Rise and Shine
by Michele Lang
The following article first appeared in the March issue of ShoreLines,
the newsletter of the Long Island Romance Writers. Permission to
publish with proper credit is granted to sister chapters.
This is your year. You've made a New Year resolution to become
a pro writer -- whether you sell or not, you are going to treat your
writing like the profession and avocation it is to you. You plan
to write every day, at the same time every day. Unfortunately, after
a long day with your job, kids, family, or all of the above, your
brain is guacamole by the time you sit down at night to write. So
you've come down to the only option left for making your resolution
a reality: get up early and pump out those pages before daily life
begins.
It sounds so good in theory. But the snooze button somehow gets
activated before you ever reach consciousness, and despite your best
intentions, your morning sessions never materialize.
Don't despair. Here are ten tips (plus a bonus) to help you make
that transition to Morning Writer. Wake up, smell the caffeine, and
start those writing engines.
- Don't try to shift gears all at once. Changing to an early morning
schedule will take time. Make a long term plan, and enact it one
piece at a time.
- Scope out your schedule and identify a time period when life
is not more insane than usual. Start with a radical step: GO TO
SLEEP AT NIGHT. Of course your laundry demands your attention.
Of course your children have special projects due at school. But
if you don't go to sleep until after midnight every night, you
will not be able to switch your clock. Give yourself a chance.
Go to sleep at 10 p.m. And lights out -- no reading in bed until
the wee hours.
- You can begin to institute your regime two ways: use a hard deadline
to force yourself to get up. Or try the gradual route, waking up
a little earlier each day until you reach your target time. The
goal will be to establish a new wake up time that is consistent,
and part of a proactive plan for writing every day.
- To make your sleep as productive as possible, take the advice
of Lynn Viehl, otherwise known as "Paperback Writer," a
popular blogger and prolific novelist. She suggests, "Get
as much sun and exercise as you can during your new waking hours.
This helps reset your circadian rhythms (your internal daily bio-process
clock) so that you sleep better and are more alert when you wake
(also an excellent cure for jet lag and alternating shift work.)." Get
more priceless advice from Paperback Writer at her writer's blog: www.pbackwriter.blogspot.com.
- Make sure you are taking care of yourself physically. Drink enough
water, and eat food that gives you energy. Paperback Writer also
suggests watching your caffeine intake in the evenings, especially
sneaky sources like soda, chocolate, or tea.
- Try moving your alarm clock across the room, where you can't
reach the snooze bar without getting up and walking (or crawling...).
Leave your clothes/bathrobe lying on top of the alarm clock.
- Bribery can sometimes work if you are already motivated to get
up. Get a coffee maker that will brew coffee on a timer -- your
body will instictively gravitate towards the caffeine source. Or
try chocolate: not just for nighttime bribery any more...
- Try doing something else you enjoy before starting to write.
It may be easier to wake up early for a quick stretching/yoga routine,
or to read a favorite book, than to get straight to work on a WIP.
But don't check email! You could end up surfing the net and losing
your precious writing time. Save internet surfing as a reward for
reaching your goal.
- Margie Lawson, writer and therapist, recommends following
her deceptively simple DUH plan: 1 -- Do it first -- or as close
to first as humanly possible; 2 -- Understand that it will be
inconvenient and/or difficult and do it anyway; 3 -- Hurray!
Celebrate! You did it! By making the commitment to do the most
important thing first -- writing -- you are making a habit of
success. Visit Margie on the web at www.margielawson.com.
- Try engaging your competitive side. Make a bet with your CP that
you will stick to waking up on schedule or pay the heinous consequences.
I'm sure your CP will be able to devise the perfect punishment
for you. Or, as writer Betty Hanawa suggests, join a group like
Survivor Writers. "Three pages a day or you're axed: the motto
of SurvivorWriters. I thought my CP was crazy. However, after four
weeks, I've added sixty pages to the forty I already had... I've
practiced rewriting enough. Now it's time to write... If you want
to take the Survivors Writers challenge, send an email to SurvivorWriter-subscribe©yahoogroups.com...
Donna Caubarreaux swings the ax weekly." See Betty's website: www.bettyhanawa.com
- When all else fails...wait for spring. You may have an easier
time of it if you can get up with the sunrise, not before. Once
you've made it, even for one morning, the rush of accomplishment
will build your momentum. Before you know it, you will look forward
to those quiet mornings when you can reach for your dream.
Rise and shine...your writing life is waiting for you.
**
Michele Lang writes urban fantasy for Triskelion Publishing.
Her second book, The Devil Inside, will be released in April 2006.
Visit Michele on the web at www.michelelang.com
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