WWW welcomes aboard a new monthly contributor today, Vicki Taylor. She’ll be back each month with inspiring writing tips to keep us writing, and writing well. And to celebrate Vicki’s arrival, her company, Your Writing Coach, is offering Winner Circle members 50% off any package or challenge; OR a BOGO offer of one free month of coaching if you purchase a month; OR one free proofread or edit of any document of 500 words or less! One more great reason to join the Winner Circle… Now, let’s get inspired to write:
A writer friend I know said that we all have a story inside of us. Those of us who are writers find a way to bring that story out. Many brand new writers fight against all kinds of obstacles (i.e., responsibilities). Job. Home. Children. Life. Our inner critic. We can’t avoid them. Not many of us are fortunate enough to be independently wealthy and can devote our entire time to writing.
Our inner critic takes on all kinds of roles. It’s that voice in our head that says the laundry needs to be folded before you write. It insists you dust the knick-knacks in the living room before you write. It whispers in your ear that your favorite tv show is on and you can’t miss it. It also nags you about your writing dreams and cajoles you into thinking you’ll never make it.
Fight that inner critic, but don’t gag its voice for good. You’ll need it when it starts whispering to you in the middle of the night about a plot twist. You’ll want to hear it tell you about the weak character build up in chapter three.
Learn to choose what you want to listen to and then you’ll find time to write and a desire to stay with your ideas.
Before you know it you’ll have your first draft done and you’ll enjoy a satisfaction like no other. You wrote a novel. You started it, stuck with it, and finished it.
Every writer needs time to find a routine that works for her. For some they wake early and put in a thousand words before work. Others stay up late and work into the early hours. I know writers who take a notebook or laptop to work and add to their manuscript during breaks and on their lunch time.
No one writer has the perfect recipe for success that fits every writers’ needs. However, we all have one major desire in common — the desire to write.
Here are some suggestions to help you catch those ideas rather than letting them flow away.
- Keep a notebook beside your bed so you can jot down ideas as they come to you in the middle of the night.
- Make it a habit to carry a small notebook and pen with you or your personal data assistant or handheld computer at all times.
- Start a writing routine. Start small at first. For the first week try and find ten minutes every day to write. The next week add five more minutes, the next week add five more. Keep going until you settle into a routine that works best for you.
- Join a writing group either online or in your city for support. There’s nothing like getting encouragement from another writer. Writers are born cheerleaders. They’ll help you figure out ways to stifle that inner critic when necessary.
- Don’t give up and keep writing. If you feel yourself losing steam, find creative ways to recharge yourself. Sometimes, it helps to read other authors. Seeing how they’ve crafted a story stimulates you to write again.
If you falter, start again. It may take years to complete your first novel. That’s okay. Anyone who says writing a novel is a piece of cake, they’re lying. I’ve heard writers liken writing a novel to giving birth. I’m not sure if it’s literally that painful, but it comes darn close!
Do you have a writing tip to keep you writing and keep your inner critic at bay? Tell us with your comment below!
Vicki M. Taylor is an award winning author who desires to help writers become successful authors. She gives each writer her undivided attention that helps them become the best writer they can be. She lives her life with Faith and Perseverance in Florida with her husband and two pets, an American Eskimo dog and Sun Conure parrot. Visit her at her Living Stone Faith blog and her Writing Coach blog.
I have a list of writing tips that come from an unusual source; a guy who studied nothing but science in college and never had an English or writing course (except for the mandatory Freshman English), and who never seriously wrote anything until he was in my 30’s. Anyone interested?
Sure, let’s have a look!
Thank you to Shari, Lorraine, Barbara, Richard, and Dan for all of your wonderful comments on my article. That’s exactly what I wanted it to encourage. I hoped for others to add what helps them find the time and how they keep the faith when it comes to writing. You’ve all gone beyond my dreams. I think all of you have great ideas for finding the right time for you to do your writing. Excellent tips. Have a blessed day.
Don’t Allow Interruptions
God made the earth in six days and then he rested. He could have done the job in just four days if it had not been for all the interruptions.
Good writing requires concentration. Interruptions often occur when you are deep in thought and producing your best work.
Emergencies such as earthquakes, fire, and flood are interruptions we can accept. We may even weave the unexpected experience into our future work. Telephone calls, visitors, and unnecessary questions are interruptions that may make a writer a bit snippy. This is perfectly normal. If people do not want to hear you yell at them, they should leave you alone.
Novelist Judith Krantz places this sign on her door:
DO NOT COME IN. DO NOT KNOCK. DO NOT SAY HELLO.
DO NOT SAY “I’M LEAVING.”
DO NOT SAY ANYTHING UNLESS THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE.
Explain to your housemates: “I love you but I am working now. Working requires concentration and one brief interruption can cause me to lose a train of thought and lose an hour or more of time. Your brief greeting or question could cause me to lose a valuable thought that will affect our income.”
Set boundaries and unplug the telephone.
Sue Grafton lives in Santa Barbara. In 1993 she returned to the University of Louisville to accept an honor. On a lark, she went to look at houses—and bought one. Now she writes in both places. She says “It’s really quiet in Kentucky because no one knows when I’m there.”
“Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.”
—Lawrence Clark Powell, author.
Fabulous, Dan! Thanks for sharing the valuable advice 🙂
Great Dan! Having read your piece I so agree with you. I started writing for pleasure just over three years ago after years of teaching when I never really found time to sit down and start writing a novel. Now I’m retired although I still teach part time. When I started writing I found that to do the job properly you have to have peace and quiet, without any interruptions.
I soon got into the set habit of starting at nine in the morning. I read through the writing I completed the day before and make any changes, and once I have done that I then save the changes and close it. I then spend time carrying out a research on the computer to find the information that I need for my story. I save that then have a break and something to eat before starting to continue working on the chapter that I am currently working on. I usually stop at six in the evening and concentrate on the other things in life that have to be done.
I must stress though that if one is able to spend every day writing it is important to have a break and get some fresh air and exercise at some point during the day, and I don’t mean just walking to do some food shopping you need to walk in the park or anywhere where you can not think about your writing.
I always have a notebook with me to jot down ideas and notes.
Great insights, Richard – thanks for sharing!
Great article. I am a Kentuckian and it can be quiet but you still need to post that sign on your door 🙂
Yes, we DO!
Last year I participated in a ten-minute-a-day writing challenge and found that starting small is a good way to go.
I also discovered that writing AS SOON AS I TURN ON MY LAPTOP ensures that my writing GETS DONE FIRST.
Very good advice, Lorraine – don’t turn that email or Facebook on ’til the writing gets done! Michael Connelly says if you sit down to write just twenty minutes a day (and it may turn into four hours, but the sitting down for twenty minutes is the discipline) you’ll get ‘er done…
Linda, I’d love to help you, however I have come to an understanding with my budget that if I don’t ask for a fee, my bank account will cry foul and beat me with rubber hoses about the head and shoulders. I have a services menu that lists all my services and their fees. If you are interested in pursuing this further I can send you the services menu in .doc format. I’d also like to send you an assessment form so that we can review what skills you excel at and what skills may require improvement. Would that work for you? I do offer discounts to those who are members of the Winners Circle, if that helps you.
Can I send you an excerpt to critique?