![]() ![]() Author of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, etc. |
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![]() BREAK THE BLOCK IN 5 MINUTES (REALLY) ![]() C.M. MAYO |
Originally published as a guest-blog post for Christina Baker Kline's blog A Writing Life. |
Im a writer, but that doesnt mean I always have the time Id like for writing the big luxurious swaths of peaceful solitude that, as arts colony-goers know, enable a writer to swan through six months of work in a mere week. But on any given day I do have some scrap of time I could dedicate to writing. In the crush of things, it may be only an hour, maybe half an hour. Maybe less. No matter what your life looks like, even if you have two jobs and eight screaming kids, you, too, have time to write though were talking five minutes and I know, you may have to lock yourself in the bathroom to grab that much. But grabbing such scraps of time can make the difference between being a writer who writes and a writer who isnt.
What to write? Back in 2006, as an exercise to help my students and also myself, as I was in the midst of long slog (The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, my nearly 500-page historical novel), I posted one five-minute writing exercise every day for 365 days. These cover dialogue, plot, beginnings, characterization, body language, weather, imagery, synesthesia, and more. Youll find Giant Golden Buddha & 364 More 5 Minute Exercises arranged by month and with a thematic index here. Most of the exercises are mine, but a number are by other writers and poets who contributed their favorites. Help yourself and have fun!
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