Write the Morning

Since I no longer have a real job, and have allowed myself the freedom to schedule my days, I will now add the writing habit to my regular morning routine. After my morning house and barn chores are done, and I have had my coffee and some breakfast, I will ensconce myself downstairs on my writing couch and write for at least an hour each day. I will free write at least 500 words on anything I choose, then I will edit the previous days writing. I can do this.

Now that I have my distraction free writing space set up, all I need is my laptop, with the wireless off. No dings, no calls, no excuses. Getting up earlier will not work for me, since if I get up much before dawn, my brain takes way too long to function properly. After chores is better. I will not waste time reading emails, or going on Facebook, until after I have finished my writing time.

My New Writing Habit Begins

Most mornings I wake with the sun and then start my work day at about 9:00. I am either out in the pottery, gardening for clients, or at my part time gig, cleaning the church in town. Writing from 8 until 9 should work fairly well. Ok self, 8 a.m. it is. No distractions. I will not be distracted.

Today, we are having a nasty ice storm, which makes me want to stay in bed. The sun is not even getting up, do I really have to? I pull myself from my warm bed anyway, and go through my morning routine, knowing that the critters still need breakfast, especially in this weather. Luckily, the church cleaning can wait another day, but I need to go online and switch back to my old cell phone, and then figure out how to return the new cell phone that can’t get a signal here. No distractions at my house.

Distraction Free Writing

At 1:30, after walking around outside taking cool ice photos, I finally settle down in my writing space and find that I can keep writing for hours. The difficult part is getting a finished piece ready for posting to my blog. I edit, then I re-edit. Two hours later and I am still editing yesterdays writing. Am I the only one who takes this much time? I want to post to my blog at least once a week, but my posts tend to run long and my photos are organized by date, not topic. I had started to sort them into folders by type but ran out of room on my hard drive. Retrieving and renaming pictures from the external drive is yet another chore on my list. I will not be distracted.

I spend 30 minutes looking at Microsoft Publisher, where I had apparently saved some blog posts last winter. Maybe I should use that instead of word? More research. More distractions. This is me trying to stick with an organized writing challenge. I will keep writing. I will not be distracted.

-Wendy lee, writing at Edgewise Woods, Gardens and Critters