Get in the ZONE!!! Auto-Zone!

If you have no idea what that title means then check out the quick commercial below. Sadly, it isn't one of those that says the tagline with a lot of feeling, but it also goes along with what I've got to say so check it out anyway...okay? Okay. (<--see I totally took in your opinion there)

Remember that nice guy tuning up his car? Well writing for me is a lot like that. Before I can start writing something new I have to get back into the world. I can do that by tuning/adjusting what I did yesterday, aka add some more oil, tighten a random bolt with a ratchet, or act like turning a piece of plastic with a wrench is actually doing anything at all to ready my car...I mean...WiP. *cough* (The funny thing is once you have a little mechanical experience (a college class in my case) mechanic and car commercials become a lot more fun.)

Back to topic. To get in the zone I need to remember where I was and my purpose. Once I'm there I'm usually good to go and if not, I've always got the back up plan of pixie popcorn and some diet beverages. Here's a good piece of advice I've found really helps: whatever gets you in the zone make it as easy and fast as possible. Make it something you can do every day. The more you do it, the easier it will be and the faster you can get into the zone (AUTOZONE!!!!) AUTOmatically and get writing.

I challenge you bloggers to get in the zone 

(Sorry, I couldn't resist) 

this weekend and get some stuff written. Let us know how you get in the zone in the comments!

Jumping the Tracks

I don’t get a lot of time to write, so when I get the time I really want to make the most of it. Since I’m a very structure oriented person I’ve created a writing routine for myself to help me make the most of my time. As long as I follow that routine I can easily get in my zone and make the most of my time.

Even though I write better when the music is off, the first thing I do when I’m trying to get in the zone is go to playlist.com and pull up the play list for whichever story I’m working on. Next I open up Write or Die and set my goals. 900 words in 30 minutes tends to be my sweet spot, but sometimes I adjust it for the first round depending on my attitude. However, I always cheat a little by pasting in the last line I wrote from whatever I’m working on. That way I can focus on the writing instead of worrying about repeating myself or getting the mood wrong.

However, the way that I know that I’m getting in the zone is when I start abandoning my routines. When I raise my word count goal I know I’m just about there. Then when I mute my music I’m there, but it’s when I transition from one typing session to the next without needing to carry a sentence over from the last session to help me keep my place that I know I am there and I’m not going to be leaving anytime soon.

- Aaron

Gettin' in the Zone

For me, getting in the "zone" when I'm writing has been difficult (especially lately) but on a good day, when I've got some free time on my hands (HA! Free time? What's that? :P) and I feel the urge to put pen to page, I like to get out of the house and whole up in a coffee shop for a few hours and write, a steamer and muffin in hand, along with my writing tools and then, I'm off. That's how I prepare to get into the zone. It usually takes me a little while to block out the sounds of the coffee shop around me, but once I do...watch out.

I can tell I'm in the zone when my drink and snack have gone untouched for more then 5 minutes, when the minutes turn into hours and I don't even bat an eye, when my brain is moving faster then my pen, trying to bombard me with a bunch of ideas at once and my pen can barely keep up, when my hand is stained with ink, when I'm lost so deeply within the story that it feels like my characters and I are the only ones in existence. And the telltale sign that I'm definitely in the zone? When, by the end of my writing session, my hands are cramped and achy and it feels like I'm emerging from a fog, a glorious, crazy, imagination-induced fog, full of images, words, and dreams for of the future, my future, my book's future and that's when I know: I wouldn't trade that zone, that total creative high, for anything in the world.

~Ella