Insecure Writer's Support Group: Stealing A Sentence

 Have I ever mentioned how much I love this group? It's one of the few places on the internet that hasn't gone down hill. I've been a part of it for years and the support people give never wanes.

Especially given last month was quite venty and not very writerly. But you rallied around me, shared your own struggles to let me know hubby and I weren't going it alone, and assured me things will pick up. I completely forgot to reply to comments, so consider this one big reply to everyone who popped in:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS.

Before I get in to the writing thing I want to talk about (because I really didn't feel like having a 3rd month in a row where I asked for good vibes for hubby. Especially because it's helping. Recently, hubby got a reply back from a company and he's been interviewing. I'm writing this before his interview so hopefully I won't have to come back after it and update with bad news because as of this week, hubby's unemployment has run out.)

UPDATE: His interview went well. He's checking boxes of what they are looking for and they said they will talk to him again.

I seriously just forgot what I was going to say in my ramble about hubby's upcoming interview. 😂 It might have been the fact yesterday was my wedding anniversary. I dunno.

I guess it's on to what I wanted to ask advice about for my writing.

For basically my entire writing life, I've had the luxury of time. A lot of it, I wasn't working a day job so I had all day to sit down and write. I could really get into the zone. My lack of health and chronic pain did make it harder, but I still had oodles of time to get something written. As a result, I published a bunch of books.

Now, though, my time isn't over flowing, so I gotta change how I write. Which isn't a big deal for micro fiction, but for longer stuff, I can't get lost in the zone anymore.

That's where my problem lies. For longer fiction, I'm not used to doing that. I've never just taken a couple minutes to write a sentence or two before dashing off to work. I get a feeling of panic when I think about trying to write in the time I have between jobs or during work breaks.

What if I lose track of time? What if I'm late? What if I end up fired?

My brain definitely goes down a spiral of doom. Taking a deep breath and assuring myself that won't happen doesn't work well.

But I have to learn how to write longer fiction in small chunks. I have a few ideas I can try. (Like how I trick my brain with deadlines by not using that word. I'm also thinking of writing down the last paragraph I wrote in a notebook so I can reread it and see if that sparks a sentence or two.)

I want to know how any of you do squeeze writing into 5 or 10 or 15 minutes? What tips have you picked up to sneak writing in? If they don't use a timer or the word deadline is ideal, as I have said, my brain panics at the thought of time ticking down.

Today's post was part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by the ninja captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's a group for writers struggling with writing insecurity (AKA all of us) to gather and discuss their fears or to celebrate writing victories. If you are a struggling writer or need encouragement and friendship, join us. (Someone might have cookies!)

Remember to visit the co-hosts and give them a shout-out for helping. Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!