Quickie, anyone? ;) How to keep writing in a busy life

This idea came to me in early spring, and so far it has worked well for making sure my writing projects get face time at least once a week, if not (ideally) daily.

Have you ever been sitting with seven to fifteen minutes to kill before work/yoga/meeting/store opens/bedtime and asked yourself, what could I be doing right now?


I propose to you, that you create a list of answers to this question; an inventory of quick-fixes you need to make in a take-your-pick fashion. I call them Quickies.

Say that you realized at the end of your last big writing chunk (however long ago it was) that there was a conflict in description, or you realized what a better line would have been for your furious character on her warpath, or thought of something else to add/change that begged the resigned after-thought, I'll do it later.


These tiny tasks can add up, and leave a lot of work and edits to be done that feel heavy and are easily procrastinated. But what is important to remember is that they are little things, Quickies, and keeping an inventory of them will give you small ways to feed and water your novel/memoir/epic poem, even when the universe is being a time Nazi.

Depending on your level of organizational needs, you could estimate time needed for each Quickie under columns. For example, you could have a <1 minute, 5ish minutes, and 10+ minutes space to identify each fix or addition you have, so you have more time (when the time comes) to pick one from the appropriate space and go!

The other great thing about a list taped to your cabinet/television/fridge/bathroom mirror, is that not only are you slowly chipping marble from the big masterpiece, but you are preventing your project from collecting dust, from sinking between the metal spirals of the back burner and creating a funny smell inside your life goals that sets off unhappiness smoke alarms. It keeps your characters and messages with you even when time isn't, and that way when you do have a larger chunk of time, your writing endeavors are likely to have more visible frantic hands waving over the top of Netflix/Pinterest/buying more jalapeno pretzels.

They don't have to make sense to anyone but you. Some items on my Quickie list:
Adventure rustling
The binoculars are red!
Lee's bedroom?
Marvin needs a face!

Make use of your time-holes! Make your Quickie lists and tell me all about them!

Why Writers are Heroes

he·ro

A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. (Via dictionary.reference.com)

A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. (Via Mirriam-Webster.com)

A person noted for special achievement in a particular field. (Via TheFreeDictionary.com)

Of course there are people who love books. There are people who love both reading and writing, who love stories and morals and symbolism, but how many people have stopped to consider writers as heroes?

1. Bravery and Dedication
   For centuries, writers have been publishing truth in the face of controversy and control. They have done this in a journalistic fashion, the way Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis on the church door, and the unforgettable way that reporters today hunker down in battlefields and journalist-hating countries to help bring clarity to unaware readers. As the beloved banned book week many libraries celebrate will tell us, unwanted truths are written into fiction as well. These truths range from the underlying hatred and control that Arthur Miller spent his entire writing live trying to unveil, to the crude truths Holden Caufeild shows us about real people, and how they call prostitutes and use the F word. Writers have had their books banned, and put them selves in physical danger to share their thoughts and grievances. We may have come a long way from tar-and-feathering, but modern prosecution of a writer is still a noteworthy risk.

2. Facilitating comfort, “Coming to the rescue”
   The biggest reason there is to love reading or writing is the security blanket we find in realizing how universal our problems and feelings are. Taking this fact into focus, have we ever thought about the mental power it takes to demonstrate how all of us, from accountants in Japan to Mounties in Canada to Hemp farmers in California, are all the same in so many deep and emotional ways? Good books have helped dry tears, offer fresh perspective, and have even saved lives. I once knew a girl with severe facial scars from an accident, who said that her self-loathing was unbearable until she found a character in literature with the same affliction, who reflected the same dark questions and brooding fears. She told me if it had not been for books showing her that everyone is as afraid as her, “I know I wouldn't have made it to college.”
   
   
3. Book = Time capsule
   Historians may remember where general So-and-so lead the forces of Where-ever-ville, and anthropologists may remember how many molars the men fighting in the war were thought to have and what gods they prayed to at the bottom of their foxholes, but who remembers the people? Who thinks about what it was like reading expressions of terror on the faces of comrades, or what it feels like to find your ally full of holes, and suffering? It is the imagination and empathy of writers that preserves day-to-day culture. They sift through the historian's journals and the anthropological articles, and then connects that data with human spirit, and folklore. Literature and documents make the difference between re-watching humanity, and reliving it.

This post may be a little fluffy, but I bring all this up because I want writers who are in doubt about their stories, or who are afraid of the things they have to say, to realize where they are. There are many people who fear writing as equally as public speaking, and public speaking as much as death, and for viable reasons.

But in the words of Stephen King, “Do not come lightly to the blank page.” The work we carry on is in good and noble company, and provides something priceless. We are writers: purveyors of humanity, beacons of truth, and heroes.  

Mentor Texts and their Uses

"Some books are dangerous to read while you're writing, because you'll start to sound like them."
~Alexander Chee

I have definitely had this happen to me before, where the things I write down can echo the latest things I read if I'm not careful. However, I also believe in the power of a mentor text.

