How to keep writing while life keeps life-ing.
Six things I do when it’s all a bit much
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The last few months have been officially full on. From difficult personal and family stuff to promoting my second novel all over the UK, to going on holiday (not a hardship, but still busy!) it has been a while since I have had a full week at home, just me and the page. I’ve started to feel itchy with the need to get back to a regular writing routine.
Like most people, for me, writing is more than a job. There is something about the process of storytelling that takes me out of my ‘always on,’ always noisy, fretting mind and places me somewhere almost magical, then sends me back to the world calmer, and more grounded than before. It is my medicine. Even writing my weekly Substack somehow ‘rights’ me.
So how do I keep writing when life seems to be conspiring to prevent it?
My first novel, The List of Suspicious Things was written during lockdown, when I had little else to do (having taken redundancy from my job only months before, and living alone). I now realise that was a luxury I probably won’t have again. My second; The Barbecue at No.9, was written in the spaces I could find in an almost two-year publicity whirlwind that was my debut novel.
When people ask, ‘how on earth did you find the time?’ I think back and wonder the same, but having faced similar time challenges lately I’ve realised there are some things I have learned to do to make sure the writing gets done.
‘Touch’ the manuscript once every day.
One of the most difficult things about dipping in and out of writing with long gaps in between sessions, is the time spent getting back into it. It can almost feel like starting again. When life is a lot, and writing time is limited there’s something about keeping close to the words and story in whatever form that I find really helps.
