Tag: 5 minute sessions

5 minutes of writing

LynnLeave a comment

I don’t like intentions. They feel like a set up for failure. What they really are for me is a hit of dopamine that takes away the push I need to actually do the thing I intend to do.

Counterintuitive since I need real accountability to get things done if I’m basically not obsessed with it already, huh?

So, no intentions today. No stated intentions ever if I can control myself past this little rebellion.

But…

Yesterday, I tried out writing for 5 minutes while I let my (decaf) coffee brew and that worked surprisingly well, so of course I’m going to try that again today.

Uh oh. Is that a stated intention? Erase it. Pretend it doesn’t exist, because I actually want to do this 5 minute thing. :D

(Yes, I’m typing this blog post on my phone while I sit up in bed thinking about my day and try to motivate myself to step out onto the cold hardwood and get it started.)

Book Published; Writing Next Book; Dining Room Chair

Lynn

I got my book published last week. I’ve been trying to get started again on my next book, which is already 55% written as long as I come in close to my word count goal on it.

I haven’t had much success so far, having only written about 930 words on this next one since I finished the other book. But I’m giving it a stronger push today. I did, however, have to push aside my nice cushy chair and put the spindle-back dining room chair at my desk again. It makes me sad to know that if I get too comfortable, I can’t write, but it appears to be a demonstrable fact these days. Cushy chair is good for lots of stuff, but not serious writing.

I also am revisiting my thoughts on the 5 minute sessions. I definitely think it works for me, and even though I had trouble with the last book, as I’ve re-read parts of this one (huge amounts of it written with those 5 minute sessions, and alongside other stories while I wrote on as many as 4 books in one day some days), I’m finding that it doesn’t have any of the same issues I experienced with the other book. So, I don’t think either of those methods is to blame for my feelings on the last book, or even my troubles with tying up my loose ends and my ending. And since both methods work so well for me, I’m not abandoning either strategy. (Also, this book has actually gotten me my highest average rating on one of my books on Goodreads to date, so what do those feelings actually mean?)

For the foreseeable future, I’ll be using 5 minute sessions, and I’ll work on more than one story a day if I start to slow down too much on any one story.

And now, I need to get back to writing. I’m going to do several hours of 5 minute sessions so I can up that word count. I have a deadline to meet for this new book. :D

I’m also still pushing for the elusive 200 words in 5 minutes goal. I’ve done it exactly 1 time out of 623 attempts. I know, because I’ve got a spreadsheet. ;)

Sometimes You Need a New Chair

Lynn

It’s time for school again, so my routine is changing. I’ve been working at my desk almost exclusively lately, and the dining room chair hasn’t been such a great option for those 5,000 word days.

Oh, yeah, day before yesterday, I wrote 5,091 words. :D

That’s two 5k days in as many weeks and that’s felt (still feels tbh) amazing.

It’s not quite on demand, because I’ve had days where I failed to reach my goals even though I planned them just the same as the successful days, but it’s still quite an accomplishment because hey, I wrote 5,000+ words twice in two weeks and I did it all in 5 minute sessions, 55 and 60 of them, respectively.

New Chair

So … I was out and about yesterday, doing stuff that couldn’t be put off, and I bought a new chair. Nothing fancy, but something with a bit more cushion that will hopefully make it comfortable to work for the number of hours I want to work to reach higher word counts.

It was a pain to put together (because it was affordable, lol!) but I like it. :D