As I\u2019ve noted before, I am not a slow and steady author. My life would probably be a bit simpler if I were. I see Facebook updates from writers who apply derriere to chair each and every morning before they have to go to their day jobs and tap out a few hundred to a thousand words. I admire that kind of sane, sensible work ethic.<\/p>\n
But I do not often write at a civilized pace. I\u2019ll compose very little for most of a week \u2013 generally I\u2019ll be mulling scenes over in my head or revising what I\u2019ve already put down on paper \u2013 and then I\u2019ll write thousands of words over the course of a couple of days.<\/p>\n
For instance, I wrote 7600 words of my novel Switchblade Goddess<\/a><\/em> over the course of one 24-hour period.<\/p>\n No, those words were not the line \u201cAll work and no play makes Lucy a dull girl\u201d typed over and over again. They were not addled ravings that promptly got scrapped when the No-Doz wore off (I don\u2019t take that stuff anyway; see below). According to my first readers, the scenes were solid, and haven\u2019t required much more revision than anything else I wrote.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been writing for publication for a while, you\u2019ve likely learned whether you\u2019re a tortoise or a hare. It\u2019s a little like knowing whether you write best by plotting out your stories ahead of time, or if you produce your best work if you follow the story where it leads you. (I\u2019m a plotter; other binge writers may tend to write by the seat of their pants.)<\/p>\n However, you may still be trying to figure out what work style suits you best. Marathon writing sessions are often exhilarating and give me a great sense of accomplishment when they go well \u2026 but my first couple of binges left me exhausted and useless for the next couple of days. I\u2019d pulled all-nighters in college and figured this would be much the same thing, right? I didn\u2019t account for the fact that a 19-year-old body is a whole lot more able to cope with sleep deprivation, immobility, and repetitive stress than a 38-year-old body. I\u2019ve improved my tactics since those first times, and I can generally get more words and still manage to function at my day job once I\u2019ve had a decent bit of sleep.<\/p>\n So, without further ado, here is my advice for preparing for and completing a big writing binge.<\/p>\n Prepare Your Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n Pick out the one or two days you intend to be binge writing, and clear your calendar. No, seriously. Clear it.<\/em> You are not going to the store. You are not going to the movies. You are not washing the dishes. You will be writing, or resting, and that\u2019s it. If you have family obligations, enlist your spouse and children to your cause. If you don\u2019t treat this as a serious thing, they won\u2019t, either.<\/p>\n The day after a binge will be a little iffy. If you have a day job, try to arrange things so that you won\u2019t have to do anything that requires much concentration or other brain power. If you\u2019re a doctor, this won\u2019t be a good day to schedule your patients for brain surgery.<\/p>\n Prepare Your Mind and Body<\/strong><\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t written a single word for a month, it\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019re going to be able to magically produce thousands of words once you finally sit down at your computer \u2013 you\u2019ve let your writing muscles go cold. If you\u2019re trying to \u201csave\u201d yourself for the big day, at least do one free writing exercise for 15 minutes every day before you start.<\/p>\n Eat right, and get decent sleep the couple of days before your marathon; if you\u2019re not well rested before you start, your 24 hours in front of the computer may end up with a lot of staring dumbly at a blank screen. And that sucks.<\/p>\n Prime your imagination. In the days before the binge, try to do some things to get your creative juice flowing. Go see a dazzling movie or a live show, or visit a museum you\u2019ve wanted to try but haven\u2019t found the time to visit. Go out with friends whose company you find energizing. The important thing is to get yourself into a headspace where you\u2019re excited about the time you\u2019ll have for writing, and your story is percolating nicely in your head and ready to go.<\/p>\n Choose Your Beverage<\/strong><\/p>\n As with a \u201creal\u201d marathon, keeping yourself properly hydrated will keep your brain working at its best.<\/p>\n But when people start talking about writing in the same breath as beverages, most folks inevitably start thinking about booze or coffee. Alcoholic beverages are probably not going to be helpful in this situation; the Hash House Harriers<\/a> aside, you wouldn\u2019t try to run 25 miles with a gin and tonic in your hand, would you?<\/p>\n Caffeine can be your friend \u2026 but it can also quickly become your enemy if you misuse it. I recommend against using caffeine pills like the aforementioned No-Doz, and I\u2019m vehemently against stronger stimulant drugs. The risks to your health just aren\u2019t worth it. People have died from overdosing on caffeine pills and energy drinks; admittedly most of these folks engaged in absolutely boneheaded consumption, but you can screw yourself up accidentally.