The Perfect Time to Write

A few weeks ago, I wrote about writing wherever and whenever you can, even if it's only for five minutes. (You can read that post here: 5 Surefire Ways to Add Writing To Any Schedule) The truth is, I knew the concept worked and had even done it once or twice before. But I felt like a hypocrite after writing it because I wasn't doing it consistently.

So, I decided to take my own advice last week.

Fitting It In

The first day, in the ten minutes that it took the pasta for dinner to cook, I jotted down some notes on a story that has been on my mind. Day two saw a few character names added to the notes but little else since I had a technical glitch and had to rewrite several pages of work from the day before.

An assignment was due on day three. Because of some last minute notes from the client, I had to work all day. Before I went to bed, I took five minutes to write down a revised plot point that had occurred to me during dinner.

On the fourth day, I woke up sick. My workload was such that I couldn't take the day off. Between several mini-naps and editing product descriptions, I outlined my developing story in a few short bullet points.  I felt a little better on day five but still had a lot of work to complete. My developing story didn't get any attention until I was in bed and then only a few extra sentences about the main character's back story.

My last day of work on the sixth day ended well so I was able to write the first scene in the twenty minutes I had available.  Day seven was my first day off in a week and, because I had been sick, I didn't write anything. My mind needed the rest. (Sometimes, you need a day of nothing and that's okay. It's important to be dedicated but too much work will only burn you out.)

The Perfect Time

 That story has been on my mind for over three years. I never have the time for it, I told myself. There's too much going on. But, in one crazy week that I would not have picked for fiction writing in a million years, I brainstormed, outlined, and began to write that story.

Now, I didn't detail my week to brag about my awesome multitasking or to bask in the glow of compliments. I wrote it for YOU.

It's hard to think of jumping in. If you're like me, with my touch of OCD, you don't even want to until the time is "perfect."

I have news for you: the time now is perfect.

Any time that you can write is perfect. You just need to start. And, as surprised as I was to find this out, you can actually get somewhere even on a mere five minutes a day. It may take awhile but at least you're working towards it instead of wishing you were.

An adventure is waiting but only you can start it.

So, pick up that pen. Boot up your computer. Your five minutes are waiting.