Writing Must-Have #2 - Writing for Real newsletter is here!

Welcome to Writing for Real, a monthly newsletter helping you live your best new writer life. I'm glad you're here.

Was this email forwarded to you? You can subscribe here.

In this issue…

My Latest Chapter (a personal update)
Writing Must-Haves
Read This
Try This
QOTM - Question of the Month

My latest chapter

Fall is such a sensory time of year. The trees blaze with hues of orange, red, and gold, and their fallen leaves emit a wonderfully sweet, musky scent that evokes thoughts of apple cider and pumpkin pie. With the change in season, I feel like I'm inhabiting a wildly different place.

The details of place are important to me (maybe to you, as well) as they play a significant role in my emotional state. I find warm and sunny weather energizing, setting me up for a calm and productive day, while brisk and overcast conditions have me crawling back under the covers and questioning the meaning of life.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I revise my latest novel. As readers, we understand the importance of authors creating a setting that draws us in, filling our senses and establishing the write mood for the story. For writers looking to build a sustained creative practice, cultivating the right personal writing space is just as essential. Our workspace has a profound impact on our ability to write well. It needs to be a space that makes us feel our best creative self - one that inspires focus, imagination, and productivity. Creativity can happen anywhere, of course, but to create the habit of sustained writing, a well-tune writing space is a Must-Have (more on that below). The environment we surround ourselves with can either energize our writing process or undermine it.

Desk with laptop, small lamp, books and pens

This takes some trial and error to get right. I’ve tried writing in all sorts of places (by a window, at a desk, the corner of a coffee shop, in bed) and finally feel I’ve hit on what I need to write comfortably: a room with a door, a view of nature, my phone in ‘work’ mode, and a space for my pets to join me (until they bug me for an early dinner, then they end up on the other side of the door!). Oh, and a piping hot cuppa, contents dependent on the day.

I think the local chipmunks feel the same way. They are working double-time setting up their space, mainly by requesting I put out handfuls of peanuts so they can top up their coffers for winter. This little guy is gentle and patient, though I’m not entirely sure what he’s doing in this photo.

Lastly, pics of the Northern Lights! Maybe not the best pics, but I took them myself while standing on a cold, windy beach.

While my fingers tingled from the cold, my heart sang with joy at witnessing the amazing light show.

Finally enjoying one of my bucket-list wishes.

Writing Must-Haves

In continuation of last month’s Must-Haves theme, here’s another tip for new or hesitant writers. Of course, these Must-Haves work for any writer, but they are essential for new writers who are looking for a safe place to start. My goal with this newsletter is to make things super easy (and hopefully fun and interesting) so that you can feel good building your writer skills.

Must-Have #2

A unique writing space that establishes habit

Building a sustainable writing space requires both time and thoughtful reflection. As mentioned earlier, sensory details can make or break your writing experience. When starting a writing habit, you want to make it easy to get it right.

Did you plan on squeezing in a little writing between work and dinner preparations, only to bail because inspiration didn't come whooshing in the moment you sat down with your laptop? We've all been there.

It's okay. We can fix that. If you want to make cookies after dinner, you plan on having the necessary ingredients on hand, the time to bake them, and a tall glass of milk to wash them down. The same principle applies to creating a reliable writing routine.

If you want to write consistently, you need to cultivate a dedicated writing space and system that supports your creativity.

Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.

James Clear, Atomic Habits

Find your space. Coffee shop or quiet closet? Couch or ergonomic chair? Alone or with other writers? Only you can decide, but decide you must. Try a variety of spaces and carefully observe what works best for you. Once you think you've found the right setup, try it again to confirm your initial impressions. It may sound persnickety to some, but if you want to build a successful writing system, you need to be sure of what you, the writer, need to thrive. The right physical environment can make all the difference in your ability to focus and feel inspired.
Find your time. Whether it’s morning, midday or midnight, most writers need a chunk of time to get into flow. Don’t commit to the 5 AM Club (by Robin Sharma) if you’re a night owl. It only works if body and brain are on board. But the idea of blocking out a regular period of time (every day or week) as Sharma suggests, helps establish habit. Avoid squishing writing between stressful activities (that should be a transition time). Writing is a tough mental workout - it needs respect. Time block instead, at whatever time works for you.
Make it easy. With any system, easy only follows when things are organized and optimized. Your focus must be clear (ex: I’m outlining today) and your tools should be close at hand (laptop, MS open, thesaurus close) so you can quickly jump back in from your last writing session.
Make it a habit. Many believe it takes 21 days to build a habit. Not true, says Brian King in Psychology Today. He explains that habits are created by action and repetition, and while some habits can take 21 days, others can take much longer. He writes, “Anything that provides our brain with intense feelings of pleasure is going to be learned fast.” That’s why it’s important to find the system that makes your brain feel safe, comfortable, creative and productive. I like to add in a favourite drink or snack, or diffuser scent (Liquid Sunshine is awesome) to foster those feelings of pleasure and keep me coming back.

Want to read more on winning the habit game? Click here for info on James Clear and his best-selling book Atomic Habits, and here for Brian King.

Found your perfect writing space? Send me a pic!

Check back next month for another Writing Must-Have!

Read this…

This month's recommended read is Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.

Four Thousand Weeks challenges the way we typically think about time. The premise is simple yet profound - if you live to 80 years old, you have approximately 4,000 weeks on earth. What you choose to do with those precious weeks can make all the difference in how content and fulfilled you feel with your life - and how well your writing progresses.

The sobering realization is that, if you read this book at 40 years old, you've already used up half of your 4,000 weeks. Yikes! This underscores the importance of being intentional and judicious with how we allocate our time.

There’s enormous pressure on writers to churn out books, be active on socials, to hustle and have lots of irons in the fire - all requiring superhuman time management skills. However, Burkeman argues that prioritizing productivity over wellbeing, over living in the present and finding joy in our creative work, is fundamentally flawed. Instead, he suggests we should place greater value on life rather than time.

This shift in perspective - from viewing time as something to maximize to seeing it as part of a well-lived life - can paradoxically lead to enhanced productivity (yay, more writing!) and a deeper connection to purpose. When we stop frantically trying to manage every minute and instead focus on meaningful engagement with our work, we often find ourselves more creative, more productive, and more fulfilled.

By releasing ourselves from the constant pressure to optimize every moment, we create space for genuine creativity and connection with our writing.

You can read more about his book here.

Try this…

This month's writing prompt looks at the impact of time and space on characters:

Write a short scene with a character mulling over one (impactful) decision she has made in her life (maybe deciding to have/not have children, or getting married to the wrong person, or choosing to move to a different country). Identify time and place as she reflects on the impact, adding in those important sensory details!
Now re-write the scene with a completely different time and place (night/day, Canada/Morocco, at the beach/in the hospital, etc.)
Reflect on the difference. Does one feel stronger than the other? Ask yourself why. How does time and space change the story?

Share your piece with me—I'd love to feature a couple of them in future newsletters!

QOTM

What is an absolute MUST in your writing space? Fancy pens and paper? Your old laptop with no internet? A drawer full of caramels? Reach out on Instagram or email to let me know.

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward to someone who might be interested.

If you have any suggestions for making this newsletter more meaningful, please email info@sandraziemniak.com.

Until next month, write on, Prose Partner, write on!