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It's audio time!
On Writing Time and 'Real Life'
I just made this 4-minute MP3 recording of me reading this article while my daughter slept peacefully in the next room -- shhhhh. ;)
Look forward to hearing your feedback. If you like the MP3, please share it with your friends!
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On Writing Time and 'Real Life': 4 Steps for Smooth Transitions
by Marla Beck
Engaging with the World
Yesterday I watched my little daughter harvest a small, blue egg from our neighbor's chicken coop.
Feeling its just-hatched warmth, she rested the petite marvel in her right hand. She stood completely still for a moment and lifted her arm carefully, clutching the egg with just the right amount of pressure. She stared at its watercolor blueness intently, fully engaged with the experience.
Then, a dog came by.
Annabelle stepped purposefully towards the dog's wagging tail. She stooped down to look at a single, brown feather on the ground before announcing her discovery gleefully to the clouds and the sun.
As we left the neighbor's yard and headed back home, my little one stretched as far as she could to try and reach the gate latch with her left hand -- the one that wasn't still clutching the little blue egg.
Focusing to Write
I don't have to tell you that we writers are curious folk. Like three-year-olds, we easily engage with the world around us. In our creative work, this ability to get involved with life -- to pursue leads, to ask questions, to try something new -- is an awesome asset!
But when we're actually writing, this tendency to get involved with our environment isn't always a good thing. Much too often (and often unnoticed by us), our attention spans get yoked by intriguing stimuli from our environment.
We tend lose our place. Without awareness, we forget to tend to the creative treasures in our care.
The Wide-Awake Transition: Four Easy Steps
The secret to balancing "real life" with creative focus is the art making wide-awake transitions between these two ways of being. Here's how.
Step #1. Pause
Before you reach for the ringing phone, pursue an intriguing hyperlink, or give in to the temptation to click over to check your Facebook news feed just one more time (we've all been there!), pause for a moment.
Ask yourself:
- Am I really ready to put down the blue egg?
- Or am I willing to persist with my writing for just ten more minutes?
Step #2. Leave Tracks
If you do choose to stop writing right now, make the decision to do so with awareness. Pause and leave a few creative tracks for yourself. (Give yourself the very best chance of returning--productively--to your blue egg!)
Leave tracks for yourself by:
- Sketching out the inklings of the storyline you're working on.
- Making a list of what's left to do to wrap up that article.
- Noting exactly where you'd like to pick up again when you return to your writing desk.
Step #3. Ground Yourself
If you can, after you leave tracks, sit still for a moment longer. Notice how you've situated your back, your spine. Sense the feeling of your back against the chair.
Ground your awareness in the present moment.
Step #4. Plan Your Future, Enjoy the Present
Most importantly? Decide exactly when you will return to your blue egg. Then until you return, enjoy your time away from writing...guilt-free.
You've put your treasure down gingerly. The blue egg is in good care.
c. 2010 Marla Beck. photo credit: WoodleyWonderWorks (Flickr)
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Need more time to write? Sign up for my free e-course, "5 Keys to Making Time to Write," at http://www.CoachMarla.com/ecourse-mtw.html. For more great ideas for writers, visit my blog at http://www.TheRelaxedWriter.com.
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