New Rhythms, New Routines

How I shattered old rhythms and forged new routines to get past some of my creative blocks: An excerpt from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write

Because so much of my writing history at the time I created my novel The MoonQuest was linked to desks, deadlines and other people’s projects, the only way I could banish old associations that felt anything but free-flowing was to break all the patterns of my previous writing life.

First I abandoned the computer, composing The MoonQuest’s early drafts with pen and paper. Next, I abandoned my desk, bound as it was to the soul-numbing words that had so recently comprised my freelance-writing livelihood.

Mornings, with a pad balanced on my knee, just before or after breakfast, I allowed The MoonQuest’s scenes to pour from my pen onto the blank page. Evenings, I input the day’s jottings into the computer.

Some days I needed a more dramatic break from the old to connect with my nascent story. On those days I often drove over North Mountain to Baxter Harbour on the Bay of Fundy. There, as the Atlantic surf crashed on the rocky Nova Scotia shore, I sat in the car or on a boulder and let the ocean tell me what to write next. A one-day change of habit and venue was all it took to put me back on track.

Here’s a suggestion:
When you feel blocked, break the pattern of your normal routine. If you normally write on the computer, switch to pen and paper. Write in the morning instead of the afternoon or evening, or vice versa. If you tend to write at your desk, move away from the perceived pressures of your "work" environment. Go for a walk to clear your mind. Take pad and pen and curl up in a comfortable chair. Sit out in nature. Move to a favorite café. Drive to some place quiet...different...inspirational. And feel the creative power of your new rhythm.

Adapted from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write (c) Mark David Gerson
• For more Voice of the Muse excerpts, visit the book's website or Facebook page
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Photo: Baxter Harbour, Nova Scotia. Photographer Unknown

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It's Getting To Be a (Writing) Habit With Me...

Everyone approaches the writing process differently. Everyone has a different way in to the blank page. Truly, there is no right or wrong way. Here's a peek into my writing life...as it is right now...


1) Do you write on the computer or longhand?

All of the above. But no quill, despite the graphic illustrating this post!

I wrote The MoonQuest entirely in longhand, though each evening I input up that morning's output so as not to be faced with having to type up the whole thing when I was done. I write about that experience and why it was so important for me in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, which itself was written partly in longhand and partly on the computer.

These days, I do most of my writing directly on the computer...unless I'm stuck, in which case pen and pad are great unstickers.


2) Is coffee or tea part of your writing routine?

I used to favor tea. Now that I have access to an excellent espresso machine , I like to write with a half-caf café americano (milk, not cream!) by my side. When I work in a café, a soy latte (also half-caf) is my drink of choice (see #7).


3) Do you write best during the day or at night?

I wrote the first 100 manuscript pages of The MoonQuest in bed in the morning, before getting up. It was the only way I could guarantee that I would get to the writing. Most of the rest of the book was also written in the morning, before the day's distractions set in. (See I Can't Write Until I...)

Parts of The Voice of the Muse were written in the car on my way to work (mornings). My MoonQuest and StarQuest screenplays were written at all hours.

Although I still prefer to write in the morning, which is when I'm doing most of my writing on The SunQuest screenplay, I do some of my best writing late in the afternoon, which is when I wrote this piece.


4) What's your favorite genre to write in?

It seems that I don't really choose my genres. They choose me...and I surrender. For example, I never expected to be writing fantasy...until The MoonQuest started spilling out of me. Even The Voice of the Muse wasn't a book I planned to write. It just sort of happened to me. And I certainly never expected to be writing screenplays, which is my current focus. Who knows what will come next!


4a) Favorite genre to read?

I spent many years devouring contemporary and older classics -- American, Canadian and European -- and have plowed through a lot of young adult fantasy, as well as books about spirituality, creativity, metaphysics and personal growth over the years. For a while, in recent years, I was taking a break from all that, reading mostly mysteries and thrillers. These days, my tastes seem to be broadening again...though they're still largely focused on fiction.


5) Do you use a pencil, pen or computer to revise/edit?

