Finding Your Writing Schedule
Guest post by Jenny Q
I would have never
considered myself a writer.
I have a bookcase
stuffed full of my old journals- filled with my thoughts, my travels, my
weeping and my joy- but somehow I never put myself in that category.
Thankfully, all that
journal writing gave me the courage and discipline to sit down and write a
book.
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I find that a time
every day, a rhythm, gives me the headspace to write. Even before opening my
book to write, my thoughts begin pouring out, my brain anticipating the daily
appointed time.
And perhaps because my
personality is such that I love a good ritual, I always have a steaming cup of
espresso in hand, and sit in the same chair. If I am lucky enough to have a
chill in the air, I reach for the same cozy sweater. This all happens at 4:30
am. This may seem extreme, but I encourage everyone to try, at least for a good
month, getting up at least an hour before the sun comes up, to make a good
cuppa, and sit facing east to write and watch for the rising sun. There is
something about that tender light that ignites the imagination and gets the
creative juices flowing. And the dark morning generally carries the kind of
quiet that conjures hope and productivity.
All that being said,
working at night also has its magic. Many nights, one could find me sprawled
out on the bed, bits of manuscript spread out all around me, as I edited and
pieced together the final stages of my book.
As a working mother, I
need to find the quiet times to work, because I am someone who goes a bit crazy
with interruptions, as I lose my train of thought or a desired thread. So I
find the times that have those open spaces.
In the morning, before
my household stirs and before I gear up my rational brain to run my company, I
can be open and dreamy. It is when my creative ideas are the most accessible.
At night, after running a business and a household, my brain tends to be better
at the left-brained work, editing and piecing together.
I think each person has
a natural rhythm to their day, their life. Fitting in writing and editing has
to be part of that rhythm, as important as fitting in dinner or housekeeping.
Once that flow is in place, the journal just needs to be open to capture all
the words waiting to fall onto the page.
Jenny Q was born in Southern California to Palestinian immigrants. Her love of herbs began in her teens while on the road following the Grateful Dead. After exploring many heart homes, she set her roots in Joshua Tree, California, where she opened Grateful Desert, the local apothecary. Joyously sharing her life with her tight-knit desert community, Jenny lives with her beloveds~ Yazzy, her daughter and Myshkin, her wife.
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