Waking up at 5:30am to write

Discipline and work

Photo by Ellen Rutt, me standing in front of Lake Michigan at Christmas Cove wearing a hat that says Ceramics

In the past week I have woken up five out of seven mornings at 5:30am to sit down and start writing before 6am. Dare I say, nothing has transformed my writing practice more than this decision and dedication this past week. A book that has been desperately trying to crawl its way out of me for almost three years is pouring on to the page, a second book started to come through me, and I am finding enormous pleasure and peace watching the sun come up as I wrap up my writing time around 7:30am. I get in about 2000 words a day and let myself take two hour naps in the afternoon. I go to bed at 9:30pm anyways so this is working much better than when I was sleeping until 9am and feeling unrested and groggy and depressed by the time I got out of bed.

There is no magic to writing, you just have to write. This is the worst and best rule of writing and figuring writing out. Your fingers clack away on the keyboard. Other parts of creating good writing include reading, walking, staring at the wall, and starting the fire in the morning in the wood stove. But the writing part of writing? That part requires typing words and letting them hit the page, even if they sound stupid.

This new wave of divine creativity didn’t come out of thin air. I was talking to my friend

Molly Moynahan

who has written multiple novels and she was asking me about my book outline and how it was going. I froze and felt like I didn't know how to talk about it, didn’t know how to structure it, and was waiting for an inspiring feeling to catch me so that I would suddenly be hungry enough to sit down and write it. Desperate for the muse to appear unannounced and for my anxiety about it all to just disappear.

Molly¹ challenged me on something I hadn’t yet considered as a morning pages devotee - if I am using my first brain cells of the morning on my morning pages, could I perhaps take a break from those and turn toward writing this book. And could I do it four days a week at 5:30am, before the world wakes up and before I factually have anything else to do. No kids, no 9-5, no excuses. I had mentioned to her I was going to sleep in the 9 o clock hour and waking up depressed and voila, turning my 12 hrs into 8 hrs seemed like a good place to start. We mapped out a timeline of the story, how it links with the themes, and there I was with a starting place.

The first day was amazing and I felt like I was on cloud nine, the second day I got distracted more, and days three and four I was in an extremely painful chronic pain flare up in my neck. But every day I wrote. I still crawled my way out of bed and laid on the couch and wrote with my computer on my knees. While I think we can always listen to our bodies and take breaks when we need to, I felt called by images of Matisse and Frida laying in their beds painting away. I knew I wanted and needed to heed the call of this book, and I would set out to do it even in my deep discomfort.

I have always given myself so much permission to go with my flow, stop when I need to, and do things when inspiration strikes. The reality of writing though, just like any other job or art practice, is it takes discipline and time. I admitted to Molly that I struggle to allow myself to really luxuriate in writing and delight in the fact it is my job. If I woke up to write from 5:30-7:30 every day and this book came out of me I wouldn’t be able to argue whether or not I am a writer. Like my friend

Jacqueline Suskin

says - I would write even if no one paid me too, as I always have.

I sometimes feel like I am living in a dream of my reality that I can’t totally wrap my head around. Arguing with myself about what I am. Having a dance degree and still asking myself if I’m a dancer. Writing week after week and book after book and asking myself if I’m a writer.

Part of being in my 30’s has been to finally and truly trust myself, my career, and everything I’ve built, and trusting that it won’t just disappear someday. Trusting that I can do my work and my relationships even if I am unlikeable to some. That it will stay with me just as I have stayed with it. I gave myself Saturday to sleep in and Monday to have my normal newsletter writing day. And Tuesday - Friday and Sundays I’ll continue with my 5:30am wake up call and sit down to write.

I am grateful for the freedom of being able to wake up early, even in my states of depression and fear and pain. I roll to the side of the bed and put my feet on the ground, I stand, I feed June, I make the coffee, I start the fire, and I sit down and open the google doc. And then, I type. In the darkness with one light over the dining room table. Buoyed by all who have tried this before me. I write.

UPCOMING CLASSES :

🌼 TOMORROW : Crafting Hidden Marketing Gems In Your Newsletters : Live class Tue Nov 21 at 1pm EST

Email Marketing and writing a creative newsletter are two different things that also have a lot of crossover. If you’ve started monetizing your newsletter or writing essays in this format you might be confused where marketing fits in. The good news is: there is a formula and it can be fun! Storytelling and sales can be magic spells, not just a phony weird way of selling that makes you feel slimy or awkward. 

In this Live Session, we’ll learn to write about our work and our offerings in the container of newsletters, how to create sections so that your marketing is separate and clear, and how to weave them together so that your readers don’t feel like they are constantly being sold to. 

This is also a place to dig into how we weave our values into our newsletters. When we decide to talk about what is happening in the world, in our own lives, and beyond.

WRITING THE PERSONAL

A three week class to bring the poetic, personal, and political together for essays of self discovery and service

with guest teachers

Anna Fusco

and

Fariha Róisín

🦋 WHEN : Sun Dec 3, 10, and 17 from 9-11am PST / 12-2pm EST Live on Zoom

Bonus 90 min sharing our writing workshop lab Wed Dec 13 10AM PST / 1PM EST

I have been reading and writing and sketching out this class in preparation for our beautiful time together. Class will include a lot of real time prompts and writing, getting our ideas on the page, and lectures from me, Anna, and Fariha. I can’t wait to bring you the knowledge we hold and am sure that this class will have a huge impact on everyone who joins us.

This will be a big group, and if you’re looking for more 1:1 interaction or feedback on your writing you can add a creative advising session when you check out! The early bird 10% off discount code works for both class and the session!

🌼 10WRITEOFF code goes through tomorrow November 21

1. Brandi Cheyenne Harper talks to

   Murphy
   in
   Our Medicine
   on the urgency of creativity

   Conversation with Brandi Cheyenne Harper

2. New magic ambient music from Yimes which includes John from

   Saltbreaker
   who made the music for Common Shapes :) They are playing at The Alluivan in Traverse City on December 9 you don’t want to miss it

   

3. The impossibility of Moderation from

   Julie Fontes
   was a deeply relatable read

   The Impossibility of Moderation

4. I read Stephen King’s On Writing last week and this week I am reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Both books annoy me and deeply inspire me at the same time which is my favorite kind of book

5. Emma Straub
   on loving smoking (so did I!)

6. Listening to this playlist in my 5:30am writing time

7. Wordlessness and Grief from

   Tamara Santibañez

   Wordlessness and Grief

8. Radio alHara’s Learning Palestine stream

9. Slow Factory chart on Callings and Roles for Collective Liberation

   

10. New season of Selling Sunset really helping me do a little checking out in the evening :)

A portion of November’s paid subscriptions goes toward the Palestinian Youth Movement

⌇⋰ Website

⌇⋰ Email : info@marleegrace.space

⌇⋰ PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621

1. Molly is an amazing writing coach and if you’re also trying to get a book out of you or figure out your writing structure I recommend reaching out