posted
In Yoga Teacher training they talk a lot about defining your perfect day. I am interested in a realistic account of what you might consider a perfect day for your writing.
I am also interested in goal setting and how this might relate to the amount of time that you write in a day.
I have had well over a year of dead time. Sad thing is the last thing I wrote made it into an anthology which has yet to print. So I suppose I am trying to re-establish myself into a routine. I am trying to define my goals, find balance and be productive
posted
At this point in my life, my idea of a perfect day is one where someone else watches my kids so I can get some solid work done. That's my only requirement.
I'd love to be able to write for 4-5 hours per day or more, but it's just not possible for me right now. Realistically, if I could get in a good hour or two after they're in bed, I would call that good.
posted
My goal is to sit down and write for 2 hours after the kids are in bed. This doesn't happen as often as I would like right now because of other circumstances, but when life calms down a little I hope to get more than that done.
A perfect day for writing for me at this point in my book, (since I am still outlining and plotting it) would be a day without kids, without internet, tv or cell phones. Preferably at a camping site somewhere and my husbands fully devoted attention to my story so I could bounce ideas off of him and get immediate feedback. I choose my husband for this because of all the people that I know, his views and understandings differ the most from my own and he gets me to see things from different angles.
posted
In my perfect day, there would be no guilt for focusing on writing. I would know that chores, work, and social/familial responsibilities could be set aside. Healthy snacks and drinks would keep my brain fed, and the weather would be suitable for walking during breaks.
My goal each day is to write on the bus to and from work. Too often, I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. Sometimes, my space doesn't allow for enough room to write, my hands hurt too much, or someone wants to talk with me. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I attempt to write at lunchtime, but that doesn't always happen. When I don't write during the day, I try to squeeze a few minutes of writing around classes and errands at night.
My biggest challenge is that I don't like writing for the sake of writing. That is, it doesn't matter to me how many words I write if they aren't to the story I'm trying to advance. So, each day, I have a goal to write something--any number of words--for a particular story.
posted
I've had my perfect day of writing. Last year during my vacation. We don't ever go anywhere so it was perfect to write. This year I tried it again but didn't quite get as much writing done.
But last year; I got up fixed breakfast so my wife off to her work, took my daughter to her grandparents for the day, came back home and wrote and wrote and wrote some more. Every now and then I had a chore to do but they usually didn't take long. I worked on two novels and a couple short stories. Most of the time I was quite satisfied with what I got done that day.
posted
For me a perfect day of writing starts with the idea for what I want to do well-formed in my head, then ends early with that idea converted into a complete scene needing only minor line edits. That happens sometimes.
Writing for me can be like getting sucked dry and having no way to stop it. Revisions are the worst. The best is when a scene comes out just the way I want it. Then I feel like I don't want to touch it, so I can knock off.
posted
I've had lots of really great writing days. Days where I wake up ready to write and knowing what I'm going to work on, where the story flows well, and by bedtime I've completed a large chunk of it.
The only thing preventing them from being perfect is knowing that even if I finish the story I still have to jump the Herculean hurdle of getting it published.
quote:At this point in my life, my idea of a perfect day is one where someone else watches my kids so I can get some solid work done. That's my only requirement. I'd love to be able to write for 4-5 hours per day or more, but it's just not possible for me right now. Realistically, if I could get in a good hour or two after they're in bed, I would call that good.
This is me.
Except my perfect day would include a maid to clean my house, so when I'm done I have a spotless house to relax in. Dare to dream.
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited September 12, 2011).]
posted
I'd like to lose the job [but not the money], so I'd have more time to devote to literary activities. But, in all honesty, I don't know if having more time would result in more output...
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