Secrets from the #5AMWritersClub
For years, I’ve seen tweets with the hashtag #5AMWritersClub from the Twitter Writing Community. As an early riser, I loved the idea and even got up several times to “join”. The habit didn’t stick, but I continued to admire the idea (and participants) from afar.
Manifest What You Want
One of my favorite podcasters, L Penelope, talks often about what she’s working on during her daily (8 am) writing sessions. I mentioned my interest in establishing something similar to my critique partners a while back. So when one of them suggested (albeit reluctantly) that she was ready to dive into her third book, we combined the two ideas; the #5AMWritersClub and a daily, focused writing session.
Before she could rethink or back out, I set up a recurring meeting at 5 am Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, for us via Google Meet. The tool is free with a gmail account, has a simple interface, and requires no software downloads. Highly recommended.
At the start of each session, we spend a few moments chatting about what we’re working on, then mute ourselves, crank up our tunes, and write.
Reasons to Join the #5AMWritersClub
Unless you’re retired or a professional writer, carving out time solely for writing is difficult. Most of us juggle full-time work, family obligations, and the myriad of activities life requires. But joining the #5AMWritersClub allows for that magical, 1-2 hours of focused, uninterrupted time.
As a bonus, research seems to suggest our creative brain (diffuse thought) wakes up faster than the analytical brain (focused thought) which may help shush your internal editing voice if that’s something you struggle with.
We can’t control what happens in our day, so I love knowing I’ve already moved forward on my work-in-progress (WIP) in case my day turns upside down and the other writing time I’d set aside evaporates.
What I’ve Learned From the #5AMWritersClub
Share the pain. Because I’m loathe to let my partner down, I’m in my chair by 4:58 on each of our scheduled days. Even on the days my partner sends me the 4:45 message—”Up all night and can’t today”—I’m already up and ready to work. Instead of throwing in the towel, I join the #5AMWritersClub anyway and I use the time to plot, think, and write. But it’s much easier to do when we’re both present. There’s a weird comfort in glancing at the monitor and seeing another writer working too. I’d actually love to have 1-2 more join us since there will be days that one or both of us aren’t available due to travel, illness, etc.
Word First. Honor your art and the effort it took to get out of bed. This is the time you’ve set aside to let your imagination play and flex your creativity, so don’t open your email, Twitter, or daily to-do list until after your writing time. All those things will be available later. Plus, learning good or bad news about your life, your writing, or the world is only going to make it harder to focus on your project.
There’s no right or wrong way to take part in the #5AMWritersClub
Some days are harder than others. There are mornings when I drag myself to the computer. To be honest, the 4:50 wake up hurts more when I’ve stayed up later than prudent. But once I’ve opened my files and taken a few sips of a warm beverage, I know I’ll make at least a little progress on my project. And honestly? I’m not worried about how much I get done. Occasionally, I merely get a few hundred words down. But on other mornings, I slip into the flow and get a couple of thousand words in before I have to transition to my day job.
It gets easier. We are wrapping up our third week, and I’m finding I’m waking up already excited about working on my project. This wasn’t so the first week when my mind was a foggy mess. When we started, I was still working on the first draft of Charcoal and Smoke. I’ve since finished it (woot!) and this week I worked on pulling my storyboard notes for Ink and Waves (Book 4) into Plottr. Next week, I think I’ll be ready to start drafting.
Come write!
When I started this experiment, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve had success with using accountability to help me move forward with my writing before, but my habit was to write in the evenings, after work and chores were done. For years, I’d used the early morning to read instead of write. But, after three weeks, I can say I’m further along with my projects than I would have been without joining the #5AMWritersClub.
If you want to emulate the likes of Haruki Murakami, Hemmingway, Vonnegut, Angelou, and Barbara Kingsolver (plus me and my critique partner), set an alarm and join in. Even if you’re not on a video call with us, know we’re also up, staring at our screens, and writing too.
Have you tried early morning writing?
Header Photo by Jessica Delp on Unsplash