A wonderful thing has been happening to me lately…

The writing has just been flowing. 

Every time I sit down to write, the words pour out of me. I haven’t been sleeping enough because I have so much more I want to write that I’ve been staying up well past my bedtime, trying to get as much of it as possible down before bed.

This is not a super common occurrence for me, or if it is, it happens in spurts. But for the past two weeks now, the muse has just been there when I sit down to write, and even pesters me when I’m not writing. For example, I tapped out an entire scene in the notes section of my phone while in the car yesterday (don’t worry, I was a passenger) and another while I was supposed to be cooking dinner.

I briefly considered that I have serendipitously hit on a magical pocket of writer energy. But then I took a look at where my manuscript is: I’m nearing the climax.

I’ve written before about how I’m best at climaxes so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise to me that the words flow when I get to my favorite part. But it’s been a long time since my writing has flowed this well, this consistently–almost two straight weeks of not even struggling at all to meet my weekly word count!–and so I thought I’d dispense some advice on how to ride these waves.

1. Prioritize your writing I know we all have obligations and errands and day jobs and whatnot, but do everything you can to write while the writing’s hot. Turn down plans, write on your phone when there is no computer available, feel five minutes of sadness for the beautiful day you’re missing out on, then get back to work.

2. Write fast When the words are flowing–write fast! Don’t stop to edit–you can do that later!

3. Overdo it There are weeks when I make my word count, and weeks I don’t. There are very rarely weeks that I surpass my word count, and when it happens, it’s not like I give myself a break for the following week. When the words are flowing, get them down.

4. Obey your muse Since I’m at the climax of my novel, I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on now, and I thought I knew exactly where the story was headed, but then somehow while I was writing, my character did something unexpected which changed the course of the climax. Rather than fretting about going off-outline, I followed my character’s instincts, and lo and behold, I think I like this turn of events better than the ones I had planned. Obey your muse; she’s there for a reason.

How about you? Do you ever get on these writing waves? Do you have any more tips for how to ride them?

Photo by Darya Kraplak on Unsplash