After the
manic week that was: 20,000 words – aka one quarter of a novel, I had to make a
few changes. I was knackered – not physically, but mentally. And because
I went straight back to work on the Monday, there was no time to surf the sofa
and draw breath.
Added to
this fact, work was also full-on. There is no-one to cover me when I’m off, so
all that happens when I return from a week of annual leave, is that I have a
week of work to catch up on. I was exhausted.
I usually
set aside Saturday and Sundays for writing but I knew for a fact I couldn’t go
straight into writing on Saturday. My mind was still reeling from the previous
two hectic weeks.
That’s when
I decided a GYST day was in order.
That’s short for GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.
It’s a day
when you tidy up all the loose ends that are leftover. All the small jobs that
you have neglected for weeks because you’ve been so busy. All the little tasks
that jump into your head and nag at you to do and you’ve had to keep putting
them off.
I’m talking about things like:
- Order
some groceries in
- Take
a stock of your money situation
- Hoover
- Chuck
out those clothes to the charity shop
- Order
a new set of headphones to replace the dodgy ones
- Get
on top of the laundry
All boring
jobs but jobs which, when completed, will clear your head.
How on earth
can you sit down to write when your mind is swirling with all the odd-jobs that
need done? How can you concentrate on the characters and listen to what they’re
up to when your head is full and chaotic?
So, Saturday
was allocated as a GYST day. This
meant I didn’t have the GUILTS about not sitting down to write. But I did use
the day productively.
When I had
the place cleaned, food ordered in, things prepared for the week ahead, I was
able to soak in the tub and then relax in a nice clean home.
It meant
that today, when I sat down to look at my writing, my head felt calm and free
from any distractions. I was able to spend some time on plotting, looking back
at the 20,000 words I’d just written and projecting ahead as to where I can go
from here.
In her book “The
Artists Way ~ a course in discovering and recovering your creative self” Julia
Cameron refers to this GYST idea as an unblocking tool (although she does not
use the exact acronym – but the idea behind it is the same).
She gives the
following unblocking tasks to do:
- Clearing: Throw out or
give away 5 ratty pieces of clothing
- Any new changes
in your home environment? Make some.
- Mend any mending.
- Repot any pinched and
languishing plants.
- Create one wonderful
smell in your house – with soup, incense, candles, whatever.
I like to
think that the GYST day reminds me of the phrase ~ “Out with the old and in
with the new”.
ie. Once you
have a good clear-out day (GYST day), you are ready to listen for new ideas
coming in to your writing and onto the page.
