Welcome to the New Year and your 2023 writing resolutions!
When I first started writing seriously, I resolved to write a bit every day. I trusted the age-old formula: [Hours writing daily] x [Days in a year] = SUCCESS.
Who doesn’t want to be successful? So, I listened to sage advice from accomplished authors.
“Writing is a daily practice.”
“Real writers write every day.”
And my favorite: “In just one hour a day, you, too, can write a novel.”
The Interwebs are filled with success stories from newly published writers who woke up an hour early, snuck in an hour after work, wrote on their lunch breaks, or miraculously got their children to sleep by seven o’clock so they could spend their evenings in writing bliss.
But every year, around mid-January, I realized this wasn’t me.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a good, habit-forming, daily practice – especially if the habit is something healthy and made of stories. After all, other resolutions like diet, exercise, meditation – all have a better chance of improving our lives when practiced daily.
So, it follows that writing an hour a day could indeed transform my writing life. But, I wouldn’t know. Because the disconnect between resolution and reality meant I never found out.
And when I couldn’t find that hour of productive writing every day, I felt like a failure. I felt like a wimp. Most of all, I didn’t feel like a writer.
But let’s be realistic: Working a full-time job whilst raising children and caring for aging parents doesn’t exactly lend itself to daily practices that a.) do not feed, house, or nurture those in your care; and b.) do not involve sleep.
So how can someone like me set aside an hour (or more) a day to write when there are no said hours to set aside – especially for a creative pursuit?
The simple answer is, I can’t. So, I devised another way of writing that incorporates all the discipline and eliminates (almost) all the guilt.
Let me introduce you to “The Deep Dive,” a writing method that has worked for me and several other writers I know – in particular, women authors and screenwriters who are inundated with family, jobs, school, and the myriad of expectations surrounding our gender.
With a deep dive, I set aside large chunks of time – a day, an afternoon, and entire evening – so I can write undisturbed for several hours consecutively. This requires planning and help from others – my spouse, friends, fellow writers. They care for my children, make dinner, and they manage everyday tasks so I can enjoy uninterrupted creative time.
In the best-possible scenario, a deep dive involves a weekend locked in a room with just me and my writing. I prepare the night before by thinking through the story, I settle my brains and begin writing once my day begins, I take breaks with a cup of tea or a brisk walk – undisturbed. I am on my time and no one else’s, which allows my creativity to ebb and flow with the day.
(I call this Kairos Time. It’s worth a look.)
Because a deep dive sets aside spans of hours, I can immerse myself in the story, with no one’s expectations looming over me. A deep dive provides sufficient ramp-up time to reread my work, look over my notes, and check through my outline, so I’m prepared to discover something new.
I’ve learned that submerging myself in the details is important to my process. I can’t do that in an hour a day. Ramping up takes the entire hour.
I dive deep weekly, rather than daily. That way, I can work my paying job, and everyday tasks like dinner, walking the dog, and childcare don’t infringe on my writing time. Plus, I have the extra bonus of being present for my family, my job, and my creative pursuits when I need to be – without begrudging anyone their time.
The best part: After a deep dive I find myself still living in the story. Plotlines and dialogue come to me during the week while I’m running errands or gardening or taking a walk. I keep my smart phone handy to record these tidbits.
It’s like my subconscious is writing for me, without requiring me to put fingers to keyboard – until I get to my next deep dive.
So, until you reach your dream spending every day as a full-time writer, don’t get yourself in a twist because you can’t manage an hour a day. Your resolution shouldn’t be based on someone else’s expectations of a successful writer.
This year, resolve to tell your story. Resolve to ask for help. Resolve to make the time.
There are many paths to that final page. Find the one that works for you.
Then write.
Meet the Author
Terry Menefee Gau is an accomplished actor & writer, as well as a non-profit professional for the past twenty years. She has a varied theatre and film resume, spanning over twenty-five years as an actor, producer, writer, and director. Terry is a proud member of the Virginia Screenwriters’ Forum and has several award-winning scripts under her belt. She also works at VPM as an events manager in Community Engagement. Terry received her M.Div. and MACE from Union Presbyterian Seminary, focusing in Narrative and Film Theology, and she has a B.S. in Mathematics from James Madison University. She loves the dichotomy of art and logic, spirit and reason.