Don't put writing on your to-do list.

I’m writing this to you from the Calgary airport. I’m going to be boarding a flight to Toronto soon. I’ve just finished a two-week writing retreat at the Banff Centre of the Arts.

I’m excited to come home. I miss Ryan, our barn, and summer in Prince Edward County, but I’m sad to leave my little writing studio. In "The Valentine Studio” (<3) I wrote, ruminated, drank countless cups of Bengal Spice tea, played Ane Brun on repeat, and stuck Post-it notes all over the walls as I worked out my story points. I’ve been in a bubble for two weeks. My book and I had a romantic getaway together. We made magic happen.

I know it won’t be the same when I go home.

In my real life, I don’t make six hours every day to devote to my novel. I make a little time in the morning, if I wake up early enough.

Going away for a writing retreat is AMAZING. It’s luxurious. It’s heady, exciting, and dreamy.

But here’s the truth:

I’ve written most of my novel in tiny chunks of regular time, an hour or two each morning.

Writing every day is an intention. I don’t write every single morning, but I do aspire to it.

Writing every day shows your creative mind that you are committed, and that it can trust you. Life on the physical plane can crowd out your solitary creative time — that’s just what life does.

Having a full life should not change your love for writing.

Your writing isn’t a “task.” You’re in a relationship, remember? Your writing is not a grind — it’s a gift.

The point is to try to write creatively every day, not to add another chore to your never-ending to-do list.  

If writing starts to feel like something you have to do, here is some advice:

Remember that you love writing.

Writing is fun for you! You are allowed to enjoy it. Writing is a break from your normal routine. It’s a chance to take your creative self on a little date once a day. This isn’t about agony - it’s about joy.

Write for ten minutes. That's it. (I recommend using a writing prompt.)

Give yourself a chance to step through a secret portal once a day, a place where the usual rules of life don't apply.

Permit yourself to be in creative freefall, and to invite magic.

You're in a boat. Let your writing practice be your anchor, and let the writing prompt be the weather.

Tomorrow, set a timer for ten minutes, open your notebook, and begin writing by hand.

Write whatever comes to you. Enjoy writing it. Make note of how it feels to move your pen over the paper. Allow this to feel pleasurable! Hang out there, in the pleasure of drawing letters.

Then close your notebook.

Do not re-read what you just wrote. I repeat: do not read it. Instead, feel what it feels like to have written something. Don’t open your notebook until the next morning, when it's time to write for ten minutes again. Repeat this exercise for at least another 20 days. Allow yourself to savour the feeling of the writing itself, not the results.

Your writing practice is not about results. It's about your state of mind.

(I know it might feel impossible to close your notebook without reading your writing. This will shift after a few days.)

Trust me. Try it.

Yours in freefall,