I almost never used to revise/edit onscreen, unless it was a short newsletter or a blog piece. These days, I still prefer to revise fiction in hard copy, with pen or pencil. But I nearly always edit screenplays on the screen.


6) Do you have any unusual writing quirks, traits or routines?

Earlier in my writing life, I would set up a little altar -- consisting of favorite crystals, art and other (legal) mood-altering devices. I even carried a portable version of my altar with me in the car if I thought I would be writing there. It's been a long time since I've needed that sort of help getting into a meditative space for writing. Generally, I just jump in.


7) Do you prefer writing from home or writing in a cozy cafe?

I have favorite cafés I've worked from over the years. These days, I'm doing more writing at home. But if you follow me on Facebook, you know I have a weakness for hanging out in Starbucks!


8) Do you prefer music or silence while your write?

Both. Depends on my mood. When it comes to music, I prefer something meditative if I'm writing fiction. I'm a bit more flexible with other kinds of writing.


9) What's your favorite motivational writing quote?

Mine, from The Voice of the Muse: "The story knows best." It's proven itself to be true more times than I can count -- in my writing and in my life. So has this one, which also appears in The Voice of the Muse: "Rule #1: There are no rules. There is no right way. There is no wrong way. There is only your way." Another quote, this one from The MoonQuest, also covers my writing philosophy: "You either trust or you do not. There's no halfway in between."


10) Do you have a favorite bookmark?

Any scrap of paper...when I can't lay my hands on the one my daughter made for me a few years ago.


11) What's your favorite fictional character of all time?

I hate "favorites" questions! I'd have to say that my favorite fictional character is the one who is engaging me in a given moment.


12) Who's your most admired living writer today?

See #11.


• What are your writing habits? How have they changed over the years? Please share them here.


• Both The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy, are available on my website and Amazon, as is The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Mediations for Writers. The MoonQuest is now on its way to feature-film production.

• Please "like" The MoonQuest book and movie on Facebook!

Photo by Mark David Gerson: Pencil Bluff, Arkansas

Thanks to writer L.J. Sellers for inspiring this post.

I Can't Write Until I...

“Writers never want to work, never. They all find any excuse not to sit down and look at an empty sheet of paper or a blank monitor -- the room’s too hot or too cold -- they have to go to the toilet -- pencils need sharpening -- the typewriter needs a new ribbon -- the keyboard needs cleaning -- the pictures on the wall need straightening — the wastebasket needs to be emptied — or it’s lunchtime."
~ Andrew J. Fenady, A. Night in Hollywood Forever

Although author Andrew Fenady may be speaking only for his book's main character -- a detective-turned-nonproductive-novelist -- what my blogging colleague Linda Stone calls "deceptive distraction" is an issue for most writers.

It certainly was an issue for an award-winning Albuquerque author who once lamented to me during a book signing that a certain computer game was keeping him from starting his next book. It's an issue for me, too, as I try to juggle the seemingly competing demands of creation (working on the final screenplay and novel in my Q'ntana Trilogy of fantasy films and novels), revision (revising screenplays #1 & 2 and novel #2), production (helping get a MoonQuest feature made) and the rest of my life.

It's not always easy negotiating competing demands, let alone dealing with the reluctance many writers feel about writing. (Canadian writer June Callwood once said, "I hate writing. I love having written." )

Sometimes, it's not time to write. We're not ready for the story, or it's not ready for us. Sometimes, too, we need a break from writing to regain our focus. Linda Stone calls such breaks "receptive distractions."

But if you've heard yourself utter any of the following, you probably are dealing with neither timing nor focus. You're dealing with the kind of distraction that prevents you from moving forward with your writing:

• I’d better check my email/voicemail/Facebook...

• As soon as I [insert task here], I’ll be able to write without worrying
about it.

• I can’t write on an empty stomach. I’d better get a snack...or fresh coffee...or...

• Let me just see who this is on the phone/at the door/in this new email/Facebook message...

• Let me just respond to that tweet (it's only 140 characters), Facebook message or text message...

• That bathroom floor and [insert anything here] is disgusting. I’d better clean it first...

• Oh, I really need to call/text/SMS [insert name here] before I can start.