<\/p>\n Back in college when I wasn\u2019t used to the stuff, I became intoxicated after consuming two cups of coffee and two Sudafeds (I was trying to get rid of a bad sinus headache). It was one of the most horrible things I\u2019ve been through: racing heartbeat, raving panic, confusion, alarmingly massive gastrointestinal upset. If I had been attempting to write, all I could have written would have been something like \u201cHELP I AM DYEI8NG HleP!!!\u201d I didn\u2019t get to the vomiting blood stage, but that was a small mercy considering I was pretty sure my heart was going to explode straight out of my chest like an alien larva.\u00a0 And I was a wreck afterward. Utterly wrecked.<\/p>\n So. Know your limits before you start, and try not to be actively addicted to the stuff. If you\u2019ve been in the habit of pounding down a pot of coffee every day, more probably won\u2019t be that much of a help to you. Once you develop a dependency on caffeine, you stop drinking coffee (or tea etc.) to get a boost and start drinking it just to keep yourself from feeling crummy and foggy.<\/p>\n But if you\u2019ve been abstaining from coffee \u2013 yet aren\u2019t a total lightweight like I was at 18 \u2013 a pot can keep you going nicely. So can a jug of iced tea. As can energy drinks; I know several writers who swear by Monster. But once again I feel compelled to stress that you\u2019ve got to go easy with those.<\/p>\n The beauty of energy drinks is that they\u2019re actually more useful to us writers than they are to the athletes they\u2019re marketed to. Medical studies<\/a> have shown that the combination of sugar, caffeine and B vitamins can improve concentration and memory \u2014 both of which are very good things when you\u2019re trying to write. The ugliness of energy drinks is that you often don\u2019t know exactly how much caffeine you\u2019re consuming in each drink, and it\u2019s very easy to consume too much. Furthermore, these drinks are often loaded with sugar. And while an initial sugar rush can boost productivity, the inevitable sugar crash won\u2019t. Staving off the crash by sucking down more syrupy drinks is bad for your teeth and pretty much your whole body<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can absolutely do a marathon writing session without a single milligram of caffeine, but you\u2019ll need to rely on other tactics (below) to maintain your focus and alertness.<\/p>\n If you want to avoid caffeinated and sugary drinks entirely, my recommendation is peppermint-flavored unsweetened water and\/or peppermint herbal teas. Alternately, plain cold water and sugar-free peppermints can work, too.<\/p>\n Snacks are Your Friends<\/strong><\/p>\n Once I start writing, I find that regular breaks in which I consume high-protein snacks work much better than stopping less frequently for bigger meals. Part of it is that a big meal inevitably makes me feel sleepy. But the other reason to snack is that smaller, more frequent meals keep your blood sugar steadier. High-protein snacks \u2013 and these can be vegetarian or vegan \u2013\u00a0provide better slow-burning fuel for your brain than foods loaded with carbs and sugar.<\/p>\n Exercise Breaks are Crucial<\/strong><\/p>\n You won\u2019t be able to write, write, write non-stop for 24 or even 6 hours. You\u2019ll need to take regular breaks to recharge and get your blood flowing. For me, this means getting up every two or three hours to get a snack and some exercise. If you are experiencing any soreness in your hands, make sure to regularly do some stretches to prevent carpal tunnel problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also want to do some exercises, partly to wake yourself up, but also to prevent back and leg problems that may arise from sitting in a chair too long. Take a brisk walk around the block, or do some jumping jacks, or some yoga, or try ergonomics stretches<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Be Afraid To Nap<\/strong><\/p>\n During my most recent 36-hour writing marathon, I actually spent about 6 of them asleep. What works for me \u2013 and it might not for you \u2013 is taking a nap when I start feeling seriously tired and lose focus. I usually take a nap about 12 hours after my last full night of sleep, and then another nap every 5 or 6 hours after that. The important thing is to not let myself sleep more than 90 minutes at a time, or it will be too hard to wake myself up. And it\u2019s important that I get at least 8 hours of sleep after my marathon is over.<\/p>\n Everyone has different needs when it comes to sleep; ignore the clock and listen to your body. A nap can do a lot more to alleviate fatigue than a second can of Red Bull, and it\u2019s a whole lot better for your body.<\/p>\n What To Do If You Get Stuck<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s 3am, and the words have stopped flowing. What now? Take a break to eat and exercise. If the break doesn\u2019t work, try a short free-writing exercise in which you focus on writing words \u2013 any words at all \u2013 for fifteen minutes. If that doesn\u2019t help, take a nap. And if the nap doesn\u2019t help, try going over what you\u2019ve already written and spend some time revising.<\/p>\n And if all that still doesn\u2019t help \u2014 you can always try again next weekend. Go get some real sleep. But after that, set your clock an hour earlier each day and see if slow and steady might win your writing races instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"