by
Sue Viders
I never make New Year’s resolutions because I know I will never
follow through on them. For many years I tried. Did okay for a few weeks, but
then... well you know the story, other projects pop up. Stories that were
started seem to wither on the old vine as after the opening few chapters I
would lose interest. Family intervened. Kids got sick. Work called. Etc..
etc...
So I have learned not to make resolutions. I have developed other
methods of getting my writing projects done. They are:
1 -
have a critique or writing partner that you meet with weekly who keeps you accountable
2 -
use a calendar and write in deadlines. Final deadlines, ie, those that need to go to others, get written
in pen, while my deadlines are in pencil
Let me expand on both my ways as they have worked these many
years and I do stay ahead of the curve... well mostly.
1 - Working with another person. This, in my opinio
n, is the very
best way to get your writing done. Of course finding the right person, the
right personality and the right time and meeting place is not always an easy
job.
I actually have several WWAP’s...(working with another person) I
have a wonderful writer/teacher that I have worked with for years. We both
teach together and write nonfiction books together. Although we meet every few
months, we do almost all our work together by email.
Another WWAP I met just recently when I offered to give a speech
to our city on writing a memoir. It was pointed out to me that this writer had
just published his memoirs and perhaps I would like to meet him. Instant
friendship. We now give speeches together and have just finished our first
memoir guide.
My third WWAP is a writing friend, over 12 years now, who
co-authored with me, the Heroes and Heroine Archetype book. Together we are
writing a series of 14 guides for both fiction and nonfiction writings. We keep
each other on track with weekly face-to-face meetings.
Oh great! You have your
WWAPs... but how the heck do I find one for me? Good question. Here is how
I did it.
First go to any and all writing groups in your area, meetings,
seminars, take a writing class, find a writing coach, see what your local
library has to offer, etc. It’s up to you to get out and look. WWAP’s do not
come knocking at your door.
Finding that perfect person, well, there is no absolutely perfect
person, we all have faults, but that special writer who compliments your
talents is like dating... you’ve got to hang out with a lot of frogs. Grin.
If you find that you simply can’t get to a meeting or due to
where you live have no active writing groups near by, the next best way to get
your own writing done is to invest in a calendar.
Oh, I can hear the moans now. But
I have a family or the other good one is, but I work. Both take time, energy and time. There’s no way to
avoid either. Well, I suppose you could leave where ever you are and go live in
a cave somewhere, but actually that doesn’t really work either, as you still
have to eat, which means you have to shop somehow for food, cook it... it’s get
complicated.
Back to the calendar. I can only tell you how this helps me stay current. I have two calendars. One large one on the kitchen fridge, and a small one on my desk.
On both I write my deadlines. In the kitchen, if someone needs
something done they have to work AROUND my deadlines if possible. If not
possible we negotiate. Let’s say your middle child needs you to drive him or
her to a late afternoon soccer game or dance rehearsal... You need to tell them
they have to put it on the calendar or it won’t happen. Be firm. The first time
they miss their activity they will learn to write it down.
On my personal calendar, which is coordinated with the kitchen
calendar I tend to write in a lot more. Pencil it in works best for me, as
things change daily. I’m in the midst of forming a small publishing company for
my guide books which will soon go up as a Kindle on Amazon. There are a million
details from what font to use, how the covers should look, to what POV to use
if two writers write as one person.
The only way I keep all this strait is to have weekly
face-to-face meetings... email works well but discussing and brain storming
over breakfast, at least for me, is the only way all these things get decided
and done.
Bottom line - Throw out your big resolutions, you probably won’t
keep them anyway and think about either getting yourself a WWAP or a calendar.
One final thought is - keep your deadlines small. Little baby
steps do add up. And of course, reward yourself if they are accomplished.
