Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Little Less Conversation, A Lot More Action

 Elvis was right when he sang, “A little less conversation, a lot more action…”



Exocet!
Image courtesy of Mark Robinson and me'n the dogs
No amount of prayer or positive thinking can make you a writer  without action.
This very simple truth is often forgotten. It's easy to talk about writing, another thing to do it.  It's easy to make the mistake of putting an unreasonable time frame on all of your desires. But that's all they are if you don't take action.
Taking action could be a form of repetition. If you do something everyday for six weeks, it becomes a habit. Something that you keep doing over and over until you get results. And, like any activity, even if you don’t get the results you want, if you keep doing and believing, you’ll benefit one way or another.

If you find yourself with fewer hours this month to accomplish your writing goals, then set a goal to write fewer pages. Write one page a day if that is all the time you have, just don't stop. Once you stop, it's much harder to get back into your story. Finish your sentence or leave it half finished and stop, even if you're in the mood to keep going. It makes it easier to pick it up because you think about the story during the evening and will be eager to get back to it the next day.

 Managing your  time can be difficult if you have  many “have-to” things in your life.. Family members can make it tough. They know how to work guilt . “But you’re always on your computer! Are you going to watch this show with me?  When is this heroin addiction of yours going to start paying some bills? It's the holidays, can't you tear yourself away for the family?" Curb the massive flood of guilt by getting up before the rest of the family if that's possible. Give those early hours a positive spin by thinking of the time you will have with your family to enjoy the holiday season.

What is the one “action” you do everyday to keep you growing in your career as a writer? What actions do you take  that other writers can learn from? What do you think about “positive thinking and it's effect on you as a writer”?


4 comments:

Jeff Turner said...

Yes so true. Try to do a little each day, on one thing or the other writing-wise.

Jenna said...

I am not doing well with finding the time this month. More work than normal, holiday events, holiday shopping, and the normal everyday tasks are all doing me in this season. Killing me...

Nicola Morgan said...

Forgive me if I disagree! There is no reason why you should write every day if you don't want to, aren't inspired and are going to write rubbish. Some people find that the "write every day" rule works. Others don't. I don't. I also find that some writers feel very pressured to follow this oft-stated rule, thinking that somehow they can't be proper writers if they don't. Well, I've had around 90 books published and I can go for weeks without writing any words of my work in progress, and the WIP has never suffered and nor have I. I actually find it hugely beneficial to stop at certain parts of my story, partly because it gives me time to mull over the next stage and to think myself properly into it again. So, don't get me wrong: if it works for you do it, but if it doesn't, don't and don't feel guilty or inadequate. very sorry to invade your excellent blog like this but by coincidence my blog post earlier today was about giving yourself permission not to write!

Claire said...

When I'm overwhelmed with so much nothing gets written and the next thing I know weeks have gone by. It sure helps to be reminded that it's okay to write just a little bit instead of not at all. Great post Ruby.

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