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!
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Monday, March 14, 2011
First Publication!
Very exciting news!
Yesterday, I received an email late at night, informing me that my short story, The Difference, and my poem, Francis Lloyd Marlow, have been accepted for my school's art/literature anthology The Sandy River Review, that's published every semester. This may sound like a small-scale deal, but the last 7 semesters I have been here I have submitted, and it was not until try number eight that my work was accepted! I guess it goes to show I've come a long way. Its pretty cool to know I was accepted for publication before I got my BFA, even if the publication itself won't come out until after. ;p
Still have not heard from my professor about the pet Elegy I sent him. I wrote one for a person later, (My father's mother) to meet the parameters of the assignment, and in looking at them both, I think the second one is better, so at least I have something I like to turn in today for workshop, but I am anxious to know if I continued his theory, or disproved it.
Happy Trails, Internet!
Yesterday, I received an email late at night, informing me that my short story, The Difference, and my poem, Francis Lloyd Marlow, have been accepted for my school's art/literature anthology The Sandy River Review, that's published every semester. This may sound like a small-scale deal, but the last 7 semesters I have been here I have submitted, and it was not until try number eight that my work was accepted! I guess it goes to show I've come a long way. Its pretty cool to know I was accepted for publication before I got my BFA, even if the publication itself won't come out until after. ;p
Still have not heard from my professor about the pet Elegy I sent him. I wrote one for a person later, (My father's mother) to meet the parameters of the assignment, and in looking at them both, I think the second one is better, so at least I have something I like to turn in today for workshop, but I am anxious to know if I continued his theory, or disproved it.
Happy Trails, Internet!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Defeating Writer's Block: A Tip
This is what I like to do when I'm stuck. I am sharing with you because, because. I'm not an authority on the matter, but where would writers be without other writers to throw rescue ropes into our word pits? =)
Writer’s block, as many of us are anguishly aware, is often when we have the desire or need to write, but nothing is occurring to us. If only the beginning of an idea could show itself, we may know where to go.
One thing we can do rather than leave ourselves to entire sentences, is start with the baby-step of filling in the blank.
Step 1: Look up famous first lines, famous last lines, find a line in a random book near you, get a favorite quote—start somewhere, and take a line out of context entirely.
Step 2: Take the line you’ve chosen, and find a way to fill it with blanks. Take only the first half, or remove all the verbs, or take the end of the line and plan to end up there, or use any other method of diminishing you can think of.
Examples of steps one and two completed:
For the seventh time, …
As he fumbled to ____________, he looked up and saw….
One thing that ___________ never was, so they said, was….
…and lay in a crumpled heap at the feet of his _________.
Her ________ was/were wide, and his was/were __________.
Step 3: Have a field day. Even if lines like these don’t lead you to accomplish your task at hand, they tend to break the embargo that kept dramatic and enticing words from reaching you.
Writer’s block, as many of us are anguishly aware, is often when we have the desire or need to write, but nothing is occurring to us. If only the beginning of an idea could show itself, we may know where to go.
One thing we can do rather than leave ourselves to entire sentences, is start with the baby-step of filling in the blank.
Step 1: Look up famous first lines, famous last lines, find a line in a random book near you, get a favorite quote—start somewhere, and take a line out of context entirely.
Step 2: Take the line you’ve chosen, and find a way to fill it with blanks. Take only the first half, or remove all the verbs, or take the end of the line and plan to end up there, or use any other method of diminishing you can think of.
Examples of steps one and two completed:
For the seventh time, …
As he fumbled to ____________, he looked up and saw….
One thing that ___________ never was, so they said, was….
…and lay in a crumpled heap at the feet of his _________.
Her ________ was/were wide, and his was/were __________.
Step 3: Have a field day. Even if lines like these don’t lead you to accomplish your task at hand, they tend to break the embargo that kept dramatic and enticing words from reaching you.
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