The holiday season is here! I thought this would be a good time to give some ideas on how to stay focused on your work and still have time to enjoy the festivities.
1. Organize- I can not stress enough how important this one is. My main concern with being a author is I wont have time to write. I use writing as a escape from reality and all the hustle and bustle of life. Unfortunately, it seems lately every time I sit down to start I cant help but think of the trillion things I need to get done to prepare for 3 Thanksgivings and 2 Christmas celebrations (2 of those events being held at my house). You can use any type of calendar your want, paper or phone. I decided to use paper because I am old fashioned like that. I penciled in each and every event that I have going on and any day that doesn't have a activity I am going to write. Most of the time I am going to have will be in the evenings but hey its something. My main thought here is that even if I only have 5 minutes to spare, at least I will have more writing done than if I never started. 2. Shop Early- If you are like me and you wait until the last minute to do Christmas shopping DON'T! Its bad news and your going to stress yourself out. This year because I have been so busy I started Christmas shopping late October. I know that may seem crazy to some but its worked for me. If you haven't already started, quit reading this and get online or go to the nearest store. No but truthfully it does take away some of the stress and its one less thing you have to think about. I tackle my HUGE Christmas list with writing everyone name down and then next to their names ideas of what I am going to buy them or what I have already bought. Again, more organization! When someones gifts are all purchased I cross them out. Another idea here would be to just tell your family to draw names and you only buy for one person but we tried that in my family and grandma still came with multiple trash bags full of presents. *** Side Note*** Take gifts to your local mall and let them wrap it. I "kill two birds with one stone" here and drop them off, shop around for a few minutes and then go back and get my items. Most of the time its free so also a great way to save money! 3. Focus on one project- I currently blog for 2 sites and have just taken on another. I am also writing my novel and have a deadline date of Jan. 15 to send it to my editor. HUGE MISTAKE! At the time of setting the date for my editing I didn't really think about the holiday madness that was getting ready to enter my world. The worst part is, I set the date for editing. My editor is ready when I am so I only have myself to blame. If you must reach a deadline you have no control over just ask if you can move it back a week or even a day will give you a little more time. I have a deadline with one of the blog websites but the way I handle that is write them ahead of time! Again, take those 5 minutes and start working on whatever project you have. If you set a deadline date for yourself, get rid of it! I was stressing about something I did to myself. Not the brightest thing I have ever done. 4. Be Happy- This one is a little off the topic of writing but it works. I have a few negative people in my life and to be honest they bring me down. I am sure some of you know what I mean. Anytime I am around them I feel drained and have zero motivation to get anything done. All the complaining is exhausting. You can try to get to the root of their negativity but I tried that and there was no hope. All and all just walk away and deal with them on Jan 1 :) Good luck everyone and Happy Holidays!
0 Comments
I've been thinking a lot lately about what keeps me motivated. I have always used music as a way to escape or used lyrics to describe the way I am feeling. Staying focused on my writing after a long vacation I have never needed music more.
I decided I needed a theme song to keep me motivated! I know it seems a little silly but people use music in all different situations to pump them up. How many times has a song come on the radio and you say "This song sums up my life." Someone close to me listens to the Rocky movie theme song anytime he is getting ready to go work out and I had a friend who listened to "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera on repeat for months while she was going through a divorce. I am not saying you need to do what my friend did and listen to it on repeat because lets be honest, radio stations do that all the time and we turn the station. The song needs to be something you can blare through your speakers anytime you are feeling down and out and it can lift you back up. The words have to mean something to you. My theme song is none other than "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. This is my go to anytime I am having writers block or stuck on a scene in my novel. I have literally left my office and drove to the mini mart up the street to get a pack of gum just so I could blare the song in my car and sing my heart out. It made me feel better and the lyrics have meaning for me. The excerpt above is the beginning of the song and the words are powerful. To sum up the song it basically says stay strong and fight through whatever you are going through. You will succeed! I love that. It also helps that she is a phenomenal singer! Now stop reading this and find your Theme Song! :) Check out Rachel Platten below and buy "Fight Song" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TIYVEKE?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 The quote above has never been more true for me! After a week and a half road trip and some time off writing, it has been hard to get back into the swing of things. Of course on this trip I took my laptop and was constantly thinking of plot points for my novel. Unfortunately, I didn't write and felt crummy about it. Still feeling down, I decided to make myself a list of things to get back on track. So far, I have been able to get my focus back and don't feel like I am procrastinating (as much). Below I have listed the few ideas that have worked for me. I hope they help anyone who is struggling to get back on track right now. Happy Writing! 1. Take a class- I registered for a Advanced Fiction Writing course. Although the course hasn't started, I feel better that I have taken the step and paid the money to complete this course. I really feel like it will get me mindset back into my novel. A few months ago I took The Five Day Writing Motivation Mini Course By Beth Barany. The course is free and when I first started writing I got discouraged quickly. The course really helped to keep me motivated. Beth is also a book coach so you can go that route too. http://www.ed2go.com/uc/online-courses/fiction-writing-advanced?tab=syllabus http://bethbarany.com/5daycourse.htm 2. Read- I am currently reading 2 non fiction novels right now. One being Chicken Soup for the Soul- Writers and the other for a book review. The quote below by Stephen King says it all 3. Start Small- When I started writing I made numerous outlines for characters and plots. As my novel progressed I stopped outlining. That was a mistake! I realized I was thinking up all of these ideas while on my trip but I wasn't writing them down and when I was they didn't make sense. When I get a idea I quickly jot it down on anything around you can write on but my thoughts needed structure. I went back to the good old fashioned web outline I learned in grade school. Everyone has a outlining process they prefer but for me it seems to work best. Outlining is a great way to get your thoughts back in order and relieve some of the MADNESS going on in your head.
4. Join a writing group or participate in National Novel Writing Month- There is nothing better than connecting with fellow writers who are having the same problems you are and gaining inspiration from them! 5. Last but not least WRITE!- Anything will do. If your writing your outline technically you are writing and preparing your story. If you decide to take a few courses in writing you most definitely will be writing. If you have a blog write a post about the last book you read or something as simple as how your day has been. Just write something! |