Finding Your Writing Flow
Some tools I use to make my daily work easier
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I have found that using the same playlist every time I write helps me get into flow on those difficult writing days. I turn my playlist on and the words start flowing from my fingers. I find the motivation to write and write longer than I usually would while my playlist plays. I have trained my mind to write when I hear this music so my mind writes on command. It is an excellent tool to use to help me improve my production and make my self-imposed deadlines.
On the days that my mind resists even my playlist, I have other tools to use which I will share below.
- Writing around the same time every day; morning and/or evening.
- A hot cup of tea or coffee
- A quiet space
- A change of space in my home. I like to write out on my balcony, sitting at the dining room table, or on the floor in my bedroom when my usual desk and chair is feeling too confining.
- A change of place. Some days you just have to get out of your house and go visit a coffee shop, park, or sit in your car somewhere to get away from all the distractions of home.
- I will pull out a pen and notebook on the toughest days or when I want to go low-tech. I usually have a notebook with me wherever I go in case I need to write.
- Sometimes I need to get up and pace the floor while I work out a difficult writing problem.
- Call it quits. If the struggle of life is too distracting I will stop fighting to write and take a nap or do something else to care for myself. Writing is not a punishment and I need to be careful not to treat myself like a robot.
On the most difficult of writing days, I try to remember that writing is a gift. Many people do not like to write and will never know the joy of working through the challenge of getting the right words down on paper. No matter how much I may fight my writing I am drawn to it day after day.
I am blessed to have a way to work through my thoughts and feelings and come out feeling better than I found myself before I began. I think being gifted with a creative passion makes writers some of the luckiest people in the world. A little sappy? Maybe. ;-)
What are your favorite ways to get into writing flow?
Thanks for reading. I’m on Facebook. Here’s my podcast, Learning to Live Free, where I explore topics of interest to survivors of narcissistic abuse and domestic violence.