Day #31 Quotes for Writers

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” Richard Bach

This is the quote that I keep ever in front of me on my office desk. It’s a reminder to simply keep writing and never give up on my dreams.
Every writer is an amateur at first.
No writer is born a professional.
It takes time, practice, persistence, and patience.
If you’re reading this or if you have read this series, you are well on your way to becoming a professional writer. You are taking time to learn more about your craft.
Now continue to practice it.
That’s how you become a professional writer.
It’s not chance or luck.
You just have to stick with it.
That’s all.

Green traffic light image courtesy of fabrisalvetti on flickr

Day #24 Quotes for Writers

“All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?” Philip Pullman

The main point here is that you do what you have to do.
If you’re a writer, you write. You don’t make excuses for not writing. You don’t wait on the muse. You don’t get blocked. You just write.
That said, I do think writing is different than plumbing or working in the medical field. I spent 13 years as a nurse and it’s a much more concrete type of work than writing. You do what’s in front of you, but you don’t have to use your imagination much or make your words flow, or be creative when you’re ultra tired. You just grab a cup of coffee and continue on, clear-headed or not.
Writing requires a great deal more concentration using the creative parts of the brain. Those parts can get clogged in a way that a plumber can’t fix.
But writer’s block shouldn’t be an excuse for not doing our job.
Click on the button to read more posts in the series 31 Days of Writing Quotes.

Image of sink plumbing courtesy of m kasahara on flickr

Day #17 Quotes for Writers

“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” Steven Wright

This is me every time I start a huge project.
It takes forever to get it off the ground. I do all the easy stuff first and avoid the actual writing process like the Black Plague.
I don’t think I’m alone.
Writing is scary business, especially when it involves a big project like a book. It was easier before I knew how much work is involved. I’m not so green anymore and I remember the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to flesh out words by the thousands.
It takes a while to convince myself that it’s really worth it to go through all that angst and agony again.
But I always do.
Just as soon as I finish the page numbers.


Computer image courtesy of IvanWalsh.com on flickr

Day #2 Quotes for Writers

“There is no perfect time to write. There is only now.”  Barbara Kingsolver

Don’t we dream of the day when we’ll have hours and hours to do nothing but write? But life keeps getting in the way!
If we keep putting off writing until the stars align perfectly and every detail of life is in order, we’ll never write at all.
A writer’s clock really only has one time on it- NOW!
Procrastination and the desire for perfection are enemies of a writer.
Waiting will keep us from ever writing because in case you hadn’t noticed the hour glass of our lives eventually does run out of sand.
If you are having trouble implementing writing now, you might enjoy this article, Make Time to Write.
By the way, I’m not preaching what I don’t live. As I type these words, my house is torn apart from a water leak and has been this way for nearly a month. I didn’t have a useable kitchen for two weeks. I still don’t have flooring. And I have a long list of household remodeling projects to do while I’m waiting for my floors. But I’m still managing to write.
To read more from the series 31 Days of Quotes for Writers, click on the button.

Image by airdiogo on flickr

Day #5 Quotes for Writers

“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” Gene Fowler

Anyone who has ever come to a fresh page with absolutely no idea what to write has certainly experienced this blood on the forehead syndrome, especially if a deadline is looming!
It’s agonizing to try to force what simply isn’t there.
Even if you know what you want to say, it’s not always easy getting the words to cooperate.
This is why I jot down ideas as they come, the same with words or phrases that come to me. It takes a lot of pain out of the thinking part of writing. I’m never starting from scratch.
Take my advice: Don’t stare at a blank piece of paper. It’s not good for your health. Either come to the page armed with ideas, or get up and do something until the words start flowing.
To read more in the series 31 Days of Quotes for Writers click the button:

Image by Heo2035 on flickr

Writing Momentum

One of the few rules of physics that I know is that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, while it takes more exertion to get an object moving that isn’t in motion.

And so it is with writing.

The way you create momentum and keep the ball rolling is to continue writing. Taking long breaks will not help the cause.

I’ve taken a long break from this blog in order to get writing momentum going in some other areas. Now I’m back to get this ball rolling again.

What about you?

