December 19, 2007

In 2007 I had several deadlines to meet in order to finish writing a middle grade mystery series to be released next May. So, in contemplating ways to write more in 2008, I decided first to add up the actual number of words I’d written this year. It was a LOT less that I had guessed. I had finished the short middle grade books and written two proposals. That’s all. I tried to figure out why, but couldn’t. I had had no major interruptions this year–no deaths or divorces, no horrible illnesses, no new grandbabies. In other words, no real excuses! We had moved to a new house, but that’s a minor thing in the scheme of things.

There was no getting around it. Between the times I turned in manuscripts or submitted the proposals, I must have wasted a lot of writing time. While I was waiting for the next deadline to creep closer, while I was waiting to see what would happen with the proposals, I must have done everything but write. Waiting well is an art that I need to relearn.

Jane Yolen‘s advice to write daily (my 12/14 blog) if you want to write more and write better is key. And it’s what we need to do while we’re waiting to hear back from editors. Taking a short break is refreshing. A break that lasts weeks or months is deadly to our writing. We can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in the angst of waiting to hear from editors or agents. We need to turn that emotional energy to writing our next (and better) manuscript.

If writing while you wait is a challenge for you, see my article “Waiting! Waiting!” on Terry Whalin’s website Right-Writing.com.

4 Comments »

1. 

   Write daily – yes! But I am discovering that sometimes you also need to deliberately “not write” in order to let your dreaming in.
   You are right though – even dreaming time needs a limit or you end up not writing for days and weeks and even months.
   Writing more really does lead to writing more. I’m with you – one of my goals is going to be writing regularly.

   Comment by Sherryl — December 19, 2007 @ 10:48 pm

2. 

   As with most things, Sherryl, I guess it’s in finding the balance. I’d like to stop going from one extreme (no writing) to the other (writing thousands of words daily in a frenzy to meet a deadline.) I think if I wrote daily, I wouldn’t get behind, have to overwork, burn out from the crazy hours and neck pain, take too much time off, get behind again, and keep repeating that cycle. Balance! Moderation! And daily! All great goals for 2008!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — December 20, 2007 @ 4:22 am

3. 

   Kristi,

   Great post. Regular writing is key but balance and submitting things into the market is also a part of it. I’ve watched too many writers wearing a path to their mailbox looking for a decision when they should be sending out more material. Also look for different avenues beyond books–such as printed magazines as a way to hone your craft and gain experience. Many people are too tunnel vision.

   Keep up the good work here.

   Terry
   The Writing Life

   Comment by Terry Whalin — December 20, 2007 @ 3:53 pm

4. 

   Terry, you are so right! If we don’t balance the writing with submitting–and submitting a lot–the dream of being published won’t happen. That’s a good reminder about not getting tunnel vision once you’ve published a book or two. There are still print magazines and online ezines to submit to. Thanks for the reminder!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — December 20, 2007 @ 4:54 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website