Here are two similar pieces by Daphne Gray-Grant about how to accomplish more as a writer (Article One, Article Two).
I want to focus on a single suggestion Gray-Grant makes in both, which is to write in whatever few moments you can snatch away from other things you’re doing. You’re dressed and ready to go to the party, but you don’t have to leave for fifteen minutes? Use that time to write. Dinner’s in the oven and the buzzer won’t go off for twenty minutes? Write. Someone’s going to pick you up in ten minutes to go somewhere? Write.
I suppose there are people who do this naturally. After all, there generally seems to be someone in every endeavor who can do it naturally. This sort of writing would require a remarkable ability to compartmentalize and the mental agility to move smoothly and swiftly between disparate tasks and thoughts.
I, on the other hand, like to know that I’m going to have lots of mental room to wander around in, unimpeded by the obstacles of the rest of my daily life. I don’t want to make a good start and get the flow going only to be interrupted by more pressing needs. Certainly I jot down ideas for future use, and maybe I write a paragraph or two about where a story could go. But to actually do the writing when I know I’m going to have to stop soon — a timed writing exercise, in effect — would be a new experience.
And now I’m curious about trying the piecemeal approach. I wonder if I can teach myself to weave more fluidly around the distractions and make good use of whatever moments I can reclaim?
What about you? Do you or can you work this way? Are there any tricks or tips you can share for making it work?
