Writing in the summer can be easier for some (day job in a slow period, vacation time, longer days) and harder for others (kids at home, summer travel, different routines).
My kids are both teenagers now and perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. In fact, they have their own schedules and activities and come and go without me having to worry about transportation (alleluia!).
And yet, just having two extra bodies in the house is a distraction.
Even the luxury of adjusting the alarm by half an hour has upended my morning routine a bit.Subscribed
If you’re like me and finding that the lazy days of summer are negatively impacting your writing time, here are a few suggestions:
- Sometimes a break is a good thing. Enjoy your summer, your travels, the farmer’s market, the fireworks. Take it all in. Soak up the sun and the creative input. Maybe jot down some observations. Fill your well.
- Take a good, hard look at your day. Where can you fit in some quiet writing time before the onslaught of camp drop offs or snack demands? While my kids fend for themselves these days, the later alarm clock has been a detriment to my own writing time. I’m considering getting back up at the normal time to ensure I have time for exercise, meditation, and writing before the noise of the day begins in the rest of the house. For you, it might be that you find quiet time on your screened-in porch in the evenings while the crickets sing and the fireflies dance.
- Know thyself. For me, I can much more easily focus on client work when the kids are in and out and up and down the stairs than my creative work. Why? I don’t know. I think my monkey brain is looking for a reason to put down the pen and is more easily distracted when it’s my own work. Recognize your own patterns. Can you write on vacation or is your mind pulled toward activities? Can you write at the pool during swim team practice (edited a whole novel this way) or do you prefer to chat with the other parents? Accept what works for you and set yourself up for success.
- Schedule it! If your daily routine is unsustainable during the summer, pick a morning, evening, weekend time that will work and commit to a weekly writing time. It can be a regular time or peppered in throughout the summer. Either way, get it on the calendar and stick to it. Perhaps you can pick a coffee shop to write in for that day or grab a writing friend and meet over Zoom to write at the same time.
- Learn something. When I find time to be scarce or attention scattered, I often will turn to learning about writing. Grab some craft books and a highlighter. Maybe sign up for a webinar or take a mini-course. Anything that strengthens your craft will move your writing forward even if you don’t have the bandwidth to do the actual writing this summer.
- Play with outlines/character development. If you’re starting a new project, use this time to do all the fun play writing exploring character and plot. You can dip in and out of these tasks and let your imagination run wild. This planning work will actually help when the more regimented days of fall arrive and you’ll be ready to get down to business.
- Set a goal. These should be simple, achievable goals. Make it measurable and achievable and feel good about what you were able to accomplish this summer. Things like:
- Keep a hand in the story by re-reading what you have so far or writing five minutes a day
- Revise the opening chapter
- Write XX number of new words (but don’t overshoot here)
- Read two craft books
Tell me – is summer your creative oasis or wasteland? What do you do to keep the momentum going in your writing?
Leave a comment below!
Need some accountability this summer?
Now may be the perfect time to work with a coach. I offer free consultation calls to discuss your writing challenges to see if coaching would be a good fit for you.
What I’m Reading:
I just finished Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan and really enjoyed it. If you love bookstores, mysterious cults, Google-culture, and quirky characters, I would recommend this one.