I'm setting a twenty minute timer
No, two minutes.
Hello again, it’s me. Your friendly neighborhood writer. Or your local crow lady. Or the woman huffing and puffing while she slowly jogs up the hills in the neighborhood.
I’ve been chipping away, slowly, slowly, at my novel. I have written the missing scene that was supposed to tie it all together like Lebowski’s rug. I will now embark on a journey of self-hatred and bitten fingernails I like to call revision.
I may be exaggerating, but that’s how it feels from the outside, trying to stare down this 90k words. And yeah, when I think of it like that, it’s huge. But I’m using a technique that is not at all new or inventive, but it’s working right now for me: I’m setting a timer.
I’m not sure why this didn’t occur to me earlier. [It has, I just forget about the tactics that work for me because after a while they’re ineffective and I have to switch it up and then because I’m not doing it, it doesn’t exist.] I said, “I’m setting a timer,” at least once a day on weekdays and innumerable times on weekends to get my kids to do anything. They need lots of warning that we’ll be transitioning to a new activity, so I set a two (or three, or five) minute timer.
When my daughter was just starting to talk, or talk back, I should say, she would answer “I’m setting a [n] minute timer” with “No, TWO minutes.” One minute timer until we turn off videos? No, two minutes. Three minute timer? No, two minutes. Hilarious.
So, yeah. Today I set myself a 20 minute timer after journaling and before getting into my money-paying-dollar-bucks-work, and I transcribed 600ish words. Yay! Progress! And when that timer went off, I slammed the laptop shut.
I’m trying to follow all the guidelines that make for a stable yet creative life [for me]: journaling, exercise, reduced drinking, lots of water, early to bed and early to rise. Getting the creative work in before my paying work is tough sometimes, because I can hear my bank account squealing like air let out of a balloon. But it feels good, too. Better than that glass of chardonnay. Better than my weighted blanket. Better than my legs after a run (easy to do, honestly). But sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the fun stuff will be there later, if we need it.
Recommended Reading
[links here are affiliate links for my Bookshop.org account, which gives proceeds to independent bookstores]
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
Warning: do not read this if you’re pregnant, nursing, or want to become pregnant. Seriously, it’s a lot. The payoff is worth it, but it was tough in there for a while. Although intense, this book is on the short side, so that does help temper the anguish.
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
Beautifully imagined, The Bridge Kingdom has all the romantasy stuff: enemies to lovers, strong female character, deft world-building. In terms of spice level, I don’t even know what to tell you. I’ve read worse (looking at you, Fourth Wing), but it didn’t strike me as explicit? But it’s there.
Not a book, but a purchase: Blind date with a book from Beyond the Covers, a bookstore that hopes to benefit youth exiting the foster system, started by my friend Kitty Farias. It’s currently located online or at pop-up locations in Houston, Texas. Support their causes and get cute stickers and a thoughtfully chosen book!
That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading.
As a reminder, my editorial/marketing stuff is now over on my other letter, Evergreen Marketing Advice. Go there for practical advice and some creative prompts.