by
Mari L Barnes
Me, I have a list.
I have yet to develop the all-important writing
habit. I don’t write regularly. Even after six books, I don’t write with
commitment. I am distracted by the minutiae of my entire life, presented here
in no particular order of importance.
1. The Pit.
That’s the day job.
2. Housework/
Yard Work. I can actually hear the dishes crying out from the sink. And
flowers being strangled by weeds.
3. Exercise.
There goes 30-90 minutes.
4. Volunteering.
Anything from talking to a group to pulling weeds at the arboretum.
5. The
Computer. This includes the publishing business, email, the social media
abyss, shopping, researching, etc.
6. Reading.
That’s why we become writers in the first place, isn’t it?
7. Television.
Way too much television.
There are other things in my life—family, friends,
forays into the outside world—but nothing fills the overflowing cup of my days
like the Big 7.
Recognize anything?
Here’s how we’re going to take on the Goliaths that
are standing in the way of our literary genius:
1. Life gets in the way.
a. One of the perks of being an adult is that
sometimes we get to be the boss of ourselves.
b. We’re going to give ourselves permission to do
something that is important to us.
2. We don’t believe we have enough time.
a. Starting today, we will schedule our writing
if we can.
b. Choose your best time: before everyone else
gets up, once everyone else is asleep, on your lunch break, while waiting to
pick the kids up from school.
c. We will write in opportunistic spurts if we
can’t schedule writing time. Fifteen minutes at a time is better than nothing.
Don’t scoff: Lynn Chandler Willis helps her family with her nine grandchildren.
She writes when toddlers are napping, everyone is on their favorite playground
equipment and while sitting in the carpool lane, waiting for the older kids to
get out of school. Her latest release, Wink
of an Eye, was chosen as the winner of the 2013 Minotaur Books/Private Eye
Writers of America Best First PI Novel Competition. She was the first woman in
10 years to win the contest.
3. We don’t believe we have enough talent.
a. Steven King’s first words as a child weren’t
the opening sentence in The Stand. We
LEARN to write by writing badly and then a bit better and then better still.
b. Let’s give ourselves permission to write bad
first drafts. We’ll think of them as our practice drafts.
c. We’ll take breaks and reward ourselves. Write
for 20 minutes, have a walk around the block or a cookie, and get back to work.
d. Establish some rituals. Let’s respect our
writing by giving it what it needs to flow. Try writing in the same place, at
the same time each day, having things organized the way you like them, always
using the blue pen—you’ll figure out what works for you. I have a cup of tea
and put on my “Writer Working” hat.
e. Remember, “Every artist was first an amateur.”
― Ralph
Waldo Emerson
4. We don’t think we have anything profound to
say.
a. Your life, perspective and experiences are
unique enough to be of interest to some and universal enough to resonate with
many.
b. Every novel doesn’t have to be War and Peace. There’s plenty of room
for Bridget Jones’ Diary, Harry
Potter or 50 Shades of Any Color.
5. We don’t know how to get started.
a. Sit down.
b. Pick up a pen or put your fingers on the
keyboard.
c. Write one sentence. Write one more.
__________
Mari L
Barnes writes for children under the pen name of Mari Lumpkin and for adults as
ML Barnes. Her books, Parting River Jordan and Crossing River Jordan
are proof that church can be funny. Mari’s company, Flying Turtle Publishing,
specializes in books that families can share.
She is a
member of the Highland Writers Group as well as being a member and serving on
the board of the Indiana Writers Consortium. Mari is creating a workbook, Life Authors: It’s Your Story, to help
people jumpstart writing their life stories. More information is coming soon to
http://flyingturtlepublishing.com
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