How do I write?

I realized a long time ago that I find it very difficult to actually sit down and write. Do writing of any kind. I even despair of e-mails. I used to write long, flowing e-mails to entertain friends, but that was when e-mail was new. E-mail is not new.

The hardest thing is to sit down and write my novel - actually put words on the page. I am sure this is not uncommon So to counter this failing, I realized that setting the bar low was the answer. But not too low. Basically I know I need to write every day, 5 days a week. I am not crazy so I don't feel bad at taking the entire weekend off, so long as I work my 5 days. My approach is to get the writing out of the way as soon as possible. For this reason I start at 8 a.m. And I realized that 2 hours is my maximum capacity at one sitting - this is based on the idea that if the writing is going well, I can actually drift into it for 20-30 minute spells without noticing the time. These are the best times. On that basis, I can doze off a little after a difficult start to discover there is 45 minutes or so remaining in my two hour slot. Which I struggle through to the end.

The next part of my self-imposed plan is to take a break, neither too long nor too short, so it is a break, but before I realize it, I am basically back at it. After much experimentation - involving starting too soon, or usually, drifting off somewhere for the rest of the day/week - I've realized the perfect time is 30 minutes. This allows me to do something - make tea, move something around (including myself), check what's in the fridge, but more often than not make tea and walk around, and then PING! the desk duty calls!

So all in all, I write 4 hours a day and stop. 8am-10am, and 10.30am - 12.30pm. The advantage of this schedule is that you get everything else done in the afternoon, rather than fretting around thinking about writing!