My mom is perfect.

Not like, My Mom is Better than Your Mom (though she is). Like, My mom is PERFECT.

You have to know her very, very well to see her flaws. 

So when I say she both didn’t do a very good job of teaching me how to be an adult and she also taught me everything I need to know about being an adult, you’ll know I’m not biased.

She was and is a great example.  I was a senior in high school before I realized what my mom did every day. She went back to work that year and most of what she had been doing either didn’t get done or was done by me.

My mom taught me everything from how to fix a running toilet to how to run a load of whites. What I know about cooking, cleaning, and housework, I largely learned from her. She made me do it, early and often, and I appreciate the lesson.

One thing she didn’t teach me was HOW. How she kept a perfect household when she was there. How she maintained a nearly-perfect household when she wasn’t there. How she got up every day and did the things. 

I was in my thirties before I realized the truth. When she finally told me the secret:

She had to learn how to do it. 

The answer to HOW was both super simple and completely complicated.

You learn.

I guess that’s what’s going on here. Learning. It’s a struggle, and it’s painful, but if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s learning.

What are you learning to do this summer? How are your struggles interwoven with your successes?

WordPress just wished me a happy 4 year anniversary.

This makes me both happy and ashamed.

I’m pleased I have been on this journey for that long and pleased I am still fighting the good fight.

I’m ashamed this blog doesn’t have 4 years worth of content, but that will only change if I change it.

So here goes:

I think this will be the third time I work on LUKE for a NaNoWriMo event. This time I hope to finish it.

It’s not exactly “not done,” it’s just not readable at this point.

The good news is when I am putting it together, the words are good and there and seem to want to be told.

I’m still struggling for ALIGNMENT (to what?), but I have been reminded over and over again that MY WORDS MATTER.

It matters that I put them out there. It matters that they’re there to read. It matters that I’m here.

LUKE hasn’t really been the struggle. It’s been everything from getting up to sitting down to work. There are several culprits, but none of them wants to take full responsibility at the moment.

I am moving on and moving through. I can do this. I know because I have done it before.

I’ve started over at the MORNING PAGES, just as I suggest you do. They have been very illuminating.

Living my life one day at a time has its drawbacks. Not many, but a few.

My past accomplishments seem to disappear in my efforts to get through one more day.

However.

If I can think it, it’s possible, and if I can find a way to make it happen, I will.

Here’s to another week of writing. May it continue.

Where are you feeling blocked, stuck or stressed? Let me know in the comments.

This week we add another task to our daily list. It would have been apropos a couple of weeks ago, but it fits here too. It is this: ACCEPT IMPERFECTION. This is not a perfect system and you are not a perfect person. We will, from time to time, get off track and have to start again. Whether you begin at the beginning or jump back in where you left off is your choice. The point is to keep going.

Again, the list of things we should be doing every day or every writing day:

MORNING PAGES
TRACK PROGRESS
PREP FOR YOUR NEXT WRITING SESSION
ACCEPT IMPERFECTION

This week we’re going to do a lot of writing. It’s getting more intense. See what you can make of this:

1. WRITE 25 MINUTES
2. WRITE 25 MINUTES
3. REST
4. RESEARCH
5. WRITE 30 MINUTES
6. WRITE 30 MINUTES
7. WRITE 25 MINUTES

Next week is the final week in our writing routine. I’d love to hear how it’s going for everyone.

Happy writing!

xxxlinsey

Welcome back.

By this week, we should be doing three things on a daily basis:

Morning Pages
Tracking
Prepping for next week

This last one is going to depend largely on how much writing time you have. Do you need to prep a week in advance? Or only a day? The point is you never sit down to write without knowing what you’re writing, whether that’s MORNING PAGES, your current work in progress (WIP), or a job you’ve been hired to do.

This week we’re going to do a lot of writing, so I would start by prepping your sessions for this current week.

Here’s the schedule:

DAY 1: WRITE 20 min.

DAY 2: WRITE 20 min.

