On learning (again) to guard writing time

My little yellow suitcase is packed again; tonight I’m flying to Darwin for the NT Writers Festival, to warmth (damn Melbourne winters!), to read rivers on a Mangrove Walk and be part of an incredible program, but MORE exciting is that then I’m flying to Broome to meet up with my family and our best mates who live there, for two weeks of adventures and half a years’ worth of catching up.

The last month has been full of festivals (thank you Sydney, Bellingen & Williamstown!), events and one superb week of writing at Springfield and all the limping over the line at home that the end of a long school term brings.

1. The view at Springfield 2. Charlotte Wood, me, James Colley and Melanie Saward at SWF. 3. With Holly Ringland at SWF. 4. With David Lindenmeyer and young Greta 5. Penni Russon, me and Jill Langhammer taking a writing break from Springfield 6. With Catherine McKinnon and Bruce Pascoe at Bellingen Writers Festival 7. On top of the world in Dorrigo with Laura and Amy 8. With Emily Westmoreland, Emily Spurr and Imbi Neeme at Williamstown Literary Festival 9. With Ernest Price at Chestnut Tree Bookshop

I’m tired. Everyone I know is tired. From work and life and the ongoing disconnect between the daily challenges of life here and a world in shambles and feeling very little power to do anything at all about any of it.

And so - I’m going inward, or attempting to. To family, to friends, to the tiny wrens that I think are nesting in the spiky shrubs and who explode out of the garden as I walk to my studio each morning, to the writing.

Here are my reminders to self on how to guard writing time, that I hope may be useful to you, too xx

Early nights, early mornings

One thing I did differently (some nights!) of these past festivals was to head back to my hotel room early for a cuppa and early night (except for the one I started watching High Country and couldn’t stop!). For those who know me well, you’ll know that this is off-brand - in both work and life social situations I like to be the last woman standing and resist at all costs the ‘end of the night’! So this is a new chapter: embracing a more sustainable way of managing my energy and using time away from home to re-charge as much as festival fairy-ing! I realised how envious I was of other writers who would arrive at a panel saying they’d got work done or had a long walk or rested, and I’m bringing that forward into festival times for myself.

I still stand by my general principles of How to Festival, but I’m also now acutely aware of what too much ‘outwardness’ can take from me and my writing practice (and general wellbeing!); something Charlotte Wood wrote about in her latest edition of Subtraction.

I’m (mostly) sticking to early morning get-ups to meet my friend for pilates or the gym. The accountability to my buddy is essential; without her, the doona nest on cold Melbourne mornings is far too tempting. The combo of getting stronger and stretchier is addictive plus getting it out of the way at 6am means I’ve got no excuse to avoid the writing later in the day.

Using bum glue

My week on retreat at the magnificent Springfield with dear writer friends reminded me a) that I need uninterrupted time to make inroads on new writing projects and b) that given the circumstances I CAN get the words down.

I hit my somewhat ambitious targets of getting 20k new words down and discovered a bunch of important things about my characters and plot.

Over many retreats I’ve worked out that my essential ingredients are:

• daily to do lists and word counts

• breaks for walking, reading and napping

• timed sessions at the desk: sometimes using generative prompts for 7 minutes (I subscribe to Sarah Sentilles’ Prompts and Circumstance and used these) and sometimes setting a 20 or 40 minute timer before I rewarded myself with coffee, snacks or a walk break

• journalling: all of the goals and lists, questions, late night thoughts, research, notes from my phone after dinner convos with my writing friends, love notes to myself for the next day’s writing (basically ‘you’ve got this! keep going!')

• out of office for both work and life: putting boundaries around retreat time by not checking email and also letting friends and family know I’ll be more absent in chats. I plan times that work at both ends to chat to the kids but otherwise try and ignore all those messages from school, sports group etc etc!

Retreating works for me because of both what I am doing with my days and what I am NOT doing; which leads me to…

No is a complete sentence

Look, this one is a work in progress for me, but I’m getting better. There is no denying the joy of being asked to do things; be they events, festivals, endorsements, social functions. In an industry where we both spend a lot of solo time writing, and where we have to fight for limited space to get eyes on our work - it’s a privilege to get invited to be part of opportunities, and often a recognition of hard work that we are even getting asked.

But our time is not infinite, and realising that saying yes to opportunities is saying no to writing time is important. Putting in a pause before I say yes (‘thanks so much, I’ll get back to you when I’ve checked schedule’), handing over the opportunity to someone else in the industry, and/or blocking out time in calendar where I am not allowed to add other events all work for me.

Writer Amie Kaufman has excellent advice on time management, saying no and boundaries in this convo we had on The First Time podcast (specific section from approx 23 minute mark).

