Discover Your Writing Seasons

~by Amanda Smith

I have always intuitively been aware of writing seasons throughout a year. Some months are naturally filled with demanding family or work commitments, while others provide more writing time. Throughout the years, I have tried to wrangle the seasons, to ignore natural rhythms, in order to be consistently productive each month.

Seasons do not easily conform to human whim. Anyone who has spent a year in New England knows one can cry, and cajole, and yell at March to be springy until the cows come home, but lovely weather does not arrive until mid-April. Similarly, writers can plan and plot and highlight and set timers, but life’s seasons continue to roll one into the other undeterred by our best organization.

So what is a writer to do? Jerry Spinelli famously advised to “write in the cracks,” which I used to embrace with weed-like ferocity. I tried to force my writing into every possible crack, exhausting myself and probably frustrating my family. There were times when I literally ran back to my desk after tossing another load of laundry into the washer, not to waste “a crack” - yelling at March to be warm. I can’t say that was super productive.

This year, I took on a new job that offered zero cracks. If allowed, this job would bleed into every tiny line like red lipstick on the wrinkly lips of my days and weeks and months. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But it’s a lot. Even in this tenacious job, the ever-present heartbeat of my writing seasons was present.
So I listened. I paid attention. And when, at a 24 Carrot Writing meeting, Megan mentioned that summer traditionally is a slower writing time for her, I sat up. She also experiences writing seasons? Curiosity overcame me. What really, are my seasons?

I pulled out my trusty bullet journals of the last four years and ran some stats. And here is what I learned, regardless of my career change. For me, January, February, and November are my most productive writing months (hello winter)! The summer months have their own rhythm, but are a close second, while, surprisingly April, and December are not too far behind. However, like clockwork, writing grinds to an alarming halt every March (maybe it’s all that yelling at the cold!) and May.

“How is this information useful?” you ask.

Knowing my natural writing seasons helps me embrace them rather than fight them, and that brings contentment to my writing schedule. When setting yearly goals, understanding writing seasons helps me plan big tasks for the predictably productive months. It allows me to be kind to myself during the months that are clearly already stacked with other responsibilities. Rolling with the seasons also helps prevent burn-out.
If you are a long-time 24 Carrot Writer, you probably have records of your achieved writing goals somewhere. I would like to invite you to browse your journals, and see if you can identify your writing seasons.
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Because just like nature needs to take a break from all its blooming and growing and producing and buzzing, sometimes life demands that the writer takes a rest. Through rest comes restoration. And even though progress is not visible in those off seasons, just like tree roots go deep and sap flows beneath the surface, your stories are being nourished, gaining strength, becoming ready to bloom when you reach your proverbial mid-April!

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