I recently had a Zoom chat with two writing friends\u2014all of us have been nonfiction writers for work for years but we\u2019re trying to become fiction writers. We admitted that we\u2019re stuck right now, for so many reasons. Summer doldrums? Out of the normal routine? Scared to start a big revision? Yes, all of these.<\/p>\n
After talking through what is helping (or not), I came away with the idea that I need more snacks, but not food. Let me explain. <\/p>\n
Writing Snacks<\/p>\n
In the chaos of summer (vacation, kids\u2019 changing schedules, unexpected travel), we discovered our regular writing routines have been fighting to stay on schedule. Each of us felt we\u2019re losing the battle. Carefully carved out time chunks that worked during the regular part of the year don\u2019t work in summer. As we talked it through, we realized those routines need to give way to smaller, less well-planned micro-chunks of time. “Snacks.” Instead of three hours three days a week, I may only have an hour, twice a week. Or even less: a few minutes each day or every other day. The time chunks may be smaller, but they need to be there. One of the women has given herself the task of writing a small essay every Friday morning. She writes thoughtful comments on Substack, about 200-250 words, and that anchors her writing. Brilliant. And those essays get done, every week, even if the novel is still percolating. <\/p>\n
Nap Snacks<\/p>\n
My buddies told me about a woman they had talked with at a writing retreat who is a \u201cdedicated napper.\u201d She takes 20-minute naps on a daily basis. My friends commented that they didn\u2019t have the discipline to do that. The woman, knowing that these two women are dedicated athletes (one is a big mountain biker and the other runs races) said, \u201cYou\u2019d never forego your exercise and athletic<\/a> discipline, right? It\u2019s the same thing with naps. I need them and so I build in a discipline to take them, every day.\u201d <\/p>\n As a napper-in-training, I love this idea. Another experiment for August: a nap snack to refresh mind and body, every day. My dog, Matisse, offers a good role model.<\/p>\n Inspiration Snacks<\/p>\n The two women join Zoom weekly and write together. They were kind enough to invite me to the chat as well. We are each writing books that are way outside of our normal nonfiction writing, so we are definitely new at this. We spent 15 minutes talking about (OK, I guess the right word would be \u201ccommiserating\u201d) how we\u2019re doing on our projects, what\u2019s helping (books we\u2019re reading, new resources, ideas), and how we\u2019ll move forward. In that short chat, I came away with more energy than I\u2019ve felt in a long time. I needed the inspiration that they offered and hope I did the same for them. Even though it was far too early in the morning for me, I jumped from my chair when we finished and raced to get more coffee so I could get to work. <\/p>\n