DAY 3: REST

DAY 4: RESEARCH

DAY 5: WRITE 20 min.

DAY 6: WRITE 25 min

DAY 7: WRITE 25 min.

As you can see, we’re upping our writing days and our writing times. Even if you’re resetting like me, I encourage you to follow this schedule. It’s easier to jump right back in than start over, but don’t let that stop you from starting over if you need to.

In other words, if your space has become a mess or your tracking system is off, feel free to take a step back and reassess those areas first. Still doing MORNING PAGES? That’s another place to start over.

This week I want to focus on diving back into where we left off. If you didn’t do MORNING PAGES today, do them now. Write your 20 minutes now. Do whatever it is you need to do in the time you have now. After all, it’s all we’re guaranteed.

See you next week.

xxxlinsey

For those of you keeping up, I’ve missed a couple weeks.

Not that I wish this on anyone, but we all know real life interrupts writing life from time to time.

This one has been bad. The equivalent, I imagine, of falling off a horse into the dust.

Then we get back on the motherfucking horse.

Next week I’ll be back with week three’s writing routine. If you’ve had to start over, like me. Don’t worry. You can do it. We all can. It’s been my pleasure to be on this journey with you and to share my struggle. I’m glad we are in this together.

xxxlinsey

WELCOME TO WEEK 2!

How did it go? Did you make progress? What does your TRACKING system show? How many days did you get those MORNING PAGES done?

It doesn’t matter what your answers are, it matters that you’re doing this.

Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. Sometimes it’s soldiering on through the heartbreak.

So let’s get started on WEEK 2. Get ready to level up.

First, we’re going to add to our DAILY tasks.
MORNING PAGES
TRACKING

That’s right. Now you’re going to begin your writing time with MORNING PAGES and end it with TRACKING. Each writing session should begin with getting your thoughts out and end with what you have accomplished.

This week we’re going to start out WRITING:

DAY ONE: WRITE 15

DAY TWO: WRITE 20

DAY THREE: WRITE 15

DAY FOUR: WRITE 20

DAY FIVE: REST (you still get to do morning pages and tracking :))

DAY SIX: PREP for next week. Get ready; this is our next daily task. Again, if you’re following the weekly plan, I’ve already done this for you, but you’re still responsible for your schedule.

DAY SEVEN: RESEARCH. Make a list of all the questions that have come up in your writing . That’s all. Just make the list. We’ll spend more time on it next week.

Not too bad, huh? I bet you made it just fine. What else can you do this week?

Let me know how it’s going for you. See you next week.

Well… it’s that time.

Let’s get ourselves together and write all the words. Here’s a break down of your first week. Don’t worry that Monday and Tuesday have already passed. Start today. See where you can get.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: MORNING PAGES
MORNING PAGES sound very complicated and writerly, but it is a really simple concept.
On your writing days, or every day if you’re ambitious, when it’s time to sit down and write, write or type out all the thoughts in your head. All of them.
Even if you start with a curse word.
Even if you start with “I don’t know what to write.”
Start.
What you will find almost immediately, is that this “primes your pump” and gets the words flowing. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to do with your words. Don’t worry if you don’t know where to put them. These are for your eyes only, though they can certainly be the inspiration or basis for something else.

My MORNING PAGES yesterday morning became this blog post.

SECOND: YOU MUST PREP YOUR SPACE
You need a place to write. Maybe you have a corner home office like me, or maybe you have a lap desk and a comfy chair. I’ve been there too. Whatever you have and whatever it is, you MUST make your writing space a writing space. That means for the writing time you’ve scheduled, that office, corner, bedroom, etc. IS your writing space and nothing else. If you have a desk, clean it. If you need to move some stuff around, do it. You will be grateful for this in time.  
You need a surface and a chair. There’s not much else you require. Bonus is a quiet room with a door that shuts, but not everyone has that luxury. When prepping your space, ask yourself what you really need. 
First I think you should determine how you’re writing. Do you need pens and a notebook? Room for a laptop? Do you need noise cancelling headphones because you don’t have a door to shut?

