The title for my blog alludes to my nonfiction book, Meditation Turns Back the Clock: a journey through timelessness.

They say if something matters to you, you’ll make time for it.

Take meditation as an example. I feel incomplete when I don’t meditate. The same goes for writing. But what if we’ve already made time for our kids, our students, our job, our bills, our sanity?

We want to write desperately. By the time we finally sit down, our brains are mush. Our bodies say it’s time for bed.

Time: the biggest writing obstacle

Yet, when I was working as a pool tech in Florida during COVID, I learned something.  Although I was physically exhausted after hours of working in the heat, I actually had a writing rhythm. I knew when my day was over. I showered, sat down, and wrote.

It took me five months to finish the first draft of La Piscina Inn. I wrote this screenplay after getting spooked at the pool of an empty house I took care of.

I spent another four years rewriting it. I’ve now decided to adapt it into a novel (due to reasons you can read here if you’re interested).

Ironically, since 2021, I came back to a job that’s mental rather than physical. I find myself more drained than ever. Not because I don’t love what I do. I do. I adore teaching. I pour hours into my students’ work, giving feedback I wish someone had given me when I was their age.

But when it comes time to give that same energy to my own stories, I sometimes hit a wall. I stare at that blinking cursor. I know what I want to say but unable to form sentences. This is due to brain fog from sheer mental exhaustion. And then…

meditate…contemplate…write…

I meditate, even if it’s only for 10 or 20 minutes.  It brings me clarity and clears that fog away. 

Looking back, although physical, cleaning pools was meditative… the rhythmic brushing…contemplating… thinking.  No one to talk to except my own inner thoughts.  I realized that I was meditating throughout the day.

Even if I only get a sentence or two, maybe a page or two written, it’s progress…

Here I am adapting La Piscina Inn into a novel with a fall completion goal. And I’m almost finished with Meditation Turns Back the Clock.

So I’m writing this to offer something. It’s not a perfect solution. Still, it can help you get into a daily writing routine.  It could be anything that feels meditative to you… a walk, reading a passage, or sitting down with a cup of tea and just journaling for five minutes. Just know this…

You’re not a failed writer if your story is taking years.

You’re not less of an artist because your work-in-progress is gathering dust.

You are a writer, even when you’re not writing.

The stories are still alive inside of us.  We just need a shift, a different way of thinking and planning.

Here are some other things that have helped me write over the years (sometimes):

Voice notes in the car: I did that during driving intervals on my pool route

Small goals: Ten minutes. 100 words. A single sentence. Sometimes that’s all we can manage, and that’s fine! I guard this time like a sacred ritual. It’s not always productive, but it’s always mine.

Being okay with being slow: Not easy, but necessary.

What About You? What’s your Writing Routine Advice?

I’d love to hear from other writers. Do you feel like your lives are too full for the stories in your heads?

What do you do to make space for writing in a busy life?

What habits (or mindset shifts) have helped you get words on the page without burning out?

Drop a comment, share your truth. Let’s talk about the real, messy, beautiful challenge of writing while living a full and complex life.

Feel free to drop a link for a work-in-progress book blurb. You can also share a completed novel, a book of poetry, or short stories. I’m always looking for a good read. And I’m sure others are too!

We’re not alone in this.

Happy Writing!

~ M.C. Convery