Falling back into the groove

Summer is crazy in the Clawson household. My husband and children and I all put on a big event called Knights of Freedom Summit. We train boys ages 8-12 (and over 70 youth volunteers) in leadership skills. It’s a huge mountain of work and the best part of my year.

But it takes all summer which means that my writing time gets limited. Jennifer and I kept at it right up until the end of August but then I had to be done for a few weeks. Now we are digging back in and my brain is starting to fire in all those wonderful, story-creating ways. I’ve pulled out a project I’m working on for LDS Young Women and pounded through 50% of the revisions in the last couple of days and I’m working on the plot for a scary story in honor of October. I’ll be posting that as a freebie here next month so check back.

I find that getting back to writing means updating my entire routine. I can’t expect to have the time to dive into the delicious world of story, setting and character arc unless I carve it carefully out of my otherwise full day. I do have four children after all.

So I’ve had to make some changes for fall.

1 – Get up earlier.

During the summer I tend to stay up later and sleep in a bit. Now that I’m getting back on track I’m using an alarm again. It’ll only take a few weeks until I adjust completely and wake up naturally. In the meantime, I’m grateful for cheerful music to start my day.

2 – Walks in the morning.

This always gets the creative juices flowing. Being outside first thing, especially when it’s so beautiful outside, wakes up my body and my brain. And that’s a great combination.

3 – Work first, play second.

Of course, summer is completely opposite, but my kids and I are getting back in the swing of things with chores and school coming first (we home school). That allows the afternoon for writing (the play part). When I flip-flop things, we end up cranky and I get that guilt-thing going on. That’s not conducive to a happy family OR creativity.

4 – Take things a bit at a time.

Just because I’m back in the writing-groove, doesn’t mean that I can or even should do it all at once. There is no need to sprint to the burn-out finish line. Working steadily not only makes my family happier, it trains my brain to think like a writer every day, instead of just during those slap-dash times.

So how about you? What steps are you taking to set yourself up for a successful writing Fall?