| If you can't find time to write while juggling a | | | | fact, the section that will require the most |
| full-time job and family, your solution could be in | | | | changes is the scene I wrote next to the |
| what writer Tom Morrisey calls "stolen-time" | | | | fountain, where I wrote for about 25 minutes |
| writing or "writing in the margins." | | | | non-stop. |
| Tom is a business writer who writes for clients | | | | >>> |
| like the Ford Motor Company. He writes novels, | | | | => How to be a Five-Minute Writer --- be |
| too. His latest novel, Turn Four, was published to | | | | prepared |
| rave reviews in February 2004 by HarperCollins | | | | Writing in stolen moments takes a little planning. |
| Zondervan. Tom wrote about his stolen writing | | | | Firstly, you need to make your current writing |
| time in a post he made to the AlphaSmart | | | | projects portable in some way. Many writers |
| Community Web site, at | | | | write in paper notebooks. Others print out their |
| (The AlphaSmart is a fabulous, inexpensive | | | | work, and stuff the typescript into a folder or a |
| laptop-computer alternative which many writers | | | | bag, then write on the back of the typescript and |
| use.) | | | | on loose-leaf paper. Some writers prefer laptop |
| Here's an extract from the post which impressed | | | | computers, or the AlphaSmart. I love Palm |
| me because it reveals exactly how to write in | | | | handhelds; I've been using a Palm handheld |
| stolen moments: | | | | computer to write wherever and whenever for |
| >>> | | | | many years. |
| I carried the AlphaSmart with me, literally | | | | Next, decide what you're going to work on. If you |
| everywhere during our day. With a laptop, this | | | | don't plan to work on Project X or Project Y, |
| would be like walking around with a small dumbbell, | | | | you'll spend five minutes doodling. Take along a |
| but the AS3K is light enough that it was as | | | | couple of projects. If you don't feel like working |
| effortless as carrying a book. Greenfield Village is | | | | on an article, you may feel like working on a short |
| full of historic buildings, and a brief look into each | | | | story. Some writers simply designate "spare" |
| one is usually sufficient for me. I'd then retire to | | | | writing as brainstorming time, or journaling time. |
| the building's porch, or to a park bench, glance at | | | | I take along any project which I seem to have |
| the "next" file on my AlphaSmart, and write. Our | | | | stalled on. I find that writing away from my office |
| family would walk together to the next house, | | | | frees me up enough so that I can relax and find |
| talk about what we'd seen, and the process | | | | fresh angles in my work. |
| would repeat. The "instant on" feature of the | | | | => Be a confident Five-Minute Writer |
| AlphaSmart let me write even when my | | | | As well as your preparation, you need to develop |
| "window" in which to do so was only 2-3 minutes | | | | the right attitude. Relax. Don't make demands on |
| long, and the daylight-visible screen let me work | | | | yourself. Writing in public feels a bit odd the first |
| even when the only convenient place to perch | | | | few times you do it, after that, you no longer |
| was in full sunlight... | | | | care. You simply get on with it. It's a good idea to |
| Yet, when I sent the day's work into the PC and | | | | tell yourself that as soon as you open your |
| counted my words, I found that I'd written better | | | | computer or your notebook, you'll start writing, |
| than 2,300 words - all in "stolen moments" of | | | | even if it's only a letter to yourself about the |
| what would normally be idle time. And because I'd | | | | project. |
| had time to reflect on and consider each scene | | | | There you go. Now, what are you waiting for? |
| before sitting down to write in these brief bursts, | | | | Got five minutes? Get writing. |
| the work is going to require very little revision. In | | | | |