I know now why I shied away from writing a blog for so long. Sometimes, you just don’t have anything in you. I’m a little fascinated by some of the “lifestyle” vloggers that for years will make these cinematic, story-oriented videos week after week. And the stories are… I don’t want to be mean, but they are usually just a few minutes of “something” and then 10 to 20 minutes of… filler? Fluff? I mean, the long pan across a landscape or a few seconds spent super-zoomed-in on a flower is visually appealing, but it’s really about creating a vibe, or more correctly, reinforcing the creator’s “brand” with their signature style. I mean, I get it, but it must be an enormous amount of pressure. I don’t think I could do it. Just writing a blog is exhausting and I haven’t even really been trying to keep up with it like I was when I started earlier this year. If I was doing it to make money, I’d be starving to death.
But, as I stated: sometimes you just don’t have anything in you. How can you splash something on the screen when your tank is empty? I know it’s been a struggle for me the past few months.
And then I realized that 99% of it is TIME.
I took today off work, and while I do have some things to do, it’s been a very leisurely morning lingering over coffee and catching up on some minor loose ends. And with a little space to breathe, finally found some time to write.
A lot of professional writers’ advice to new writers is to get up very early in the morning to work before family and job obligations can intrude. That’s good advice and something I would suggest, even though it’s had limited benefit for me personally, because you also need time to read, to ponder, and to process. I suppose that early morning is good for some people to do that, but my optimal time to do it is mid-morning. After coffee, but before lunch is when my brain appears to reach its peak. And guess what I’m doing at 10-ish a.m. every morning? Working. Giving my brain power to someone else so that they can make money. Sadly, it’s not even in a business segment that I care about. If it was, at least I could write about things that I deal with each week but it’s just so uninteresting to me. I have considered a blog that deals with the industry, but I have a hard time relating to people who do find it interesting. It’s still in the back of my mind, so I haven’t yet subconsciously abandoned it.
Outside of my premium brain time, I have just a few rare minutes to devote to reading (that’s reading for pleasure, not even counting reading for self-improvement while taking notes), processing thoughts/notes into ideas/knowledge, and writing.
So, I guess the point of this post is that you need to carve out time. It’s not always possible to keep the obligations and — if I’m being honest — the laziness at bay, but the reward is at least some sense of satisfaction.
[I] don’t like to write, but like having written. –novelist Frank Norris
But the ideas have to come from somewhere, and absent the rare flash of insight in the shower, or a spontaneous burst of activity that just happens to show up during your writing session, you have to read, take notes, ponder, sketch out your thoughts on the subject and then you will have something to use. You can’t reap what you don’t sow.
I’ve gotten back in the habit of reading for pleasure before bed. I spend just a few minutes each night, but it’s a nice bit of escapism at the end of the day. Occasionally I’ll get an ebook and keep my notes app open on my tablet to do a little self-improvement reading, but that’s hard when my brain really just wants to shut down. Still, I’ve found that it really helps to fill the tank for later writing time.
How do you carve out the time? Not just to write, but to read, ponder, and formulate your ideas? I’d love suggestions.