Falling in love with the project again

The week at Springfield really allowed me to get my brain and body back into this new novel. I dreamed about it. I read books that fed what I was writing. I ‘thieved’ everything I could from conversations and experiences to channel back into the work. When I get that immersive buzz about a project, I always feel like one part of my brain is inside the book, that I’m a magnet for both the big ideas and little details that will fuel the work.

A post-it note on my window says: If you neglect your manuscript it will neglect you. (From Claire Keegan - thank you, Jill!) So whether I’ve got writing time scheduled in a day, I’ll make sure I make a journal note, or a voice memo or take a margin note in a book I’m reading: ‘touching the dough’ of the book and making sure it knows I’m thinking about it.

How do you guard your writing time? Would love any advice you’re keen to share!

Writing experiment

Had some delightful writer chat this week about how to find out more about your characters. There were excellent suggestions including spending time answering questions about your characters (you can find these kinds of questions in The Proust Questionnaire or in The 90 Day Novel).

Two useful writing exercises I do to find out more about my characters are:

• get my character to write a letter to me. They address it to me as author, tell me some of the things I might be missing, reveal a secret, urge me forward or to go back and go deeper or to get my bum in a chair and keep writing.

• have a conversation on the page with a character. I do this in a word doc - one line for me, next line for the character - and I go as fast as my fingers will allow. I might ask the character how they felt about a particular event or another character or why they made a particular decision. I do this in first person, but rarely write my books in first person, so this feels like an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse into their brain.

How do you get to know your characters?

What I’ve been

Reading

• Orbital by Samantha Harvey This book is a revelation. Six astronauts orbit the earth and marvel. I took so many pics of the pages because the writing is just so magnificent. Hopeful, extraordinary.

• To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon Loved this new novel from the author of Storyland. An examination of conflict, connection and consequence that is both tragic and filled with tenderness. Destined for awards in my opinion, and to be held up alongside Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North as a classic and compelling exploration of war.

• Imperial Harvest by Bruce Pascoe Chatted about this historical tale of 13th Century Mongolia alongside Hurdy Gurdy by Jenny Ackland and All Fours by Miranda July with Kate Evans and Beejay Silcox on The Bookshelf this week.

• Rapture by Emily Maguire One to look forward to and to add to your TBR or pre-order lists! I love Maguire’s work - Love Objects and An Isolated Incident are both faves - but this new novel is a new direction and gee it is GOOD. A historical tale of a young girl in 9th Century Europe as she flees from the life laid out for her and embraces her gifts - for lovers of Lauren Groff’s Matrix, Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words and Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites.

Listening to

• Missing Campers I’m torn on this one: can’t stop listening to this Channel 9 produced podcast from inside the court trial of the man alleged to have committed the murders of a couple on a camping trip (and just found guilty on one count) BUT feel conflicted about hearing the actor and AI voiced testimonies while the trial is ongoing?! Would love to hear others’ thoughts!

Watching

• High Country on Binge. Got on to this during Bellingen Writers Festival where both Leah Purcell and partner and co-producer Bain Stewart were guests. They’ve collaborated on this excellent series in which Purcell stars. Sumptuous setting and scenery in the high country, compelling mystery and Purcell shines as the new cop in town. Looking forward to S2!

• Bump on Stan. My daughters and I are watching and LOVING Bump. Still in S1 and delighted by the cast, the excellent script and all the feels. My girls and I loved Heartbreak High and Never Have I Ever and this is a great follow up.

Got coming up

• Thrilled to be heading North for the NT Writers Festival on Larrikia Country in Darwin this week. I’ll be appearing at:

  • Opening night with Debra Dank, Charlotte Wood and more Thursday 27 June on the MAGNT lawns

  • Mangrove Story Walk Saturday 29 June 7.30am

  • Another Ending is Possible with Donna Cameron (THE REWILDING) Saturday 29 June 4.30pm

  • The Future of Storytelling with Tim Parish, Barry Jonsberg and Caroline Graham Sunday 30 June 1.15pm.

• One Book One Wagga: Riverina Playhouse, Friday July 12. In conversation with Karen Viggers about The Hummingbird Effect. Tickets here.

• Riverina Festival: Saturday 13 July, Riverina Playhouse. Appearing with Karen Viggers, Julia Levitina and Mary-Anne O’Connor. Full day festival tix here.

• My dear friend Alice Robinson is launching her phenomenal new novel IF YOU GO in Melbourne with Tegan Bennett Daylight on Sunday July 14. Free event, bookings here. (And for Sydney folk, you can catch Alice in convo with James Bradley on Thursday 27th June at Glee Books)

• Warm Winter Read book chat: The Hummingbird Effect with my friend Katherine Collette at Albert Park Library, Wednesday July 24 6.30pm. Free, bookings here.

Hope there is much time for reading and for writing in your coming weeks, K xx