Time For a New Year

As the New Year creeps closer, it feels like a cat stalking a mouse, slinking nearer and nearer until it unexpectedly pounces on its prey.  That is how I sometimes feel in regards to time, like prey that will soon be pounced on; unaware it is upon me until it is too late.  More and more I hear people talking of not enough time.  Especially when it comes to writing.  

You may have heard people say, “just find a few minutes a day to write.”  Good advice, if you can figure out how.  The first thing that probably really needs to be done is figuring out where and how you are currently spending your time; only then can you find a way to make time for what you want. 

Time experts say that if you list five things that you feel are truly important to yourself and your life, honestly look at what you want to say yes to (relative to your five things), and eliminating the things you do out of guilt, then you are focusing your time on what matters most to you.

People are overloaded with everyday life- so life tends to feel as if it is passing us by.  We constantly tell ourselves we will do for ourselves later.  Recent studies show that 75% of people (especially women) say that time is a huge issue in their lives.  We as a nation are starved for time, which really is a newer concept.  People of the “baby boomer” era do not have parents or grandparents that had to deal with these issues.  With the influx of cell phones, e-mail, texting, and the like, there are so many ways we multi-task that were never possible before. “Multi-tasking is the biggest time suck of all,” says Jean Chatzky, author and money coach.  Research, studies, and publications all show that when you stop and start tasks (as you do when multi-tasking), it takes your brain 15 minutes to get thoroughly focused and back on track again, so multi-tasking can actually lose you hours each day.  

It is also known that, when we procrastinate, or make excuses to not do something, it is the very thing we probably need to do for ourselves.  Generally, we delay due to a fear of failure, disappointing others, or not living up to our expectations.  So, instead of taking action, we make excuses, and put other things first in line for our time.  That is very easy to do in regards to writing, and fears can loom large when it comes to our feelings about what we write.  Remember, nothing will ever sell it sits in a desk.  You cannot move forward without practice, knowledge, and tenacity. So will you let time creep up on you again this New Year and slip by without finding the time to write?  Or will you make use of the last couple of days before the New Year using the time to delve deep into what are your future priorities?  What ever you decide, make 2008 great; follow your dreams, and stalk life like a cat on a mission to get that mouse.

 © December 31, 2007 Marie Boyum

 

 

The Personal touch

I realized the other day when we received a Christmas card from a relative with an address label for a signature, that we are losing the personal touch of writing with a pen and paper.  In today’s technological world, it seems even more important that we remember the importance of letter writing, and writing that involves more thought than icons and acronyms.  Texting, e-mail, voice mail are all great, and yes, we do write with two out of the three, but when was the last time you sent a friend a real hand-written letter?  When was the last time you received one?  Is letter writing dead?

Many of us probably have at least one relative (always the one you never met, have no idea how they got your address, or even knew who you were to send you anything) that writes the once a year Christmas letter, highlighting their life’s events.  You know, the things no one cares about, like the cat had surgery, and the pool needed repair.  These, I have to say (at least for myself) do not count in the book of “thought out” letters.  They have that obligatory feel that reminds me of making out a grocery list.  

As writers, we should take every opportunity to hone our craft through practice.  All great artists practice, and start with the basics before moving on to their masterpieces.  Consider practicing by writing a few letters, not just at Christmastime, but anytime.  Begin by challenging yourself to two letters a month, making one hand written; no one says they have to be novels, but please, at least sign your own name. 

 © December 19, 2007 Marie Boyum

 

You Know You’re a Writer When…

To steal a bit from Jeff Foxworthy-
You know you are a writer when…

• You get the latest copy of Writer’s Digest and you act like Steve Martin in the movie,
“The Jerk” when he gets the new phone book.
• Your dreams only consist of characters in your latest novel.
• Everything you see is a potential story, even the garbage you see along the street- (check out the “story quilt” - for more on that idea go to: http:// eloquentauthorstoryquilting.com.
• You want to be with other writers so much you start a school to get them to come to you (okay, maybe that’s not every writer!)
• When you meet new people, you have to run and take down notes for potential future characters.
• An exciting evening out consists of a writer’s discussion group, a trip to a bookstore, or a writing class.
• Every new book that comes out, you envision your name on the cover.
• You save all your extra pennies (because as a writer, that’s about all you have) to buy writing reference materials.
• You buy cheap toothpaste to keep in the shower so when that grand idea hits you, you are ready to write it down. Okay, maybe you hadn’t thought of that one yet, but it is a great (and inexpensive) way to write down your thoughts and not have them wash off too easy before you can get to a real paper and pen! It may seem a bit weird, but hey, it works!

 And last, but not least, you know you are a writer when… 

You plan on using that last idea! 

Happy writing!

© December 11, 2007 Marie Boyum