The Miracle Morning for Writers: a Review

Hello,

Are you a morning person? A morning writer? I am a person and I am a writer, but I am not yet a morning person or a morning writer.

But there’s practical help and hope, because The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod and Steve Scott is available to help me overcome my erratic sleeping and morning schedules. I tend to be a night owl. I like to stay up late when it’s dark and quiet and read or write when everyone else is asleep.

When my kids were younger (and I only had 2) I tried to get up early for Bible study. I took two steps from the bed to the chair and my kids would wake up. It never worked. So, I gave up early mornings because they didn’t give me the quiet time I needed.

Now, I have four kids and though I can get up some mornings, the younger two are early risers—not at the crack of dawn mind you, but by 7:30 usually. Which means I have to get up earlier than that for any quality quiet time. Well….you see my problem.

When I first heard the title The Miracle Morning for Writers, I thought, okay, here’s another book about getting up earlier and working an hour before work, blah blah blah.

There is some of that, but there are also hints on how to get up earlier and be excited about doing so. And starting new habits that make tough mornings easier. And when you think about it, like the authors say, it’s only the first five minutes that are tough.

First Things First

This book covers several aspects of writing and why it’s better to write first thing in the morning for most writers. It makes sense to meet your writing goal first thing in the morning (whether it’s 500 words, three scenes, etc) and then after that, anything else you get done is automatically a bonus. And who doesn’t want a daily bonus?

Six Steps

The authors suggest a six step morning routine called Life S.A.V.E.R.S. before starting on your writing for the day. The first S is for silence. Starting your day with meditation or prayer and getting your mind focused for writing. A is for affirmations. The book explains the right way and the wrong way to use affirmations. V is for visualization. What do you see yourself accomplishing? What do you dream of? Even the Bible says, “Without vision, the people will perish.” E is for exercise. I know. I’m with you. I don’t exercise enough either. But think about it, what’s good for the body is also good for the brain. Moving on. R is for reading. I think I got that covered. The last S is for scribing, which means journaling or planning, jotting ideas, or writing lessons learned, etc.

If you’re pressed for morning time like I am, you can do all these steps in six minutes if you want. One minute per step. Or, you can take ten minutes for each one which takes an hour. It’s your choice. And you can do them in any order that works for you.

Other topics in the book include treating your writing like a job, making money, building a platform and others. I’ve learned enough from this book, that I will read it again with a highlighter and sticky notes and will gather the items I need to begin my own miracle morning journey.

Will you join me? Are you a night owl or a morning person? Or do you prefer writing in the afternoons?

Happy reading and writing!

~~Michelle

 

 

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