How can you write during a full work day?
As provided in this excellent answer by @what, there is a certain 'creative time,' for writing, when you can write the best. I've been aware of this for awhile, though I never really saw it for what it was until recently.
Unfortunately (and I doubt that I'm alone), my creative time is taken up with a job. I have an hour or two at the end of the day, but by then I am tired and merely want to relax. On the few occasions I've tried writing at this time, what I've turned out has been in general weak. The only real time I have to write is on the weekends, and even then I usually feel more like relaxing from the week than writing.
Is there a way I can move my creative time to a more convenient time of day? Switching jobs isn't really an option in my particular case.
1 answer
The way I see it, there are two different sorts of 'creative time'. There are bouts of inspiration, where new plot ideas and insights into character development arise, and there are 'inspired moments', where prose comes out more smoothly and you're just generally more productive. Insight-y creative time can usually be solved by quickly jotting something down onto a notebook or phone. However, you seem to be referring to the second sort of 'creative time'.
You can't condition yourself into feeling truly inspired, but there are times when you feel more productive than others. You should try to analyze when you feel most creative. For example, I write a lot after/while I'm in the process of going to sleep, because I have time to mull over whatever project I'm working on.
Writing (especially when you're starting out) requires discipline. You have to train yourself into following leads and developing them into a story. If you have time during the evenings, use it to write. During your commute home, consider an idea and force yourself to write something about it when you get home, even if it's just a paragraph. As long as you're not completely dead on your feet, if you get excited enough about an idea, you can trick yourself into forgetting about fatigue.
Don't worry if some of your stuff is weak. Writing always improves over time and even then, Sturgeon's Law still applies.
So. Don't rely on 'true creative time' to do your writing. Create your 'productive time' by thinking about what you're going to write before you actually go ahead and do it. Discipline, practice and consistency should help to increase both the quality and the quantity of your work.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/19802. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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