I edited the first draft of a blog post today, taking breaks between writing sessions. I was concerned the breaks cause me to lose my focus. Surprisingly, though, I felt less stressed overall when editing. I often get stuck when editing (perfectionism?) but using a timer and taking breaks motivated me to “just do it!” I’m going to try this practice again.
Once I came over to actually read the post, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to eat chocolates for 25 minutes. But, I do like this kind of permission to be unfocused. I’ve been typing up bits of quotes to see if I can categorize them into two or three paragraphs and then wandering off again. (And I’m imagining that I might go back and pick up the missed writing challenges when we’ve finished the thirty days - I’ve got a calendar missing several checks now.)
I’m just back, too. It’s been a huge couple of weeks, with a 3-day heatwave (temperatures around 42-45C/107-113F each day) followed by bushfires. Sunny the cat and I evacuated to my mum’s, and my partner was out firefighting. Weirdly, I was able to use the heatwave to get a lot of writing done during the heatwave; it was too hot to do much else. The fires have scattered my thoughts, though, and recovery activities make it hard to find time or concentration. Many homes in the towns and farms near us have been burnt down.
Snack writing is perfectly timed for this moment.
By the way, Helen, I decided on the day after our evacuation that I would draw a Tarot card to help focus my thoughts. I drew…the Tower! How apt.
Pam, that sounds harrowing! I do hope your house and property are okay? I've got one tarot deck that shows the Tower card as a tree that's been struck by lightning and all but destroyed, but there's already new life sprouting. It's a lovely metaphor for making a dramatic new beginning, but not something anyone would actually choose to experience in real life...
Thanks, yes, no damage to my place but I have friends who lost everything while they were out fighting the fires elsewhere. It is harrowing, for sure. As you say, though, there are new beginnings too, and an extraordinarily strong sense of community. Many, many stories to tell.
Back after a few days of not being able to get here. I wanted to snack write, but failed—the timer went off, I thought "I'll just finish this bit" and 40 minutes later...
But I wasn't really writing (working on tables), so I'm going to try again with a blog post... I have SO MUCH NON-WRITING WORK TO DO, though, being on half-vacation during the toughest time of our academic year (marking the last semester while prepping the new semester).
I edited the first draft of a blog post today, taking breaks between writing sessions. I was concerned the breaks cause me to lose my focus. Surprisingly, though, I felt less stressed overall when editing. I often get stuck when editing (perfectionism?) but using a timer and taking breaks motivated me to “just do it!” I’m going to try this practice again.
I too resist taking breaks, yet often find them surprisingly helpful!
Once I came over to actually read the post, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to eat chocolates for 25 minutes. But, I do like this kind of permission to be unfocused. I’ve been typing up bits of quotes to see if I can categorize them into two or three paragraphs and then wandering off again. (And I’m imagining that I might go back and pick up the missed writing challenges when we’ve finished the thirty days - I’ve got a calendar missing several checks now.)
You are welcome to accompany your snack writing sessions with actual snacks!
I’m just back, too. It’s been a huge couple of weeks, with a 3-day heatwave (temperatures around 42-45C/107-113F each day) followed by bushfires. Sunny the cat and I evacuated to my mum’s, and my partner was out firefighting. Weirdly, I was able to use the heatwave to get a lot of writing done during the heatwave; it was too hot to do much else. The fires have scattered my thoughts, though, and recovery activities make it hard to find time or concentration. Many homes in the towns and farms near us have been burnt down.
Snack writing is perfectly timed for this moment.
By the way, Helen, I decided on the day after our evacuation that I would draw a Tarot card to help focus my thoughts. I drew…the Tower! How apt.
Pam, that sounds harrowing! I do hope your house and property are okay? I've got one tarot deck that shows the Tower card as a tree that's been struck by lightning and all but destroyed, but there's already new life sprouting. It's a lovely metaphor for making a dramatic new beginning, but not something anyone would actually choose to experience in real life...
Thanks, yes, no damage to my place but I have friends who lost everything while they were out fighting the fires elsewhere. It is harrowing, for sure. As you say, though, there are new beginnings too, and an extraordinarily strong sense of community. Many, many stories to tell.
It's good to read you are okay.
Thanks, Mary.
PS: too many heatwaves in that sentence up there. Scattered, indeed!
Back after a few days of not being able to get here. I wanted to snack write, but failed—the timer went off, I thought "I'll just finish this bit" and 40 minutes later...
But I wasn't really writing (working on tables), so I'm going to try again with a blog post... I have SO MUCH NON-WRITING WORK TO DO, though, being on half-vacation during the toughest time of our academic year (marking the last semester while prepping the new semester).
I managed one more snack!
Micro-progress is still progress!