Carve out time and get to your creative projects regularly in order to build some momentum, advises Kerry Hudson.
I’m writing this after crossing the finish line of my latest book.
It will be the fifth book I’ve written and, if writing a column like this one is a sprint, then a novel is truly a marathon. It’s a long-term feat of endurance, where you train yourself just to keep putting one foot in front of the other, believing you’ll eventually get there.
I haven’t lost any toenails or messed up my hamstrings while writing this book, but I can tell you that I’m limping a bit and in need of a hot bath, a big bowl of pasta and a lie down.
So, why do I do it? Because I’ve always loved books, and to get to write my own is astounding. Because, for every day I spend staring at the blank page, later on there will be a reader who tells me that what I wrote made them happy or sad or moved them, or changed the way they saw the world. That’s an incredible privilege.
And, if you have creative ambitions for 2023 – if, as the bells chimed on Hogmanay, you thought to yourself: “2023 is the year I will finally…” – then I’m here to tell you: everything is possible.
Without that tipping point, that little bit of luck, I don’t think I would ever be writing in this paper today. But you don’t get that little bit of luck unless you at least try
In fact, I didn’t even start writing until I was in my late 20s, when I got a bout of bronchitis and was off sick from my charity job. On a whim, I entered a writing competition in Australia and, miraculously, won it.
Without that tipping point, that little bit of luck, I don’t think I would ever be writing in this paper today. But you don’t get that little bit of luck unless you at least try.
Make some space and build momentum
The first thing I need to tell you is that, yes, you are going to tell some people. I’m not suggesting that you should run through your office, handing out save the date flyers for your as-yet-unwritten operetta about the fishhouses. In fact, no one in my workplace knew I was even interested in writing until I signed my first book deal, but it is helpful to tell the people closest to you.
Tell those you trust so they can support you, share your excitement and help you make space.
Making space in your life, claiming space, is vital for any project. For most of us, some sacrifices will have to be made. Whether that is a bit less TV, saying no to some weekend plans or (my preference) letting the housework slide.
It doesn’t have to be a lot but, in my experience, you will have to carve out time and get to your project regularly. After all, you’re trying to create a habit and build some momentum.
Break overwhelming tasks down
On momentum, the best advice I can offer is little but often. A novel is 80,000 words, and under those 80,000 words is an enormous, complex machinery of plot, character, setting and dialogue, clicking together like story Meccano to create a full-blown world that will hopefully capture the reader’s imagination. If that sounds overwhelming, it’s because it is, even for someone who’s written five books.
Because of this, I always break my work down into small pieces, depending on how much else I have on my plate. Now, with a full-time job and a toddler, I tell myself I’ll sit down and write 200 words. But, inevitably, once I’ve started writing, I will stay for longer, and more words will come.
Even if I do only manage that small, 200-word chunk, I’ve managed to take another step and that means I’m closer to The End.
Something else I, and many of the other writers I know, find helpful is the Pomodoro Technique. Effectively, this entails focusing on work for 25 minutes – and that means no internet, no WhatsApp, no getting up to make a cup of tea and then taking a 10-minute break to stretch your legs, check Twitter, or grab a few biscuits.
You can go the extra 0.2 miles
I’ve learned that, to finish the marathon of a book, you – wait for it – simply have to keep going. Creative projects can and should be enjoyable. Part of that is the habit of showing up.
Good luck! I’ll be running alongside, keeping pace, just as tired as you, but putting one foot in front of the other
Everyone forgets the 0.2 miles at the end of the 26.2 marathon, but I can tell you there is genuine satisfaction in knowing that, even though you felt you were on your knees at mile 26, you kept on going to cross the finish line at 26.2. Mostly because it tells you that you’ll be able to do the same for every other project.
There is no reason why 2023 can’t be your year creatively. Good luck! I’ll be running alongside, keeping pace, just as tired as you, but putting one foot in front of the other. See you at the finish line for that big bowl of pasta.
Kerry Hudson is an Aberdeen-born, award-winning writer of novels, memoirs and screenplays
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