The Zen of Writing With Kids: 7 Ways to Get It Done

I know how it is to have words floating around in your head that you just want to get out.  I am releasing these words. Yes, I am releasing these words in the middle of having a job, a husband, kids, a dog and a hamster.  They cannot be contained any longer.  

However, I am releasing these words in a Zen-like way.  Zen is not a religion, dogma, belief, or theory.  It calls for you to concentrate on you and meditate on who you are.  If you can just get 5 minutes for yourself at 12 different times throughout the day, you can complete an hours worth of writing activities.  Believe me, once you experience that accomplishment, you will want to do it again.  You will be devoted to being a writer and you will be a happier you. This can be done, even with the kids running around and the barking dog jumping in your lap.  

1. Meditate on those words that have been floating around in your mind.  Give those words your undivided attention.  Take whatever precious moments you have to concentrate on how you can create an idea from them.

2. Choose what is most important to do in those times you have for yourself.  For example, you can write an outline, chapter headings, character backgrounds, chapter plots, and so much more.

3. You have to write daily.  We all know that in order to be a writer you have to write.  It has to be a practice focused on everyday.  You don’t want to keep dreaming about being a writer. Be the writer that lives in your dreams.

4. Focus on you and the writer you want to be.  Your confidence will grow with daily writing practice.  Believe in your words, in what you do and in what you love.  It is your voice that will shine when you concentrate on you.

5. Protect your personal writing time and space.  It is so special and you can never get that time back.  Guard it with your writing life.  

6. Keep a small writing notebook with you at all times.  You never know when you can take a few moments for yourself and get some writing done while you are out.  The ideas might come to you and you will never remember them the exact way they came to you.  It’s also a good idea to keep your notebook beside your bed when you’re sleeping because dreams can also give you great ideas. Be sure to immediately jot them down when you wake up.

7. Don’t give up on your writing self.  Keep going and going until your writing project is finished. Take daily small steps to get to the end.  When it is finished, you will have your Zen joy in knowing that you are an accomplished writer and what that means to you.

You have taken some moments to read this post, now take some moments to become a writer.  Find your Zen and go write.