How often have you said, “I wish I had more time to write”?

For many of us that wish has been granted, albeit in the form of a pandemic sweeping the world and all of the uncertainty that goes along with that.

But what are you going to do? We know the safest thing to do for our communities and loved ones is to stay at home as much as possible. As long as we’re home, we writers can write.

This week was my first week working at home. In a previous job I telecommuted for four years, so it felt like slipping back into that old routine. But because this telecommuting was forced on me, it was kind of a weird week and I didn’t automatically settle in. I did some random writing here and there, but it didn’t feel focused. Moving forward, I’d like to create a more solid schedule for writing.

I’m still working and have many work-related tasks to attend to, just as I would if I were on campus. I’m teaching, grading, meeting with students, going to meetings, applying for grants, researching, etc.

So I’m looking for places where time has opened up — namely, the hour or so a day I spend in my car and walking to/from my office. Going forward, I’m putting that hour on my schedule as writing time.

I do like writing in a quiet house, but that may not be an option. I’ve used that as an excuse in the past — I can’t write with anyone else at home. I’m excited to put that excuse behind me because it will open up more writing time.

I’m part of a private Facebook group that’s been posting writing prompts. On Wednesday this was the prompt: pick a work of art and write an ekphrastic poem. I was surprised by what came out. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that words were coming through me rather than created by me. It was such a cool feeling!

How about you? What will be your new writing routine?