Hello, friends! Welcome to this month’s meeting of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group, a blog hop created by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight. Are you a writer? Do you feel insecure? Well, good news! This is the support group for you! Click here to learn more and to see a list of participating blogs.
I’m not happy with my writing right now. I haven’t been doing nearly enough writing. True, there are a lot of distractions in my life—some good, some not so good—but that’s not important. No matter what’s going on in my life at any given time, I am still a writer. Writing is like oxygen to me, and when I go too long without writing I feel like I’m suffocating.
So I have a new plan. This new plan should help me catch my breath, so to speak, by getting a whole lot more writing done. Ironically, though, this plan begins with a few things that are not actually writing.
First off, I need to stretch more. You see, I do almost all of my writing on the floor, lying on my belly, with my feet kicked up in the air like I’m a seven-year-old kid. But I’m not seven. I’m forty-two, and lying on the floor like that is not great for my back. Sitting in a chair for extended periods of time hurts my back even more, so I am not going to change my ways. But stretching before a writing session, as I would stretch before exercise, does help.
Second, there’s a lot of paper clutter in my house, most of which is concentrated in the room where I do my writing. Years and years worth of paper, produced by years and years worth of writing, the vast majority of which I have no use for today. It feels a little sacrilegious to throw away so much writing, but the paper clutter is annoying. Distracting. It makes me feel slightly claustrophobic sometimes. And so it has to go, because old writing cannot be allowed to hamper new writing.
And lastly, I’m not sure if everyone will understand this, but I need to get back in the habit of dressing up nice when I write. When do you dress up nice? When you’re doing something important, when you’re doing something special. Writing is important to me, and also very special, and dressing up nice for writing time reminds me of that fact.
None of these things are new discoveries. I’ve known for years that I should stretch more. I’ve known for years that all this paper clutter was a problem. And I’ve known for years that dressing up helps me get into the mood for writing. But just because I know these things doesn’t mean I was doing them.
So that’s step one of my plan: do those three things. I’ll be able to breathe easier (and write easier) if I do those three things.
Now what about you? What non-writing things do you do to make your writing process easier?
i-love-space.com 
Stretching will definitely help your back. Getting up now and then will as well.
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That’s true. I usually take periodic breaks. If writing’s going well, though, I sometimes forget.
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Clearing paper clutter is a big one for me. Somehow, notes accumulate all over my desk. (Yes, I write at a desk and even have a supposedly ergonomic chair that I must modify with an extra seat cushion… a sore tush definitely damages my writing process… but, I digress.) After a while, I can’t remember what my notes actually mean. So distracting! What was that great idea? If it was great, it will come back. Be strong! Toss the clutter and Write On!
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A lot of my notes are turning out to be for things that I finished or that I abandoned. Either way, they have nothing to do with stuff I’m currently working on. It’s just daunting trying to look through everything just in case something might still be important.
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Oh how the paper clutter resonates with me! As my desk space is where I do my day job as well as writing, there is a lot of it. I keep hacking away at it and have made some progress over the past year, but there is still more to go and do. But there probably always will be. I know I had to get to the stage where I was prepared to let go of certain stuff, and I’m mentally ready to do so. Now I just need to get my body into shape to do the heavy lifting…
The stretching is good advice, but I’ve never thought of dressing nicely. Although maybe all I need to do is get dressed, as I’m far too keen on my many pairs of snazzy pyjamas (they’re the best items in my wardrobe)!
Debs posting today from Fiction Can Be Fun
Also found at Debs Despatches
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Dressing “nicely” is a subjective thing. It’s not like I wear a tuxedo for writing time. Wearing your best and snazziest pajamas could be considered dressing up nice.
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I do love them (and once even attended online networking in them) but I do feel more professional and productive when properly dressed. Maybe the message to take away is I need more snazzy items in my wardrobe…
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I should do something physical. Maybe after I get these hips fixed…
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I’m not a doctor, but taking care of your body is important for writers. Aches and pains and other physical discomforts can really distract you from writing.
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We will find a way to actually get words written down! I’m liking all these comments… but for some reason, WordPress doesn’t want to save my “likes.” So, here’s ONE BIG LIKE for everyone 🙂
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Yeah, I’ve been seeing that problem on and off for a while now. I’m never sure if it’s a problem with WordPress or my browser. Or both. But it is annoying.
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I’m with you. There’s a psychological aspect to how we dress for the day. I always ask myself what kind of success I’m hoping for today when I face the closet and make my decision.
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Same. It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t seem like it should make a difference, especially when I’m just going to spend the day at home, alone, writing. But it really does help.
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It sounds like you’ve got some good strategies to help with your back pain and to write more. I hope they work. And I like to get dressed up in regular clothes when I’m home alone. It makes me feel like I’m better prepared for my day.
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That’s kind of my mentality, too. Even if I’m not going anywhere, it just feels nice to dress nice.
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Most of my writing is on my laptop while sitting in a recliner, usually dressed in t-shirt and shorts (or warmups in winter). But hey, whatever gets words on the page! (My way does require that I remember to get up and walk around occasionally.)
I think the main thing is to figure out a way where it’s enjoyable for you.
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I agree. We must each find our own way.
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I hope you get more writing done! Breathing is important. 😉“Let’s strive to be better in September!” – Charmaine J. Forde #quoteI have a novelette coming out on the ninth. And a post about condiments planned on the A to Z site this month. Hope you’re well!
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge
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Good luck with the novelette! I have a good feeling about September. I think it’ll be a great month.
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Sounds like you’ve got a plan. I find that I need things to be tidy around me to be able to work well. It’s something about clarity of mind I think. Good luck with your plans and I hope you can get some writing done.
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I’ve known people who say clutter is good for creativity, but I’m finding that’s not the case for me. I’d much rather have a neat and tidy workspace, and I’m working to make it so.
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Hi,
I dress up like I am going to work. I also made my basement into an office and that gives me. a feeling of really leaving my living quarters.
Have a lovely month of September.
Shalom shalom
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I like that. Writing is a job, after all. Dressing up like you’re going to work and having a separate work space makes a lot of sense.
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environment does affect one’s writing mood and i think that’s good that your planning on cleaning up the clutter. I’ve had my share of clutter and it has made me feel claustrophobic even when I didn’t realise it.
Taking even short stretch breaks during your writing session can help. I should try to do that more myself.
one thing I try to avoid doing while writing is writing in my pajamas. That makes me feel really lazy and unmotivated to write. I can wear almost any of my day clothes when I write, just not my pajamas.
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I don’t think I realized how much the clutter was affecting me until I started getting rid of it. Still a long way to go, but I can already tell it’s helping.
For a while there I was wearing exercise clothes for writing time: shorts or sweat pants and a tank top. It was… fine. I could still do my writing, but the vibe was off. Writing is much easier if I put some thought and effort into what I wear.
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👍
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I have so many justifiable reasons why I haven’t been writing lately but it still feels bad to know I’m not writing when I really want to.
I don’t write on the floor but I do like to stretch when I start my day. I can totally relate to dressing up for writing. If I stay in stretch pants, I will not have much creativity that day. If I pick out a pair of cute socks and a matching hair accessory then dress myself around that, it’s going to be a creative day.
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Good strategy for picking outfits.
If I go back and try to account for all the time I haven’t been writing, I find that I had very good reasons every time. And yet, that still doesn’t change the fact that I’m not okay with this, and I need to get back to it.
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