Your Writing Deserves The Time On Your Clock.
Art For Art's Sake: Vol 2 Part 23
Author Note:
Rubina’s Bojra is going on a break for the rest of 2023, starting 22nd Nov. I’ll be using this time to upgrade my 2024 content. New essays will be available from Jan 2024.
A few months back, I was listening to Cal Newport's podcast, The Deep Life, when he said the following -
"Work slowly but relentlessly on what matters."
That statement sealed itself in my mind and on my bulletin board.
During that same time, I watched this video by writer Christy Anne Jones, where she pulled late-nighters and finished the final lap of the fourth draft of her fantasy novel in 17 days.
These two made me wonder what I am doing with my fiction writing life.
While my online essay writing gets done on time because of its urgent nature, my fiction writing always tends to get the back burner.
I tried every way to make my novel and short story writing a regular part of my week, but nothing worked out. Until I realised that I had to do two things.
First, I have to cut back on my essay writing. Which I did by switching from posting my essays twice-a-week to once-a-week. Therefore saving some of my words and my time for fiction writing.
Second, I have to figure out a time in the day that will be solely dedicated to writing my fiction stories.
This is when the third aid came to my help. That too in the form of a book - Listen to Your Heart: The London Adventure by Ruskin Bond - which I had read a month earlier.
In this book, Bond shares how he would work at his monotonous job during the day and then after dinner, he would head to his room and work on his novel, The Room On The Roof.
Putting the three influences together, I figured out a routine where I finished my house chores by 8:30 p.m., wished everyone good night, headed to my desk and wrote my stories by hand for at least 2 hours.
Your writing deserves the time on your clock. Figure out how and chip in as little or as much every day as possible.