Right now I am editing the manuscript of my first novel, and at the same time have been reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. She has this uncommon mastery over creating her sentences with absolutely no extra words. There are several sentences in her writing with only one or two words to them, usually barely more than a verb. Her writing has revealed to me exactly how wordy I can be, which is perfect while I'm in editing mode. Many sentences in my paper copy are squiggled-through as I'm realizing how redundant they are.

Being aware of the voice in what you're reading is clearly important to note while you are writing. Some habits if you were to pick them up may not be compatible with the way you write, while other writing may be useful to keep on your nightstand if one writer has a strength you were/are looking to incorporate.

Which writers do you use as mentor-texts? Which take you over, that you try to avoid?

The Museum of Cliches

Recently I read through this article that targets what it considers are "cliches that should be banned from use,"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/bad-cliches_n_900201.html#s309863&title=247
and it reminded me of a handout I made for the English classes I precepted, based on an Annie Dillard quote we read from an essay by Alexander Chee, "Annie Dillard and the Writing Life." He talked about his days as her non ficiton writing student, and listed off many of her concrete rules for strengthening language.

One of my favorites that I haunted my students with throughout the semester, was that one should avoid "the museum of clichés in [the] unconscious." I created a corresponding handout to this effect, affectionately called "The Museum of Cliches." With the Professor Elizabeth's blessing I handed them a triple-columned page, listing as many cliches as I could think of. Elizabeth has used this list in other classes since then, and plans to use it in classes to come. Because the above link only provided 12 phrases, and with an arguable level of overuse, here is the museum I paired together for my students.

The Museum of Clichés

“She is not angry, she threw her clothes out the window. Remember this.”

~Anne Dillard

Think you should word something more creatively?

If you can find your phrase here (and maybe if you can’t), the answer is yes!

A bone to pick

A glimmer of hope

A twinkle in her eye

Ace up her sleeve

Actions speak louder than words

Against the grain

All bets are off

All boils down to

All in a day’s work

All walks of life

An oldie but a goodie

Are a big part of my life

As (fast, loud, etc) as she could

As all get out

As luck would have it

As the day is long

At the end of the day

At the last minute

At the top of her voice

Back against the wall

Bark worse than her bite

Basically/Overall/Nowadays…

Beat around the bush

Been there, done that

Beggars can’t be choosers

Behind her back

Behind the times

Being all ears

Bend over backwards

Bent out of shape

Better safe than sorry

Better than ever

Bite the bullet

Blew a gasket

Bored to tears

Bright and early

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Buck/Butt naked

Bump on a log

Bust your chops

Busy as a bee

Buy into

Call it a day

Call the shots

Chewed her out

Chomping at the bit

Clean your clock

Close call

Cool as a cucumber

Costs an arm and a leg

Couch potato

Cute as a button

Dealt a fatal blow

Dig yourself a hole

Dirt cheap

Down on your luck

Drawing a blank

Driving me crazy/up a wall

Easy as pie/taking candy from a baby

Even the odds

Everyday life

Fancy meeting you here

Forever and a day

Get worked up

Give a hoot/damn/crap

Give and Take

Glass half full/empty

Grasping at straws

Guns blazing

Had it up to here

Half-hearted

Hang on every word

Hard to swallow

Have high hopes

Have made me who I am today

Have two left feet

Having a short fuse

Hell to pay/freezes over

Hit the hay/road/sack/deck

Hold/bite your tongue

Hook, Line, and Sinker

In the nick of time

In this day and age

In today’s society

Just in time

Just the tip of the iceberg

Keep on ticking

Kick the bucket

Last but not least

Let’s face it

Light as a feather

Like a knife through butter

Like Romeo and Juliet

Like there’s no tomorrow

Lose steam

Lost her marbles

Made her skin crawl

Made my blood boil

Memory like a goldfish

Memory like an elephant

Most people…

Necessary evil

Never a dull moment

No pain, no gain

No place like home

No time like the present

Not exactly rocket science

Now and again

Now and then

On tender hooks

On/In the same page/boat

One hundred and ten percent

One in a million

Push comes to shove

Push your buttons

Put your best foot forward

Raining cats and dogs

Read between the lines

Rhyme or reason

Rubbed me the wrong way

Seeing eye to eye

Since sliced bread

Slow as molasses

Stop on a dime

Stuck out like a sore thumb

Swallowed her pride

Tail between his legs

Take by storm

Take its toll

Tears of joy

The big cheese

The calm before the storm

The fact of the matter

Through thick and thin

Throw a curve ball

Tickles your fancy

To be fair/honest

Twenty four/seven

Twist of fate

Two-way street

Ugly as sin

Until the Bitter end

Until the cows come home

Wake-up call

What on earth

Whole nine yards

Wig out

Winds of change

Wishy-washy

With all of her heart

Work like a dog

World of trouble/hurt

Worry wart

You snooze, you lose

Young and foolish