Writers Write. Everyone Else Makes Excuses

-- Jack Bickham.


So what's your excuse for not writing?

In truth--I really don't want to hear your excuses, and I doubt if you really want to hear mine. We both know we have a drawer full of sorry rationalizations, when we should have a drawer full of manuscripts, short stories or articles to peddle.

Here we sit on the brink of a new year, and there nothing is more promising than those 365 days in front of us.

A clean slate, crisp and blank for us to write our future upon.

Several weeks ago Seekerville guest Lenora Worth, shared some powerful words. Words worth repeating. They really seared my conscience and I hope they do yours also:

"We should never take our talents lightly or squander them away. So if you’re reading this and you’re down or wondering why you should keep trying, remember you have a responsibility to develop your talent and your craft because there just might be one person out there waiting to read YOUR story."

This certainly casts a new light on your writing doesn't it?

Instead of condemning yourself for not giving enough to every other area of your life, keep in mind that your writing is your calling, and you have an obligation and responsibility to that calling too.

With this in mind I am making a list of ten. Ten excuse busters. Ten things I can do. I don't have to do them all everyday but I can do at least one of them each day.

Tina's List of Ten

1. I will carry index cards and pen with me at all times to jot down conversations and ideas.

2. I will not check my email when I am supposed to be writing.

3. If I have insomnia I will turn it into productive time by at very least researching something from my WIP or for a non fiction article.

4. When I am "stuck" in a story I won't waste valuable time: I will move to another project.

5. Instead of hitting the snooze button, I will get up 15 minutes earlier each day and write, because those fifteen minutes translate to 5,475 minutes of extra writing time a year, and seven and a half more hours of writing time a month.

6. When I suspect I will be waiting in line somewhere, I will print out pages to revise as I wait.

7. I will give up one television show in 2009 for 4 extra hours of writing time each month.

8. By making my lunch the night before and planning my clothes (ugh!) I can leave for work at 6:15 instead of running out the door at 6:30 and avoid traffic. I will arrive at work 15 minutes early and can read a writing craft book for 15 minutes and/or revise my WIP.

9. This year I will try that trick of leaving your manuscript mid-sentence when you are done for the day, in an effort to jumpstart my next day's writing.

10. If I don't feel like writing I will write story starters.

That's it. Pretty simple, right?

In 2009 I challenge you to create your own List of Ten.

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"What have you done today to make your dream come true?"--Karen King

"Ultimately you have to choose your writing over something else. It has to become a priority. Only the writer can decide what you are going to carve out of your life in order to fit this in."
-- David Ebershoff

"Half of getting what you want is knowing what you have to give up to get it."
--Bill Phillips.




"The person who moved a mountain was the one who began carrying away small stones."
--Chinese Proverb