Time Management - Not for the Faint of Heart

How about if we get this straight, right off the bat – every single other Seeker on this loop is more qualified than me to be offering advice on time management. No kidding. They are all amazing. So that said, let’s get going on How To Write A Novel In Your Spare Time : )

First of all, I can’t tell you how important it is to give God His piece of your time pie. You may have two hours, or you may have twenty minutes to write, it doesn’t matter. When I don’t thank God for the precious moments He’s carved out for me and seek His direction for my writing time, all I end up with is gobble-di-gook. I flit around from topic to topic, from task to task and find at the end of my time, I’ve accomplished nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Or at least nothing of my novel I’d care to share with anyone. Then I get frustrated with myself for not thinking things through, for not getting organized – oh wait, Organization is another installment of my Not for the Faint of Heart series, coming to this blog in a couple months, after I’ve found the spreadsheets and colored sticky notes : )

See what I mean? Attention span of a gnat. Definitely a gift of my Attention Deficit Disorder. So, all you ADD-ers, buck up! There is hope! If I can find a way to work in spite of myself, I know you can, too.

Scrap the notebook. I’ve been told to keep a notebook and pencil handy for all the brilliant ideas that pop into my mind at inopportune moments. Good advice for those who remember to take a notebook with them, then can find it when that moment strikes. Instead, I keep an arsenal of pens in my purse at all times and I don’t have to dig deep to find receipts or envelopes in my purse for those precious ah-ha moments. After I spread the ink, I either stuff them back into my purse, or write an email to myself when I get back to work. Works great, especially if I remember to clean out my purse : )

Learn to listen. Make yourself wait for the ideas to brew instead of throwing everything, including the watering trough, into your book. This leads to contrived plots. Just because I thought up this nifty disaster for my characters to overcome doesn’t mean it belongs in this book. I’m currently re-vamping a series that did well in contests, but garnered very little interest from editors. I’m starting at the beginning. I’m praying for guidance. I’m using the same characters and plot, but the methods those characters are using to resolve their problems is vastly different from my original version. God didn’t give you a Writer’s heart only to abandon you. The toughest lesson I’ve learned is to patiently wait on God to guide me. He’s doing an awesome job, too.

It’s okay to have a life. You know the ol’ story about stuffing 10 lbs of crumpled up paper into a single item McDonald’s bag? Story of my life. I was so focused on writing quantity, I lost track of quality. My little pea brain had the hardest time letting go of the notion that if I produce, someone is bound to buy it. I shut the door of my office on my family, my friends, even my dog. But you know what? Life is short. Kids grow up, parents grow old, relationships may whither. Don’t take a chance on it. Again, if God has called you to write, He will make His plans come to fruition in His time. I’m not saying let everything get into your lunch. I’m just saying learn to divvy out the hours of your day. From the time I get home from work through dinner, it’s family time. When everyone is settled in front of the TV, I go into my office, close the door and write for an hour. I’m focused, I’m relaxed, I’m inspired. If I stick to my method, often I creep out of my office in time to watch House. Ahh, life is good : )

These steps may help, or they may not. The important thing is to identify what the time issues are in your life. Quality is the lock; balance is the key. It’s not easy. Even though this system works for me, I still have old habits rearing their ugly heads. Do a GMC on yourself and your writing.

Think. Identify. Conquer.

Time can be your friend when both of you stand on common ground.

Blessing to everyone!
-audra

Everything is Possible

In one of my Seekerville posts awhile back I shared several writerly quotes from the newspaper’s cryptoquote puzzle section. I deciphered another one this week that seems quite apropos for us writers:

“Everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it.” -- Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps

Okay, maybe not everything is possible (for a human being, anyway). But Michael has the right idea. We don’t get anywhere in this business without a huge investment of time, work, and will power. How are you doing in each of those departments?

Time. What’s your writing schedule like? Do you even have a schedule? Even putting in 30 minutes a day is 30 minutes of writing you wouldn’t have completed otherwise. Repeat that five times in a week and you’ve tallied up two and a half hours. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Do an hour a day, and there’s five hours in a week. How many words can you churn out in an hour? They all add up.

Work. How hard are you willing to work at improving your craft? Getting words on the page is important--vital, in fact. But so is learning and study. How many books and magazine articles on writing technique have you read this year? Have you taken any online courses? Attended any conferences? Which industry blogs do you visit regularly? How many published books in your genre have you read and analyzed to see why they work (or don’t)? Have you traded critiques with a wise and honest fellow writer? Have you entered contests where you could get valuable feedback? And afterward, did you evaluate the comments and revise your manuscript accordingly?

Will power. Otherwise known as stick-to-it-iveness. And after 25 years in this business, I know a little about this subject. If you don’t want it badly enough, believe me, it’ll never happen. Unfortunately, you can also want it really badly and it still may not happen. But that’s God’s decision, not yours. To fall back on a favorite Randy Ingermanson quote, “If God has called you to write, then don’t you dare quit. Don’t you DARE!”

If you’re feeling really brave, leave a comment answering the following questions:

1. How many hours did you actually write in the past 7 days?
2. What is the most recent craft book, online class, or workshop that made an impact on your writing?
3. What changes and sacrifices have you made in order to make writing a top priority?
4. What’s the one thing that keeps you keeping on?

Remember, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NASB).

Advice for handling the letdowns

A few weeks ago the local newspaper ran a feature describing do’s and don’ts for dealing with the breakup of a relationship. It struck me that some of these (or variations thereof) could also apply when we get a rejection, bad review, or painful contest critique. Here are Myra’s suggestions for handling the inevitable writing disappointments:

• Do not, under any circumstances, make any life-altering decisions (such as throwing out your computer or burning all your manuscripts) until at least two weeks have passed. If you still don’t have any perspective, wait another two weeks. Or a month. Or a year.

• Stay away from sharp objects. (Ask my kids about this one if you dare!)

• Don’t post a YouTube video of you dissing the editor/agent/judge/reviewer.

• Don’t send a hate e-mail or text message. Even anonymously. Tech experts have ways of finding out who you are. Just watch CSI or NCIS if you don’t believe me.

• If you must blog about your disappointment, thoroughly disguise the details and certainly don’t name names! The Internet has a long, l-o-o-o-o-n-g memory. Better yet, avoid any kind of Internet-related commentary. Eat chocolate until the urge passes.

• Don’t badmouth editors, agents, or fellow writers to your writers group. You will be the one who ends up looking like Miss (or Mr.) Whiny-Pants.

• Vent only to someone you are absolutely 310% positive would never, ever reveal a confidence, even if tortured with chocolate deprivation or offered a three-book contract if only she will reveal your secrets. And then think twice about it.

• Mailing anthrax will get you 20 years to life. Mailing chocolate makes friends. Unless it melts.

• Don’t try to change your detractor’s mind with pleading, wheedling, begging, or threats. See chocolate advice above.

• If you run into this person at a writers conference, be polite, friendly, and professional. Your reputation is on the line at this point, not theirs. You never know who may be watching. Like maybe the agent who was seconds away from signing you.

• Send a gracious thank-you note, no matter how badly you’re hurting. As the Bible says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you” (Prov. 25:21-22). If not with a six-figure contract offer, at least with enough $$ to buy yourself a grande mocha latte.
  

Okay, readers, anything you’d add to the list? Any blunders you’d like to confess? Any public apologies you feel compelled to make, anonymously or otherwise?

While you’re thinking about it, I’ll pass around this mega-sized box of Godiva chocolates I just opened. Help yourselves . . . especially anyone I may have inadvertently whined about at some point in my career.