Welcome back.
For first timers, go back to Posts #1 through #6. That's all you need to become a respected author. It's your
one year apprenticeship. If you have any questions about how I became a
published author let me know in the comments.
Let's discuss Natalie's
Book, (Post #3). How do you do what she asks? Write non-stop for
fifteen minutes? Sounds simple. After reading it the first time, I
thought, hell, fifteen minutes, come on. First time I tried it, I wrote non-stop for a full two hours. Just kept writing, didn't stop. 8 pages. Nothing to this. I felt inspired.
That day I typed my handwritten scrawl into my laptop when I got back to my
loft. That's when I saw it. Around page four my rough handwriting
started repeating itself, and I began to lose focus, adding words like,
'focus, focus, focus,' and 'just keep your hand moving, moving,
moving.' I lost my direction pages five through 8. Something was
wrong. I wasn't adding anything new. Was five pages my limit? I
wanted to write so much more.
It was exciting my first
day, writing in my spiral notebook, but the next day I only wrote for an
hour, a struggle to finally finish eight pages. The days that followed, my enthusiasm certainly dropped. It wasn't all that much fun anymore, but hell, I had to do it.
So I sat back, pulled out my cell phone and Goggled 'How to focus while
writing,' hoping for a solution. Fortunately, I stumbled upon The
Pomodoro Technique. Just in time since I felt a low grade headache approaching, page one in my notebook staring up at me, blank.
Essentially this technique eliminates burnout, eliminates the problem
of procrastination, and OMG it also helps prevents writer's block.
Natalie uses something similar. She writes for 15 minutes then takes a
break.
Pomodoro? It's Italian for tomato. Tomato?
Yeah, tomato. It comes from a kitchen timer! You've seen them, (Check
the picture). It’s shaped like a small tomato with numbers around the
top. Twist it to 10, come back 10 minutes later, it dings. To
prevent stares, at the coffee shop I use my cell phone.
The Pomodoro System breaks down work into 25 minute intervals, a five minute break, then back to work.
So I tested it for a couple of days to see if this would work for me. I
was working on the background for my major characters for my next book,
Muscles in Red Wine. I was starting to lose my steam, my excitement,
plotting out the story. But this system got me going again. The
notebook didn't feel so heavy walking up to the coffee shop.
After experimenting for a week, I developed my own system.
30 minutes (non-stop writing) then a 5 minute break. A second 30
minutes then increasing to a 10 minute break, then 30, and 15 break. I continued with
15 minute breaks until I finished 8 pages in my notebook. (Pomordoro30)
During the breaks, I relaxed. Nothing mental. Just stared out the
window. My suggestion; If you’re in a coffee shop, look up at the
other people, say hello, maybe even, (shall I say it?) smile. Me, after saying hello, I
do my eye exercises. Yep. Blinking, distant looking, exercise the up
and down muscles in your eyes. Your eyes take a beating staring into a
computer screen. (FYI, there's a free App for these exercises).
And it worked. My notebook scrawl didn't degenerate into repetitive
crap after page 5. An obvious improvement. And no headaches.
Enthusiasm rekindled. I was excited to find a simple solution to
something many writers dread.
It's a LifeHack, a
trick to get stuff done. This system also works for your reading. It
keeps your mind fresh. Holds your enthusiasm. Rewards you with those
increasing breaks.
Check it out. Writers have to read and write. Try this. It works for me.
Until next time. Together we can get this done.
Later...
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