How I Organized My Writing

When I wrote about my need for order ,which exists in a miserably unhappy marriage with my complete aversion to order, I ended that post with a declaration that I must organize my writing. At the time I posted said declaration, I believed my real problem stemmed from the fact that I lacked a physical space, organized "just so."

I've come to realize that isn't really the issue and I believe I've found the solution. Having a good space for writing is a lovely idea. The sad truth, however, is that I could have a fabulous space full of sunlight, flowers and inspiring music but it would last me two weeks at most. Boredom with physical space sets upon me quickly - it's always lurking in the background, ready to ruin a perfectly nice room.

At the end of January, someone in my local NaNoWriMo group asked if anyone would like to do a mini-WriMo. She indicated she wanted to continue working on her novel and a lightbulb went off in my mind. I committed to writing/editing every single day during February. So far, so good. Some days I'm only editing a few pages, but until I sit down and get to work for the day it's nagging at the back of my mind. I breathe easier and smile more now that I'm working with my words again.

It turns out that what I really needed was the HABIT of working on my novel each day, not a particular physical setting. When it gets right down to it, that's better in the long run because I crave this work all the time, even if I'm not near one of my two or three typical writing spaces. It's a form of organization, but it's loose. I'm following a simple rule: open my novel and work each day. By refusing to set other limits on myself (insisting on a certain number of pages or minutes each day), I have absolutely no excuse for failing to follow this system. If I have 10 minutes, I can work. So that's exactly what I do.

Well, that and tell my friends about it on my blog so you guys will hold me accountable.

So I do exactly that.