Finding Your Own Rhythm...Some Suggestions

I have been a writer since I was 17.

Bit by bit, over the years, as I got better at it, my writing expanded. Seven years after I started writing blank verse and weird little tributes to Ogden Nash, I was a professional copywriter working at one of the hottest agencies in Canada at the time.

But I never called myself a copywriter. Just a writer. Because writing advertising copy was only one of the things I liked to write.

Every writer writes all kinds of things throughout the course of their life. Sometimes just to try them out. Other times, to add them to their skill set, and be more useful in the world.

But it’s all in aid of one overarching cause, which is the fine art of finding your own rhythm.

What Does That Really Mean?

In a superficial sense it has to do with figuring out when you feel like writing. Because even though I love it, there are times when I feel like it is consuming me and my instinct is to get the hell away from it.

So you stay very mindful of your moods, because the last thing you want to do when you are a writer is to fight with yourself.

So Point #1: If you don’t feel like writing, don’t do it. It will be unproductive and depressing. Go do something else. Think about something else. Get immersed in something else. All work and no play…yadda yadda.

About Inspiration

In the deeper sense, it’s important to teach yourself to recognize inspiration and seize the moment when that happens. Even if it’s just to get the thought down somehow.

A good example of that is this post. I had just finished my breakfast and was cleaning up in the kitchen when this title popped into my head.

Obviously I was thinking about writing something original today. But I was also thinking about going for a ride, which I do at different times in the morning.

But this idea crystallized in my head and took precedence. So here I am.

And that brings me to Point #2. There really is no such thing as a consistent rhythm, because your mind doesn’t work that way.

Abstract and semi-formed thoughts bounce around in there all the time. And every once in a while one crystallizes, and something deep inside you tells you that’s the one you should go after. That’s the one with the legs.

The Big Issues Of When & How Much To Write

I know a lot of writers who adhere to a fairly strict schedule. These people are disciplined and know themselves well enough to understand that if they don’t have a schedule to stick to they will simply not get things done.

Many of them give themselves quotas in terms of words or pages written. My daughter, who is a published novelist, works this way. She is convinced that if she doesn’t set deadlines and goals, she would never get anywhere.

So Point #3 is, quite simply, figure out how much discipline you need to get your writing done.

I personally do not adhere to a tight schedule, because I have a great deal of control over my time with the paid writing I do. But having said that, I still work as quickly and diligently as I can because in my business it’s very easy to get swamped and that makes me crazy.

But the other writing, like my self-promotion, my lyric writing and my blogging is done solely by inspiration.

So, in essence, how much discipline you need may actually depend on the kind of writing you do and the kind of person you are.

There Is No Secret Sauce

If you have read this far you will realize that no one can actually tell you what your own rhythm should be. These have just been things to consider when trying to find that rhythm.

What works for me works for me. But by thinking about it in this way, hopefully you will be able find your own unique rhythm and it will serve you well.

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