see if learned anything. Still picking the splinters out of my skull from the 2×4’s I’ve been hit by well-meaning friends. I haven’t gotten my groove on with the new novel — bits and pieces of the first one keep rattling around in my head. I’m looking forward, however, to a 5,000-word day in the near future.

  5. Well, actually, I did mean it literally as well as figuratively. I really did want to know. Congrats on the yoga. It IS very relaxing.

  6. I had to, after posting on LJ. I would’ve felt *particularly* lame if I hadn’t.

    This is, occasionally, WHY I post things on LJ. It’s great motivation! :)

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