Getting the story told: Butt-in-chair or Wind-in-your-hair
If you're anything like me, you were brought up to believe that one must work hard. You must push and push to get it all done and achieve. It has recently occurred to me that this might be a lie.
I have begun to toy with a different way. Instead of expecting productiveness at all times, instead of setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals, I'm taking things slowly. This is partly because of other things going on in my life, but it's also partly as an experiment. And what I'm finding is that the creative work has its own rhythm.
I know for a lot of people butt-in-chair is the rule they follow to get the job done. But what I'm finding is that even with less b-i-c time, the story still gets told. Here's why: While I'm out in the world doing all the stuff that has to be done, my mind is secretly working. I'll be driving down the freeway and whole scenes will play out in my head. I'll be in line at the grocery store and the solution to a plot problem will pop into my awareness. And the time it takes to get these ideas onto paper when they have formed themselves is far less than it would have taken me while sitting in front of a blank page.
So if life gets hectic or busy or overwhelming. Have faith that the story that needs to be told is working its magic. Give it a little space to do its thing. Get out of the chair and go take a walk or run your errands or deal with the day job or just sit and breathe fresh air before it gets too cold to do so. Spend a little less time doing and a little more time just being. Your story will still get told. It has a life of its own. And sometimes a little less productiveness on your part is just what the story needs to free it into form.
Be well