Here’s my before:

It’s not horrible, but it’s also not conducive to focused writing. I needed to remove all the unnecessary and nonessential items and get myself organized. Now I have everything within reach and I have my writing routine calendar right in front of me

This is what it looks like now:

Much better. Let’s move on.

THIRD: TRACK YOUR PROGRESS!
This is very important too. Find or create your tracking process and stick to it. Now look, you have already done your MORNING PAGES and PREPPED your space, so there’s two things you can write down already. Then you write down that you TRACKED your progress. I’m going through this process myself along with you, so my tracking system looks like this. It’s very simple.

See? It doesn’t have to be special or even pretty. It can be functional and plain. Because I like pretty stuff too, I made a different one that I will probably use during the NANOWRIMO months.
If you go to GET ACCESS at linseyewing.com, you can also get this pretty writing tracker for FREE as well as the 5-week writing calendar we’re going through.

NOW IT’S TIME TO WRITE:
The next three days are about making 15 minutes to sit down and write. That’s 45 minutes over the next three days. You can do it. What is going to keep you writing for fifteen minutes? What’s going to be a distraction to you while you write? Move it. Get it out of the way. Turn off the TV or shoo your kids outside and put your phone on do not disturb. Get rid of the things that will keep you from writing. Remember this is only for 15 minutes.
Now write your morning pages.
Write about what you have done and write about what you dream for your space in the future.
Guess what. You are doing it. You are a writer.

REST: It’s just as important to schedule your rest time as it is to schedule your writing time. Since we’ve done an intensive three days, this is the day to rest. You will find your rhythm as you move forward. Right now just schedule it and take the day off.

PREP FOR NEXT WEEK. If you’ve already been to linseyewing.com and gotten your free resources, you should have a guide for next week already, but you can always schedule on different days. The point is to get a routine. Make time to do 4 writing sessions instead of 3. Plan for 2 of those to be 20 minutes instead of 15.

That’s it! You’ve made it through week one. How does it feel?

Drop me a line to tell me how this is working for you or how you think it could improve.
I’d love to hear from you.

xxxlinsey

Last week I asked about your struggles. I was surprised by the confidences and by the honesty.

If you don’t already know, I’m taking part in a few professional challenges, and it’s just as hard to deal with the answers as to ask the questions.

For example, now I have to move forward knowing my writing matters and is helping people. That’s a big step for me. I’m no longer just blogging for myself.

so here’s what I’ve decided to do.

I’m creating a series, here and on my YouTube channel working my way through some writing routines that have helped me in everyday life.

If you’re trying to get yourself in order this year, this series is for you.

while you’re waiting for that to begin next week, I have some action steps for you:

First, if you haven’t already, head over to linseyewing.com and sign up for the waitlist. You’ll receive this graphic for free as soon as the website goes live.

This is where we’ll begin next week so you can get a head start 🙂

SECOND, snag your copy of the newly released Variations on the Theme of Goodbye available for sale on Amazon

THIRD, snag your copy of the equally fabulous Saint Devil by my partner R. here on Amazon

{a word of warning…these titles are not for all audiences and the latter is for very mature audiences}

Thanks for hanging with me here and for your support elsewhere. It means the world to me.

Get ready to whip those routines into shape. See you next week.

xxxlinsey

Can you believe we’re over halfway through our first month of the new year?

I bet no one can say it’s been easy.

Though the world may seem to be falling apart, we do have control over the chaos we let into our lives. We have something else in common. We all STRUGGLE.

If ALIGNMENT is my word for 2021, I want STRUGGLE to be my mission.

Both bearing witness to my own struggles and helping others through theirs.

So,

What are you struggling with right now?

I really want to know.

If we can help each other we will not struggle alone or in vain.

Drop me a line HERE to share your struggles in private. I’ll address as many as I can.

Thanks,

xxxlinsey