Is your writing gaining momentum or losing steam?

Are you enjoying the benefits that continuous writing affords, such as efficiency, writing faster, accomplishing more in less time, improving the craft?

Or are you deflated, facing writer’s block, stuck with your hands poised at the keyboard and no words flowing?

Take action.

Write something.

Get the ball rolling.


Image by Steven Kiyoda on flickr

Too Creative For Your Own Good

I’m the queen of ideas. Just ask my family. The well of ideas bubbles, gushes, overflows, and never runs dry.

I think the technical term for that is visionary, but really I just bore easily and need creativity almost as much as oxygen.

In some respects, having a lot of ideas is a glorious thing. My editing clients think so. They love the fact that I can look at their situation, see the big picture, open their mind to new possibilities, cast a vision for what can be, and show them how to get there.

But abundant creativity also has a downside. Every day I wake up with a fresh vision—a different one from yesterday or from an hour ago or from five minutes ago. Thus, my mind is a junkyard of rusty ideas that have never been used.

Are you like me? Do you flit from idea to idea like a bee who can’t find just the right flower with just the right pollen? Are you always finding a new flower or a new field, but never producing honey? 

How do us creative types ever get any writing done?

Obviously, I’m no expert on the subject, but I can share my “ideas” on the issue.

Pick one. Pick an idea, something you really like, that arouses passion in you, that you could actually stick with for a while and not get bored. This is half the battle, simply choosing one idea to run with. We are so afraid we won’t pick the right one or that we’ll get halfway through the project and be too bored to finish. Or worse yet, what if we don’t pick the perfect one or we miss God’s will? Yikes!

Find an accountability partner. Hint: You are not it! Find someone else, someone less flighty, someone who has a history of actually accomplishing things. Find someone who will rein you in when your mind starts to wander and someone who won’t put up with your junk. Find a drill sergeant!

Delegate. One reason I don’t follow through very well is because I hate the nitty gritty administrative tasks that go into bringing my ideas to fruition. I easily get bogged down in these details and feel like I’m suffocating from a lack of creativity. If you have the money and resources, which I often do not, hire some help to do the things you don’t do well.

Always have a creative outlet. Don’t become so engrossed in a project or in life that you can’t ever let those creative ideas flow. You aren’t made to operate this way. But you may need to find creativity in other ways while you focus on a writing project so you won’t be tempted to run off on another writing tangent. For example, if I’m heavily engrossed in a writing project, I’ll do crafts, homemaking projects, or gardening on the side to keep those creative juices flowing without interfering with my writing.

In a perfect world, I could continually come up with new ideas and then implement them all. But I don’t live in a perfect world. But sometimes I think I do. Therein lies the problem. I don’t have forever, but I think I do. So I churn out idea after idea, but have nothing to show for it.

Sometimes I'm just too creative for my own good.

“Create” time

The last few posts have been about time management, a crucial element in the writing life. I want to add one more thought about managing your precious writing time.

When you schedule time to write and that time actually comes to fruition, make sure you use it to create.

When you have time to yourself, uninterrupted, quiet, like a blank canvas before you—create.

Resist the urge to check social media, to answer emails, to handle administrative details related to your writing. Don’t even use it to plan future writing projects.

Write, type, string words together in a creative way that gets your point across. Your canvas is blank, but aim to fill it up in these precious moments. Create a masterpiece, not a stick figure.

When the gift of writing time is granted, treat is as a sacred trust. 

Use the moments well.

Create.

Write.

But I Have Small Children

Finding time to write can be difficult, but even more so when you have little ones who need your constant attention. I know mommies and daddies have very little time so let me get to the point and share some practical ideas for writers with young’uns.

1. Give yourself permission to survive. I don’t care what anybody says, sometimes you just don’t have writing time. I remember when my first child was born. I’d been through a horrendous labor that zapped all my strength and my baby didn’t like to sleep. It took weeks before I could walk across the room without collapsing. It took a full year before I even felt tinges of normal returning and it took two years before I had the mental energy to think a creative thought. At some junctions in life, surviving is enough.

2. Take advantage of naps. Forget about cleaning the house. It can wait or the kids can be your “helpers” later. Use nap time to tap into your creative side.

