Stick to a Writing Routine During Summer

If it's summer where you live, you may be experiencing the craziness that seems to happen. It's warm and sunny, kids are out of school, people take vacation from work. And you don't want to miss any of it. Where I live, summer lasts about three months (if we're fortunate) and everyone gets a fever to be out of the house or office and onto the beach or at least out shopping. I'm not immune and I find summer a difficult time to keep up with all the essentials, including writing. Here are a few tips that may help you to keep those words coming during the crazy months of summer.

Rearrange Your Writing Schedule
Between vacations, maybe having your children home every day, and just the irresistible weather, your writing routine may suffer. So rethink it. Is there a time of day that would work better during summer? Maybe first thing before other responsibilities or the sun beckons? Or perhaps later, after you've done everything else and things quiet down? Work with your lifestyle, not against it, and you're guaranteed to get more writing done.

Take Your Notebook With You
Bring your notebook when headed to the beach or going away for the weekend. Plop under your umbrella and take advantage of the relaxed environment. If you want a break from your work-in-progress, use a writing prompt or exercise instead. Use the change of pace to fuel current ideas or spark new ones. You may find you not only can but want to squeeze in more time for writing when you're away.

Don't Stress
Summer can be filled with a lot of extras - vacations, weekend getaways, beach or pool days. As a result, you may miss some writing sessions here and there. Stick to your schedule as best you can but don't be too hard on yourself. Make goals you can reach during this time of year. And don't feel endlessly guilty over missing a session once in a while. You can still stay on track, you just may slow down a bit. Eventually, life will shift again and you'll return to your old schedule.

So enjoy the summer months while they last. Benefit from the time you may have off and away. Let it bolster your enthusiasm for your writing projects and help you generate new ideas. Most of all, work with your summer routine and keep writing!