The Qwertyrash Blogs

Two weeks ago I attempted something that I knew if I succeeded would be nothing short of miraculous. I decided to get up at 6am every day to write. My first writing project is to finish a book I started a couple of years ago. It’s a light hearted comedy about a city guy living in the country. Far from original, but at least it’s something. Having never written anything substantial - or more importantly, completed a whole book - it is a good starting point.

Two weeks later, I am yet to miss a morning, although I do allow myself the luxury of not getting up until 7am on Sundays. I also don’t bound out of bed - sometimes it’s 6:15am before I get up.

It’s a miracle really because I am not a morning person. But I was finding that I never had the energy to write at night plus I was so much more easily distracted (by the internet).

I also became aware that setting word goals was a problem for me that was putting too much pressure on me and stressing me.

Consequently I have a time goal. One hour. That’s working much better for me. I know on a good day I can write 1000 words an hour (of fiction). But some days I only get 300-500. Although, that is by longhand. Did I mention that? I’m not doing this on a computer.

Anyway the number isn’t important to me. It’s that I spent an hour dedicated to writing and am developing the writing habit.

Deb on Damselfly posted a piece on her own experience of getting up early, which gave life to this piece. One of the commenters, Andrew, talked of using a typewriter and I was sold. (The majority of this piece is contained in a comment I left in response to Deb’s article.)

A few days ago though, I got hold of an old manual typewriter, which has slowed my output down to around 750 words per hour, but there is such a buzz from the rhythm of the clack of the letters on paper. Also, the typewriter means I can then scan and OCR the page into the computer for editing. Can’t do that with my longhand!

I have found that I have to go to bed earlier, but that don’t matter, since I’m still up the same number of hours. And I’m productive one hour extra per day!

What made me, a night person, think I could get up early? Daylight savings. Last October I was tired and messed up for a week or so when daylight savings started. It FINALLY dawned on me last week that the body really will adjust if I start getting up an hour earlier.

Armed with a slice of Vegemite toast and a coffee I head out to my spot to write. Some mornings I’ve gone back to bed for 1/2 hr after writing.

I don’t think the writing has been overly flash, but I’ll fix that up in the second draft.

If you’ve ever thought about getting up early to write, whether a book or a blog or whatever, do it, it’s just so much easier to be productive then, than at 10pm.

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