As November and the possibility of participating in #AcWriMo approaches I’ve been reflecting on my writing practice. A couple of years ago I participated in NaNoWriMo and was diligent about writing every day. I didn’t meet the 50,000 word count but I came pretty close. The year prior to that I participated in #AcWriMo and blogged at minimum three times a week. Last year I took a break and wrote sporadically without any concrete goals.
Since September I’ve been making a commitment to myself to spend at minimum two hours a week on academic writing. Some weeks I write more than that and some weeks I struggle to find the time to string together a few sentences. I have managed to get a start a paper I’ve been neglecting and wrap up a few other small writing projects.
I still find that early morning is the best time for me to write. I am more focused, motivated, and enthusiastic about writing in the morning. However I am finding it increasingly difficult to squeeze that writing time in first thing. Scheduling it into my calendar like a meeting does help. As does having finite projects and smaller writing goals.
What does your writing practice look like? How do you make sure you have time to write?