No time to write? Try spontaneous writing - also called snacking, toggling and using time confetti it's a great approach if you're busy, over scheduled or unpredictable.
I’ve been doing this for years now. Without knowing it had a name. I began by intending to have an every morning writing practice, often without knowing what I’d write about. I always have 4 projects in progress, so I would just pick one, start my Pomodoro timer and go! These are my chapters, and often when I leave them and go back to them much later, I can’t believe how good they are.
The pomodoro is a godsend - the simplicity of it, just set the timer and write. And yes, there are lots of different names for this type of practice - from snacking, toggling, time confetti. We like spontaneous as it is often unscheduled, in my experience, even the thought of scheduling a writing time can be too much for some people. I love how surprised you are by your words - what a joy! Thank you for sharing.
I think, no, I know this is me. A huge part of the writing practice I've developed has been less about frequency than removing barriers to writing and developing a writing muscle that can spring into action when I need/want it to which sometimes isn't when I've written it down in my diary. E.g. I write on my phone, always have a pen and notebook to hand, and always have a rough plan of what I want to work on for the week ahead which gives me wriggle room if the brain and body are struggling. I was just reading https://esmewwang.substack.com/ piece about (not) writing every day and it really struck a chord.
Harriet you are so right - it's all about removing the friction, simplifying so we get the words on the page (or phone). The wiggle room is important. When the choice is between doing something perfectly or not doing it at all, we will often do nothing.
This has made such a difference for me the last three weeks since having it framed this way in the book. Having mechanisms set up to make spontaneous writing easier was the first step and then doing it, the next. It has made my work so much more seamless and I'm getting so much more done!
Thank you Kristine - I love this and how much it is helping you right now. There is something liberating about writing spontaneously - so often I tell myself I don't enough time to write, yet when I grab those pieces of time confetti I write much more than I ever imagined. It's nice to prove my pessimistic self wrong! I hope you are well and the ankle is healing. Here's to spontaneity :)
I’ve been doing this for years now. Without knowing it had a name. I began by intending to have an every morning writing practice, often without knowing what I’d write about. I always have 4 projects in progress, so I would just pick one, start my Pomodoro timer and go! These are my chapters, and often when I leave them and go back to them much later, I can’t believe how good they are.
The pomodoro is a godsend - the simplicity of it, just set the timer and write. And yes, there are lots of different names for this type of practice - from snacking, toggling, time confetti. We like spontaneous as it is often unscheduled, in my experience, even the thought of scheduling a writing time can be too much for some people. I love how surprised you are by your words - what a joy! Thank you for sharing.
I think, no, I know this is me. A huge part of the writing practice I've developed has been less about frequency than removing barriers to writing and developing a writing muscle that can spring into action when I need/want it to which sometimes isn't when I've written it down in my diary. E.g. I write on my phone, always have a pen and notebook to hand, and always have a rough plan of what I want to work on for the week ahead which gives me wriggle room if the brain and body are struggling. I was just reading https://esmewwang.substack.com/ piece about (not) writing every day and it really struck a chord.
That ability to spring into action is so important and takes practice! I’m working on it!
And thank you for sharing https://esmewwang.substack.com/ - so much great stuff there :)
Harriet you are so right - it's all about removing the friction, simplifying so we get the words on the page (or phone). The wiggle room is important. When the choice is between doing something perfectly or not doing it at all, we will often do nothing.
This has made such a difference for me the last three weeks since having it framed this way in the book. Having mechanisms set up to make spontaneous writing easier was the first step and then doing it, the next. It has made my work so much more seamless and I'm getting so much more done!
Thank you Kristine - I love this and how much it is helping you right now. There is something liberating about writing spontaneously - so often I tell myself I don't enough time to write, yet when I grab those pieces of time confetti I write much more than I ever imagined. It's nice to prove my pessimistic self wrong! I hope you are well and the ankle is healing. Here's to spontaneity :)
Whoop 🙌 Amazing! Super to hear Kristine :)