• I can’t write until I [insert distraction here]...

• Let me just Google that, then I’ll be ready to write.

As I tell students and coaching clients, writers often have the cleanest windows, floors, fridges and toilets, the most up-to-date filing systems or the best record for returning calls or emails because, in the moment, just about any task seems more palatable than sitting down to write.

If you fall into that category, here are seven suggestions to minimize distraction and procrastination until you have completed your day’s writing (or, at least, your first installment):

1. Keep all Internet- and smartphone-related distractions out of sight and earshot until after you’ve written. Don’t check your email. Don’t open your web browser. Turn off all notifiers for email, Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging, SMS and/or smartphone apps that flash, beep or ping.

2. Don’t answer the phone or check voice mail. To avoid temptation, turn off your phone’s ringer and your cell phone while you’re writing and, if you use an answering machine, turn off the sound so that you can’t hear who’s calling. (Don’t cheat by looking at the caller ID screen!) If you're on a smartphone, either turn it off or put it in airplane mode. (Don't cheat by switching the wifi back on, which you can do on some smartphones.)

3. Don’t open the morning paper or your mail. Don’t check to see if they have arrived.

4. Don’t open your checkbook to pay bills or visit your online banking site. Don't visit any website! (Remember: You're supposed to have closed your browser!)

5. Don’t start that book you’ve been meaning to read. Don’t pick up that book you’re a few pages from finishing.

6. Don’t pick up a sponge, mop or cleaning rag.

7. Don’t do anything unrelated to writing.

Again, perform no task or errand until you have written. If that has proven impossible, keep pen and paper or laptop by your bed and don’t get up until you have written.

That was how I got through the first third of my first draft of both The MoonQuest and its first sequel, The StarQuest.

Another benefit of making writing your first assignment of the day (other than getting it done!) is that you won’t waste time during the rest of the day doing all the things you normally do to avoid writing.

What kinds of distractions to you succumb to? What strategies have worked (or not) for you? Please share them here.

And when you're done, shut down your browser or phone, free yourself of all potential distractions, open a fresh page in your word processor (or pick up pen and paper), and start writing.

Anything.

Just do it.

You can write.

Now.


• You'll find additional tips and inspiration on my website, where you can read my "Rules for Writing," sign up for my mailing list and read/hear free excerpts from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, from which this piece was adapted.

New Rhythms, New Routines

Because so much of my writing history at the time I created The MoonQuest was linked to desks, deadlines and other people’s projects, the only way I could banish old associations that felt anything but free-flowing was to break all the patterns of my previous writing life.

First I abandoned the computer, composing The MoonQuest’s early drafts with pen and paper. Next, I abandoned my desk, bound as it was to the soul-numbing words that had so recently comprised my livelihood.

Mornings, with a pad balanced on my knee, just before or after breakfast, I allowed The MoonQuest’s scenes to pour from my pen onto the blank page.

Evenings, I input the day’s jottings into the computer.

Some days I needed a more dramatic break from the old to connect with my nascent story.

On those days, I often drove over North Mountain to Baxters Harbour on the Bay of Fundy. There, as the Atlantic surf crashed on the rocky Nova Scotia shore, I sat in the car or on a boulder and let the ocean tell me what to write next.

A one-day change of habit and venue was all it took to put me back on track.

When you feel blocked in your writing, one way to get unblocked is to break the pattern of your normal creative routine.

• If you tend to write on the computer, switch to pen and paper.
• Write in the morning instead of the afternoon or evening, or vice versa.
• If you generally write at your desk, move away from the perceived pressures of your “work” environment.
• Go for a walk to clear your mind.
• Take pad and pen and curl up in a comfortable chair.
• Sit out in nature.
• Move to a favorite café.
• Drive to some place quiet...different...inspirational.

And feel the creative power of your new rhythm.

When you feel blocked in your life, the same principles apply. Break your routine. Get of your rut. Take a risk. Step out of the cocoon of your comfort zone. And discover the new light and life of your infinite potential.

What can you do today to break the patterns that are keeping you rutted in routine? Whatever it is, do it. Now.

