What I've Learned About Fitting a Major Writing Project into an Already Tight Schedule

I officially take back everything I ever said in the past about fellow writers who couldn't manage to stick with their NaNoWriMo projects all the way to the end of the event. Back when I used to win NaNo all the time, I didn't have anything close to a full line-up of professional and personal responsibilities to manage the way I do now. It's an entirely different ballgame when you do, as it takes more than just discipline and an iron will to keep all those balls in the air. Hats off to anyone who can make it work.

That said, I'm hanging in there pretty well this year myself. I've been staying on par with my NaNoWriMo word count every single day without exception. Keeping up with everything else writing-related I have on my plate was a challenge last week, so I spent a lot of this week playing catch-up with things like my Medium posts. I've figured out a few things along the way, though. May they help those of you who will struggle in the future to add an additional project to your writing schedules when you're already busy like a mo-fo. 

You don't find the time. You make it.

I've written some Medium content about how to optimize your ongoing schedule for maximum productivity. I'm repeating the gist of what I said here because that's how important it is that you get it. I hear people continuously talk about wishing they had time to do what they want to do because they're just so busy. 

That's the thing, though. Everyone's busy -- everyone -- and I can assure you a lot of the hyper-productive people you know are a lot busier than you probably are. They have the same 24 hours to work with every day that you do. They just got super serious about streamlining their schedules, so they're not wasting time on a bunch of bullshit, is all.

On NaNoWriMo and Other November Challenges

I'm not about to sit here and tell you it's been easy to find room in my daily schedule to produce 1667 words of creative writing every day, but I'm already glad I decided to write something for NaNoWriMo this year. Since the last time I mentioned it, I've solidified my project concept quite a bit. It is indeed a collection of short flash fictions, and I did go ahead with the idea of writing a new one every day instead of devoting multiple days to any one piece -- much better for staying excited about the project and much harder to write myself into an inescapable corner. 

I also decided to take things one step further and use a song as a prompt for each story, so I'm calling it Harmony Uncaged for now. Anyone interested can click the NaNo banner in my sidebar to check out my progress, read whatever excerpt I've uploaded most recently, and access a Spotify playlist with all the song prompts in it. I've been very good about hitting my word count every day, and I'm having a blast with the project so far. Seth's been enjoying listening to the song prompts and reading the associated stories every day, as well, so I even have a tiny audience cheering me on.

It feels indescribably good to be producing creative writing again. Journaling and blogging will always likely be my fiercest loves regarding how I choose to express myself, but there's something about letting my imagination run wild that just feels so good. It makes me want to get back into my poetry again at some point, as well. 

Authenticity: The X-Factor That Makes Your Writing Pop

I get it. As writers, we want our work to resonate with people. We want them to read it and -- hopefully -- come back at some point in the future to read more of it. We agonize over how we can make that happen, meaning we try to figure out what people want, and that's fine. But if you're not also carving out a little piece of your heart and weaving it into what you're writing in one way or another, your writing will miss the mark. It will register as empty, dull, inane, and lackluster. No wants to read more of that. There's already way too much of it out there.

I'm lucky in that I fell head over heels in love with writing through personal journaling, so I've had a literal lifetime's worth of practice when it comes to making sure my writing is intimate enough. In fact, I'd almost argue that I've had the opposite problem most writers today have. If I'm not careful, I wind up injecting more of myself into my work than people even want to see. Whichever direction you're coming from, establishing and maintaining the right balance is the key to getting where you want to be with what you're doing.

Be Truly Genuine and Vulnerable

I read an article on authentic writing from a favorite writer on Medium recently that actually took me aback a little. He seemed to be arguing that no writer is ever truly genuine when they open up a vein for you and expose their more vulnerable side. He talked about how they're really only doing it because it gets them clicks, views, read, and comments.