1) Give up Netflix. Limit Facebook and Twitter to potty breaks.
2) Know what scene I need to write next so the waterfall of my mind can be working during the mundane moments. I started doing this in college since I studied and worked full time. Just knowing what I had to write about next let me collect ideas and be working on it before I actually sat down to write.
3) Use my whiteboard if I get stuck, and my mom's classic technique, start with what you know. By the time I write down where I'm at and what I know, I usually have some ideas for what's next.
4) Lock up my inner editor, my grammar nazi, my perfectionist, and my lazy self, and give myself permission to be terrible, as long as I keep writing. Also, I may not think about how many of these words I will delete later.
5) Pat the cat. 20 seconds lowers blood pressure.
6) Tell the parts where I'm stuck to my son. He likes it if I add him in, but it helps me think of more action, less dialogue. A 6 year old doesn't care about who said what.
7) Write on my phone if necessary. Thumb typing is better than no typing. Like this blog post. Asleep daughter is paralyzing my right arm, the cat is on my stomach, and my left arm is falling asleep. But my mind is free.
8) Look for the funny everyday. I'm not a comedic writer, but much of life is a bit ridiculous, really. Did you know that Congress passed a Paperwork Reduction Act in 1980, and amended it in 1995? I only know this because I spend a lot of my life doing paperwork.
9) Think up excuses but work anyway. I'm tired. I have kids and a job. I'm moving. Then I tell myself, "Suck it up, buttercup."
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