Writing in Chaos

This post was originally featured in my newsletter but I wanted to share it here too.

I know last newsletter I talked about modules and game design a bit, but this month, I am veering into a totally different topic. The month of June has been my most productive writing month this year. I've managed over 45,000 words written during June's 30 days! I'm incredible proud of that, since I've been really struggling this year. (For example, I wrote 18,000 words in May.)

Basically, everyone I know is struggling right now. Between the tension in the world, the crushing rise of AI in creative fields, and just general exhaustion, people are having a hard time. Me too. But this month, I put in some guardrails in place to help myself out and it honestly has made a difference. I wanted to share those and just some general advice for y'all. 

My word count for June! I haven’t put in the final amount for June 30 (today), but it puts me at over 45,000 for the month! Click on the picture for a link to where you can get the spreadsheet I use to track my words.

1. No Internet Before 9am or after 8pm

Why these times? Because it lets me start my day without social media/doomscrolling/news/memes taking over my day before its begun or when I should be settling in for bed. I've not been perfect at it for sure, but just making the effort of not turning to my phone first thing in the morning has been hugely helpful. 

2. Enjoying New Things

Finding new movies/books/games to focus on has been hugely helpful. Previously I had been very 'I'll watch *insert new tv show here* after I finish this project' and while that does have its place, it also means I don't get inspired by other's work as often. Allowing myself to fall into new things (like the manga series I mentioned above or the sensational K-Pop Demon Hunter) have helped to refill the creative well in my heart and made me want to work on my own projects. 

3. Improving My Attention

My attention span is awful. After years of short videos and doing 19 things at once, I have a hard time just focusing on any one thing for a period of time. But that makes creating especially challenging when I want to weave a complicated plot or clever puzzle. To help with that, I've been focusing on things that require my entire attention. For me, that's been Murdle (mostly in physical book form) and R.E.P.O. on my computer. Both require my total focus.
Murdle forces me to use logic to figure who the murderer is based on a limited number of clues. R.E.P.O. is a video game where you play as a little robot collecting items to meet the quotas a strange entity demands of you. BUT there are terrifying creatures waiting for you and a moment of inattention and its all over for your little robot. The game also has a bonus of being a great co-op game so playing with friends makes it more social (and falls into enjoying new things too)! 

4. Focusing On Things I Can Do 

It is so easy to collapse into the 'everything is on fire and I have to stare at it' mindset. I still often spend far too much time doomscrolling through the horrible things happening in the world and feeling hopeless and powerless. So what I've done is put together a list of things I can do. For me, that's call elected officials about issues I'm worried about, write letters to my local newspapers, donate to my local libraries, and volunteer with some organizations focused on literacy. When I get too overwhelmed, I turn to one of these things to help me feel less powerless. 

5. Lowering the Bar

I have very high expectations for myself. My to-do lists are usually 40-50 things a day, and I get stressed when I can't get to all of them. So I've started to put fewer things on my list where I can and trying to save my energy for the creative work I want to complete. That might look like dinner being a microwaved meal instead of something from scratch on days when I'm having a hard time with just existing. It also means trying to not beat myself up for making those choices. This is honestly the one I've struggled with the most, but it has made the biggest difference. 

It isn't a perfect system and I definitely still have bad days where I flop on the couch and stare into the void to let it consume me. But, I've had more days where I can at least get up and do some things, so I'll take that as a win. 

What kind of things have worked for you? 

Be Boring

When I was first starting to really take myself seriously as a writer (as in writing every day and trying to actively get published), I remember thinking that I was way too boring to write anything exciting. I mean, I don't do drugs, or get black out drunk every night. I don't go wild and travel through dangerous areas in the dead of night. Hell, I think the most dangerous thing I do on a regular basis is walk into my bookshelf nearly every morning when I'm getting ready for work because despite nearly a year of it being in the same place, it's always a surprise!

I grew up with stories about the wild antics of writings, with the motto 'write drunk, edit sober' being thrown around by everyone I knew. I always thought I was too much of a bore to fit in, but what I've found over the last few years has been the opposite. Schedules actually help me keep at my writing more than any sort of wild life ever could. 

Knowing that I'm home by 4 every day and sticking to the schedule lets me prepare to write. It's become a habit now. I don't have to sit and wait to be inspired to write, it's simply 4:00 and time to write. Most of the writers I know who are successful do this. They write and take care of themselves. There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large, the writers who are making it in the creative world work on schedules, not whims. 

Now clearly not every day works out in an ideal way, but having a steady life where I am not totally clueless about what's coming next helps keep me grounded. When I'm not stressing about what's going to happen tomorrow (or where I'm going to get my next fix) keeps me focused on the story at hand. I've fond that the only real way to get any writing accomplished is really simple: sit on your butt (or stand at your standing desk) and write. There's nothing else that puts the words into the world. Not talking about writing, not daydreaming, not reading. At the end of the day the only way to write is.... to write.

And a boring, stable life helps that happen.

Now, that doesn't mean you have to keep a boring life in all aspects. Try new things, travel to new places, eat weird food that you can't pronounce, and do things that scare you, but never feel like having a stable life is a disadvantage when it comes to being creative.

Using No to Make More Time to Write

Making the time to write isn't always a matter of just sitting down and writing. It often means saying no to a lot of other things, things you may really want to do. It isn't a choice between 'scrub the grout in my shower' or write. More often than not, it's 'play this new game I'm excited about' or write. It's a eries of scarficies made. But how do you get to the point where that feels doable? Here are some things that have helped me find my way to putting writing first. As always, your mileage may vary, so take what works for you and leave the rest. 

1. Write out a list of all the things vying for your time. 
See what all is on there. You can make this as exhaustive as you want. Include all the nitty-gritty like grocery shopping, bathroom cleaning, etc., if you want to, but it works just as well with only the big things on your list. Your family, friends, favorite TV shows, favorite games or other hobbies, everything that calls to you. 

2. Prioritize the list. 
Be ruthless if you have to. For me, that's meant that I keep up on very, very, very few shows anymore. I made the commitment that writing was more important than having seen the latest Games of Thrones episode. For you, maybe that means that you only go to game night with your friends every other week. Figure out what you're willing to sacrifice now so you don't have to figure that out in the moment. 

3. Commit to it. 
If you decide that once every other week for games is all you can manage, tell your friends and stick to it. It's going to be hard for a while, but it will slowly become a habit and take less willpower to do. Write out what you'll say to yourself about putting your writing first, give yourself support. Future you will thank you. 

4. Forgive yourself when you screw up. 
A bad day at the day job can send you into a Netflix marathon without much of a thought. That's okay. Beating yourself about it, isn't going to make it any better. In fact, beating yourself up is only going to make it harder to get back to the writing. 

5. Do not sacrifice things required for a healthy life. 
I know there's a #goals around not sleeping and hustling harder, but that is not a great way to live. Sacrifcing your health is not the answer. 

Taking time now to commit 100% to your writing is the way forward and the way to help keep your writing going. I'm not going to say it won't require sacrifice, because it will. Right now I've not watched American Gods, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, The Handmaid's Tale, Blackish, and on and on and on because that is what I've decided to sacrifice to make the time to write. 
But you can do it!