I have now done two 21-day challenges at my yoga studio. I tried to go for a whole 30 days in both cases, but didn’t quite make that. I did make at least the 21 days the first time and 24 straight the next time. I do yoga most days.
I learned one big lesson in the first challenge round. I don’t challenge myself enough. I have tried to pick that, not let things go slack. That was hard, and I wasn’t particularly successful. I didn’t pick up my yoga practice; I did pick up my ice skating.
That did turn out to be a good thing. The harder the stuff I try on the ice--the failures and then successes--makes me a more accomplished skater. It also gives me greater faith and confidence in yourself. I need that as a writer and as a skater--probably more so.
JMS, the Great Maker (of BABYLON 5) put it, “Faith manages.”
There is nothing else to sustain me in writing. It, like academic history, is a solitary pursuit. Skating is only slightly less so. Practice is frequently on my own, but group and private lessons do help in directing the progress. In writing there’s no coach to hold my hand through challenging maneuvers like outside edge three turns and forward inside edge mohawks. I just gotta do it and have faith in myself (and my inner critic).
SJ Rozan spoke to this kind of faith at Bouchercon in St. Louis. She was writing her third novel while the first two remained unsold. She decided that that unsold part didn’t matter. She chose to keep on writing--for herself. I saw and heard the faith Rozan had in herself and her work.
Breathe. Faith manages.
I thought about what Rozan said later and I realized I do have faith in my work. I retain some dogged belief that my novel is worth doing, that the Earl’s a good character, that the other characters resonate.
How does faith manifest itself? It challenges itself to finish. To put the work out there for the world to see. To keep going.
1000 words per day equals an hour of ice time or an hour on the mat. It’s always practice. I get better, but it’s always practice. It will never be perfect. The key is simply to do it and do it every day.
In the second yoga challenge, I picked up from the first lesson--to challenge myself more. I took more challenging classes. I learned two big lessons: mornings must be my writing time and a full round of yoga, while good for strength and stamina in skating, wipes my creative brain.
Mornings, I realized, are my most productive creative times. I can’t squander them. Mornings have to be set aside solely for writing. 8 to 11 am is the best time; sometimes, I can go to from 8 am to 2pm if I am on a roll. If I break at 11am for skating practice then I can get a second writing wind at tea time (3 to 5 pm) but by 5pm., it’s either yoga or gym or Miller time (depending on the day of the week).
A full round of yoga in the morning will kill any writing momentum. A short session on the mat, up to 45 minutes, is fine. That much settles and focuses the mind and relieves stiffness in the body. Anything more than that, I had better go spend the day doing research. A full session allows me to sit and focus on collecting information without getting fidgets. The time to do a full round of yoga has to be in the evening (unless I’m doing research) when, frankly, I just need to let go of all the tensions of the day. I can then get a really good night’s sleep.
The goal for the new year is put all into permanent practice. (The entire month of December is no time to start any new routine. Too crazy a time. I’m lucky if I can keep anything together.)
1. AM Yoga for right after my first cup of caffeine
2. Write for at least 2 hours
3. Read 2 books per week (both novels and history books)
4. Watch at least 2 movies per week
Use exercise--yoga, skating, roadwork (gym)--as the clean break between mental activities
If I can get this routine in gear, then I’ll be able to say with conviction that Minbari proverb (more BABYLON 5): “Claim victory in your heart and the universe will follow.”