Making Writing a Priority

...finding your sacred no (which is actually a sacred yes to your dreams)

Do you want to write more than anything in the world? Does writing make you happy (even when it is hard)? Do you have aspirations of being a journalist, a novelist, writing a best-selling memoir or winning short-story competitions?

If the answer is yes, I have another important question for you…does your day-to-day activity reflect that?

Do you prioritise your writing? Does writing take up the space in your life that it should?

I come to you with these questions, not with judgment but with love. I have had to do a bit of soul searching recently about what I am prioritising in my days and whether that reflects the future I desire and want to work towards. Dear reader, the last couple of months it has not, and I think this is the case for many of us writers. How to find time and space for writing, comes up in many of my my chats with writer friends and in many mentoring sessions.

If you knew your dream was behind this door, would you push it or would you spend your time clearing away the leaves?

Often, and especially, when writing isn’t the thing that is paying the bills, it gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list (or shall we call it the Allowed To-Do List?) When those words on the page are not directly contributing to paying the rent, it can be really hard to find space for them. But I am here in your inbox today to gently nudge you towards being really honest with yourself about how important your writing is, whether it brings in a pay check or not.

There are so many ways we can make small adjustments so that writing has time in our day. I have a writer friend who has a full-time and very busy job and a young child. She commits to writing 150 words a day, often she writes more but never less. Sometimes this means writing for ten minutes before bed but she always gets it done. She has committed to giving her book space every day and her novel is really taking shape. Everyday, she shows her writing that it is important.

I am currently having to develop what I am calling my sacred NO, turning down work that I know will not allow me to prioritise the writing I want to be doing. There are sacrifices in that economically, ego-wise perhaps too (it is nice to have bylines in cool publications), but in saying no, I am in fact offering a louder YES to my dreams.

As Elizabeth Gilbert says: “What are you willing to give up to have the life you keep pretending you want?”

Maybe take a breath here, read that again. Write something down. What are you willing to give up?

Where can you make space? What is stopping you?

What if I told you that if you started writing 300 words a day today, in less than a year you would have a 90,000-word book written? Imagine how fast a year goes. Picture yourself on March 2, 2023 with a manuscript in your hands. How does that feel? Can you find 30 minutes or an hour a day in an attempt to get those 300 words on a page?  Maybe writing a book isn’t your goal, but whatever your goal is, really imagine achieving it. Does that feeling it gives you make you think about how you might find space? Could you give up that time you listen to a podcast or watch a show you aren’t that interested in, to write an article instead, to tinker with a short story?

Now let’s give Mary Oliver the last word:

“I was very careful never to take an interesting job. Not an interesting one. I took lots of jobs. But if you have an interesting job you get interested in it. I also began in those years to keep early hours. […] If anybody has a job and starts at 9, there’s no reason why they can’t get up at 4:30 or five and write for a couple of hours, and give their employers their second-best effort of the day – which is what I did.”

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Mentoring

Today I am going to pass the mic to one of my delightful mentees (I really want a new word here because neither client nor mentee feel joyful on the tongue). He sent me this testimonial last night and it made me blush to read and also made me laugh in the way so much of his wonderful writing does. The last two lines made me particularly happy.

Please let me tell you about my mentor, Susannah Rigg. Working with her has changed my relationship with the written word, specifically the ones I choose to write. I suppose I should mention, this change has been for the better - I don’t want you thinking this is some unhinged Yelp review of her mentoring practice! On the contrary, this testimonial is in high praise for one of those rare beings whose skills and talents are equaled only by her kindness and generosity. Susannah is not only smart and gentle, but she is honest; an attribute so valuable, I could have based my decision to work with her on that alone. She is also quite deeply invested in people, ever-attentive to what they have to say, and filled with an unalloyed interest in the world around her. This tender curiosity shows up as much in her writing as it does in the attention she gives to the writers under her care. 

When I speak with Susannah, I’m reminded that not only am I talking to a skilled journalist, but also a passionate reader. Finding someone with a true love for reading is enormously valuable when looking for someone to help you with your writing. I am fortunate to know her in any capacity, and will forever be grateful for the time and consideration she has dedicated to me as a writer. I should also mention, before working with her, “writer” is a word I most certainly would not have used when referencing myself. I have her to thank for this as well. — Andrew Couch, California.

If you would like some support in prioritising your writing, if you would like me to nudge you like I am nudging you in this newsletter but in real time, do click the button below to book in for a free 20-minute discovery call. You can also find out more about me and my mentoring here.

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