Blame it on Oprah.
My schedule rarely allows me to watch Oprah's show. However I was home this past Friday and caught her show on "Sex 101." Guest sex expert, Dr. Laura Berman, recommends several action items designed to improve one's sex life. Of no surprise to us older folks - schedule sex!
Yes, spontaneity has it's place, mainly for the young, and new lovers flooded with Dopamined brains. (Although I do remember a time when my hubbie and I were in our late 30's/early 40's when a moment of passion hit us and we did it in the bathroom next to the family room where the kids were playing.) Apparently and realistically, for the rest of us, planning for intimacy creates the likelihood it will occur. Time to whip out the Blackberry now!
Putting some effort into the planning can also create a more desirable outcome. Dr. Berman recommends such things as removing Aunt Gilda's pictures from the bedroom, shaving legs if you are female, and my input for the guys - clear out the remote and other electronic gear.
It occurs to me (terribly obvious, isn't it?) that writing is like sex. I need to schedule it. How dull! I still harbor romantic notions of being a writer bursting with streams of imaginings at all times of day and night. Notebooks in every room of the house scribbled with brilliance. Sigh. I work a day job.
Now the challenge for me - to schedule writing/blogging in a way that doesn't twist me up. I quit blogging late last summer for a period of several months. Most of it had to do with the internal nagging that went on in my head about how I wasn't doing it often enough blah, blah, blah. I don't need another tyrant yelling at me for "fresh content," blogging gods be damned. I need a playmate. That's it! An internal writing "playmate" who encourages me with the notion that "schedule" can be flexible and light.
So there you have it - writing is like sex in several areas. We need to schedule it, set the tone, and it helps to have a playmate (even if it's only an inner playmate for us writers) to do it with. Oh . . . and a little abstinence can make the return to intimacy, and to writing, that much sweeter.
Setting sex aside for the moment . . . I invite readers/bloggers/writers to bare all and tell us: What works for you in terms of scheduling your writing?
Debbie - I use Windows Live Writer instead of logging into TypePad because it allows me to much easier manipulate photos and write stubs when I'm not connected to the Internet (download at http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/).
I schedule my time almost all on Sunday afternoon, and I start by thinking about the 5 topics I may want to write about for the week. I always set the goal of 5 articles. I think about 5 different yet related topics, and it's always starts with a stub. (A stub is a line or 3 that I can build off of.) Then I go to Flickr and search for a picture that fits the article. I get to writing. I set my mind on completing 1 article.
Once I get number 1 done, I move to the next stub. If I get stuck and can't write a full article, I'll keep the stub (saved in Windows Live Writer locally on my computer) and move on to the next topic.
A little reward after each article of a fresh cup of coffee/tea, or a piece of fruit, or I go off and surf for more ideas (like I'm doing now).
And on it goes.
Love the headline of this article by the way :)
Posted by: Phil Gerbyshak | January 11, 2009 at 05:44 PM
Phil, I can always count on you to give me the latest in blogging technology! I'll probably email you later about the software you mention in your comment. Thanks for sharing the system you use, and how you make it manageable to write several posts by building in rewards.
Posted by: debbiecall | January 11, 2009 at 08:43 PM
Well...THAT headline got my attention! When I have been book writing, I did schedule time. And allowed no interruptions. Amazing discipline for me. Once, a friend came to the front door during my "writing time" and I didn't answer his knock. Many times I refused to pick up a phone call. Come to think of it...I don't do those things during sex either.
Posted by: Dick Richards | January 11, 2009 at 11:41 PM
First of all, GREAT post title.
Secondly - you're so right. I'm not particularly good at scheduling my writing for one specific day - my schedule changes like the wind, and I like it that way. On the other hand, I've been so busy with clients, a website make-over, and a brand new site launch lately that my poor blog has been somewhat neglected. And it has been nagging at me.
Having said that, writing is like sex in one other way. If we feel we HAVE to and there's all this pressure to write, well, then it does "twist us up" and takes all the joy out of the very idea of writing. And, like sex, sometimes the joy comes back when we just DO IT already. :-)
Blessings,
Andrea
Posted by: Andrea|Empowered Soul | January 12, 2009 at 08:44 AM
Dick - I commend you on maintaining focus - both during your book writing and . . . well, the other thing! I could also create a stick to it schedule when I wrote my book 6 years ago - it's the blogging that provides more challenge for me.
Andrea - You sound like me - I like variety in what I do professionally, yet the guilt comes quickly if I don't keep all the balls in the air. It's simply a racket that I believe women are more susceptible to - both the guilt and juggling. We gotta just remember the words to the song "Girls just want to have fun!"
Posted by: debbiecall | January 12, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Well I've learned something from all of you. I am now clear I have no discipline regarding my writing. To prove the point I was going to write this morning and here I am answering email and responding to blogs. Ah well....
I suspect I need to revisit how much I really want to finish this writing project on Creatorship.
Posted by: Barbara Sliter | January 12, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Glad to help out Debbie. If you ever have questions, I'm always just an e-mail or phone call away.
Posted by: philgerb | January 21, 2009 at 12:05 AM