For more tips on how to move through writer's block and live your creativity, read The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, winner of a 2009 IPPY Silver Medal as one of the top writings books of the year.

Photo of Baxters Harbour from www.baxtersharbour.com

I Can't Write Until I...

“Writers never want to work, never. They all find any excuse not to sit down and look at an empty sheet of paper or a blank monitor -- the room’s too hot or too cold -- they have to go to the toilet -- pencils need sharpening -- the typewriter needs a new ribbon -- the keyboard needs cleaning -- the pictures on the wall need straightening — the wastebasket needs to be emptied — or it’s lunchtime."
~ Andrew J. Fenady, A. Night in Hollywood Forever

Although Andrew Fenady may be speaking only for his book's main character -- a detective-turned-nonproductive-novelist -- what my blogging colleague Linda Stone calls "deceptive distraction" is an issue for most writers.

It certainly was an issue for a fellow Albuquerque author who recently lamented to me that a certain computer game was keeping him from starting his next book. It's an issue for me, too, as I try to juggle the seemingly competing demands of creation (working on the sequel to my novel, The MoonQuest) and promotion (marketing my two existing books).

It's not always easy negotiating competing demands, let alone dealing with the reluctance many writers feel about writing. (Canadian writer June Callwood once said, "I hate writing. I love having written." )

Sometimes, it's not time to write. We're not ready for the story, or it's not ready for us. Sometimes, too, we need a break from writing to regain our focus. Linda Stone calls such breaks "receptive distractions." (I'll be writing about both those situations in future posts.)

But if you've heard yourself utter any of the following, you probably are dealing with neither timing nor focus. You're dealing with distraction:

• I’d better check my e-mail/voice mail...

• As soon as I [insert task here], I’ll be able to write without worrying
about it.

• I can’t write on an empty stomach. I’d better get a snack...or fresh coffee...or...

• Let me just see who this is on the phone/at the door/in this new
e-mail...

• Let me just respond to that tweet from Twitter; it's only 140 characters...

• That bathroom floor and [insert anything here] is disgusting. I’d
better clean it first...

• Oh, I really need to call [insert name here] before I can start.

• I can’t write until I [insert distraction here]...

• Let me just look that up on the Internet, then I’ll be ready to write.

As I tell students and coaching clients, writers often have the cleanest windows, floors, fridges and toilets, the most up-to-date filing systems or the best record for returning calls or emails because, in the moment, just about any task seems more palatable than sitting down to write.

If you fall into that category, here are seven suggestions to minimize distraction and procrastination until you have completed your day’s writing (or, at least, your first installment):

1. Keep all Internet-related distractions out of sight and earshot until after you’ve written. Don’t check your e-mail. Don’t open your web browser. Turn off all e-mail, Twitter, instant messaging and other notifiers that flash, beep or ping.

2. Don’t answer the phone or check voice mail. To avoid temptation, turn off your phone’s ringer and your cell phone while you’re writing and, if you use an answering machine, turn off the sound so that you can’t hear who’s calling. (Don’t cheat by looking at the caller ID screen!)

3. Don’t open the morning paper or your mail. Don’t check to see if they have arrived.

4. Don’t open your checkbook to pay bills or visit your online banking site.

5. Don’t start that book you’ve been meaning to read. Don’t pick up that book you’re a few pages from finishing.

6. Don’t pick up a sponge, mop or cleaning rag.

7. Don’t do anything unrelated to writing.

Again, perform no task or errand until you have written. If that has proven impossible, keep pen and paper or laptop by your bed and don’t get up until you have written. That was how I got through the first 100 pages of my first draft of The MoonQuest.

Another benefit of making writing your first assignment of the day (other than getting it done!) is that you won’t waste time during the rest of the day doing all the things you normally do to avoid writing.

What kinds of distractions to you succumb to? What strategies have worked (or not) for you? Please share them here.

And when you're done, close your browser, free yourself of all potential distractions, open a fresh page in your word processor (or pick up pen and paper), and start writing. Anything. Just do it. You can write. Now.

~ adapted from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write