GET COMFORTABLE, BUT NOT TOO COMFORTABLE

    In my last post I shared my approach to "writer's block" and today I would like to talk about comfort and routine. Getting out of your comfort zone is essential, as I've said previously, but it's also highly important to be comfortable so we'll talk a little about that today. 

I also want to state that any advice I give may or may not work for you so don't take what I say as gospel. 

It's true that if we want to write anything (that's worth putting out there) we need to get out of our comfort zone, but we also need to be comfortable. 

I'm not saying that it's necessary to have the best pens, paper and computer equipment (sure, those things do help, but they won't write your masterpiece for you), but what I am saying is how important it is to have your work area in order. We've all heard of writers who have scribbled down ideas on restaurant napkins, and that's fine when an idea hits us, but you'd be amazed how many writers I've heard of who have got scribbled-down notes all around their work area in no particular order, making it impossible to arrange them from start to finish, making potential stories lost forever. In other words, a real mess. 

What is a work area? Well, without sounding like a smart Alec, it's a place where you work and it needs to be in order. 

There are many places you can write. Personally, I like to do mine in my home office. Working from home, I'm fortunate to be able to use my office for writing and I'm lucky to have the space so I can divide my bread and butter work and my writing work. 

Of course, I know that many people don't have the option to do what I do from the comfort of their homes due to lack of space and noise levels, but there are other options such as coffee shops, libraries and park benches.

So anyway, first you need to establish your work area - where or what is it and then make it your own. Respect it. If you choose the coffee shop option, for example, it's not necessary to feel too at home, so best to keep all your clothes on. 

I'm most certainly not the tidiest person in the world but when it comes to my work area, or writing area, I have my things in order knowing that when a eureka moment comes, I have everything in its right place. 

Having it in a different place to where you work - or in my case dividing the two - is a good idea, but again, it is up to you and what works better for you, but I think I write better when I have silence, with everything in order. 

Another thing I'm going to mention is routine. 

In my opinion, every human needs some type of routine and it could be argued that writers need it the most. It's easy for us to say that we will only write when inspiration comes, which is fair enough, but we also have to do our part, I think. 

So, I think getting yourself into a comfortable routine will benefit you greatly. If I'm working on a particular piece, my aim is to spend an hour a day on it. Once the hour is up, that's it. Of course, if I'm in the middle of an important scene, I'll finish it if I can but an hour a day works for me. 

Others like to count their input with words (500,1000) but for me, time works best and if I'm not working on a particular piece, I'll still put pen to paper in some shape or form. 

I've been writing a diary for a few years now and I write in it on a daily basis. Sure, there are some days when it's not really worth writing down how badly I burnt the toast but I try to scribble a little a day...

...and another thing I do when I'm not working on anything in particular is freewriting (I'll be happy to cover this in more detail in a future post) which is a fantastic way to help build up your writing stamina. 

So that's it for today. Remember to get comfortable, but not too comfortable and try to develop a routine that works best for you. One word at a time.