3. Put God first. If you have to choose between spending time with God and writing, choose God. Filling up is more important than pouring out. Besides, you will accomplish far more writing with God’s help than without it.

4. Barter for some writing time. Do you have a service you could offer someone in exchange for a few hours of babysitting? Can you swap kids with another mom? I used to trade kids once a week with a friend. One afternoon I’d be the babysitter and the next week I’d have free time.

5. Reserve special toys as treats. I have a love/hate relationship with Playdough. I always hated to clean up after the kids played with it because it was in the carpet, stuck to chairs, and stuck to the bottom of their socks. But Playdough was also my friend. I only allowed the kids to play with it once in a while and I made sure they had lots of colors and all the accessories to go with it. They would stay at the table for hours creating masterpieces, thus freeing me to focus on other things.

Choose a few special toys, things the kids dearly love, and reserve those for times when Mommy or Daddy need to write.

6. Include the kids. Supply them with paper, crayons, a pretend keyboard and let them “write” too.

7. Decide if it’s your hobby or your business. If writing is a hobby, then assign it that place in your life. It’s the thing you do to relieve stress, but it’s not something that should usurp your priorities or take over your life or your children’s lives. If it’s a business, then you’ll have to get very intentional about scheduling time and getting help so that the kids aren’t shortchanged in the equation.

8. Snatch the time. Seize whatever writing time presents itself. Be ready at a moment’s notice to write. If your spouse takes the kids for a walk, if they suddenly become engrossed in an activity, if a sleepy child goes to bed early—snatch it!

9. Be fully present. If you are with the kids, be with the kids, not in a creative stupor. If it’s time to write, then write. Don’t feel guilty or rehearse your “to do” list in your head. Engage.

10. Don’t put the kids on hold. Writing can wait, children cannot. This time will pass quickly. When the kids are grown I promise you won’t look back and say, “If only I’d spent less time with those doggone kids and gotten more writing done!” But you will regret it if their childhood is lost while you stare at a computer screen. Keep everything in perspective.

Editing to say this post wasn't supposed to appear until next Monday, but here we are. I guess we'll get back to the "it" factor in the next post!

Since we're on a roll of changing topics, let me say that my friend Bethany is offering one of her eBooks, Taming the Paper Monster, at a 20% discount. Who couldn't use a resource for cutting down on paper? Just go to her website and click on eBooks to find this treasure.

Balancing the Scale

I write about it often, this balancing of life and writing. I do so because I know it’s the thing that we all struggle with so much. Few writers have all the time in the world to write. In fact, most of us have precious little time for writing and we have to squeeze it in around all the other bigger, weightier, chunkier parts of life, the stuff that involves actual living and mingling with real flesh and blood, breathing people.

How do we find the balance? I’m not sure we do. The fact is that when we make great deposits in writing, the scale leans that way and the stuff of life becomes a bit light, even neglected if we aren’t careful. Then, when we plunge full force into living, the writing side of the scale shoots up in the air from lack of paper weight.

We can get in a dither about it, our inability to balance the scale, or we can accept it as the natural way of living. This is the life of a writer, the life we willingly signed up for when we took this road. Oh, it may not look like what we expected, but this is it. 

Instead of looking at the scale from a stressful stance, look at it a little differently. Think in terms of a seesaw. One side goes up, one goes down. One child up, one child down. Back and forth, bringing delight to both ends. 

This picture is vivid in my mind. I was a child living in Texas with a park across the street from my house. My friends and I would go there to replenish from long school days. The seesaw went up and down, the merry-go-round cycled round and round again. Yet, we didn’t complain. Those rhythms brought a peace, relaxation, a little tingle in the tummy. They made us feel secure and safe and full of childlike wonder. 

And so it is with writing. Rather than trying to keep the scale in perfect balance, I find it best to simply enjoy the ride. Sometimes I’m full to fatness with words that simply must come out. But once they are released I feel the lightness that compels me to invest quality time in the world around me and the people I dearly love.
Before long, I’ve filled up again with inspiration and stories that must come out.

The endless cycle. The writing life. The thing I said I wanted.