The 20 Minute Writer: Building a Writing Practice that Works

Speed Writing is an excellent tool to shake off our inner obstacles. It's exactly what it sounds like... you set a timer for a very short amount of time, and you race to write. Hopefully, you'll be too busy writing furiously to take note of those inner voices. We'll try that now as part of our efforts to learn to work within the imperfect.

But first...

The plot twist with inner obstacles is that there isn't actually a way to get rid of them. Sigh. Instead, the best strategy you have is to learn to exist as a writer despite them. To learn to live with them, to expect them, and to limit the ways they impact you.

Here are some tips:

1. Remember that the voices in your head are just that. Voices. Just because they might be telling you that your writing isn't good enough, that you'll never get anywhere, that doesn't make any of it true. Imagine if we listened to all the voices in our head! It's okay to ignore them, or to simply remind yourself that they only have the power that you give them.

2. Remember that Writer's Block is an expected part of the writing process. You'll deal with it now and then, sometimes in heavier doses than others. Having strategies in place to cope with it (we'll get to those!) are your best bet.

3. Remember too that a lack of motivation and inspiration are normal. The key here is to treat writing like you treat other tasks in your life. How often are you inspired to do the laundry, or wash dishes, or sweep the floor? But we do those things anyway, and we feel better once they're done. Writing is much the same. When it doesn't feel easy or enjoyable, remember that it will feel good to have done it. Even a small amount.

NOTE: For all your writing sessions/attempts in this course, use the Writing Log (or your own version of something similar) to keep track of your sessions. A copy can be found in the course handbook, or at the bottom of this lecture.

Writers on Writing

An introduction to the concept of outer obstacles.

Again, use the Writing Log, or your version of it, to track your writing throughout this course.

As you plan your writing sessions over the next few weeks, it's important to look at your windows of time then anticipate the obstacles you'll face so you can find ways to avoid or overcome them.

Here are some great strategies to use when planning your windows:

1. Be super realistic about how much time or energy you'll have in a given window. If you normally wake up at 7AM, don't tell yourself you'll start waking up at 5AM. Try getting up at 6:45 and then finding an extra 5-10 minutes in the rest of your morning routine so you can write for 20 minutes.

2. Make it known to those around you that you're taking this time. It holds you accountable, but also might help keep others out of your way!

3. Be creative in where you find windows. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. Tell yourself you'll write in the 20 minutes it takes for dinner to bake, or for your washer to run a cycle. Try jotting notes as you take public transit. Think of little stretches of your day that are reliably available, no matter how imperfect they might seem!

4. If you keep trying for the same window (mornings, later evening) and it's not happening, then accept that that window probably isn't open for you. Regroup.

Below are some examples of Writing Prompts that Writerscape provides on a regular basis on Instagram.

While we're here... let's talk about Distraction!

Five Simple Strategies to Help you Deal with Distraction

• Find a workable space, no matter where it is. If you need to be alone to avoid getting distracted, then lock yourself in the bathroom for 20 minutes if you must :).

• Use an internet blocker, like Freedom (or others), to block out the internet for the duration of your writing session. This one is a life saver!

• If you've blocked the internet on your computer, then c'mon... leave your phone in another room.

• Keep a notepad next to you as you write. Every time you get distracted, write it down. For example, write down "email check", or "knock on door" - the more you acknowledge and name your distractions, the better you'll get at avoiding them.

• Instead of beating yourself up because you get distracted, simply take note, then work to improve slightly next time. If you check your email every three minutes, don't get mad at yourself. Old habits die hard. Instead, try to build it up to ten minutes. Then fifteen.

We're reaching the end of this course. The goal now is to try to build a regular writing practice into our everyday lives. Here's where we apply everything we've discovered and learned. We'll use our Writing Log to keep track of any number of sessions, over a week, or even over a month.

The goal is to build up from your baseline into something you can manage on a very regular basis. And when our windows start to close as our obstacles change, we re-evaluate and go back to a baseline that's more manageable to us, knowing we'll be able to stretch out again when time and life allows.

The important thing, always, is to recognize that scaling back as needed is not a failure of writing. It's our trick in keeping things sustainable over the long term. Beating ourselves up for not writing doesn't work; writing for 5-20 minutes at a time, over the long term, does.