Get 'er done!

If I recorded in a journal each night how I spent my day, it would not look 

anything like what I claim to prioritize.  (You all know what I'm talking about. 

Do you prioritize Facebook? Twitter? Television?)

Maybe we just need daily reminders of our priorities. 

I decided I needed to make dates with my writer self. 

And keep them.

This month I had two appointments on my calendar for updating
my blogs. It worked! Although, I didn't get the task finished, I made major progress.

My mouth dropped open when I really dug in and saw how outdated my pages were. Some of my sidebar links were no longer pointing to anything. A few were still working but quite dated, and better off gone. (Don't investigate yet--I'm not done.)


I spent the most time on my farm blog. A little voice asked me why I would waste time there if my
book was a priority. I thought about it...



Writing a blog is good exercise. Not for the body, but for the writer's brain.
Besides, I have things to write about that don't belong in a novel.
And I enjoy writing.
Anything.

You know the old saying: If you don't use it, you lose it! So I'm using it.

Are you stuck in a rut? Does writer's block have you avoiding your WIP?

Write something else. Write a poem.

Write an essay. Write a blog.

I have a date with my book.

It's on my calendar in April. 

I have given myself advance notice.

Whatever it is you've been putting off, why not mark you calendar?
Do it now.

The Danger of Agents' Blogs

I have posted several times about the positive side of following agents' blogs. Now, it's time I told the other side of the story...

Remember when you first discovered the internet? If you're like me, you were in utter amazement at the amount of information suddenly at the tips of your fingers. It was overwhelming! Often, when I was researching a particular topic, I would find myself venturing off my planned path to explore whatever popped up. Hours would pass before I noticed.

I'm experiencing that again...

I start my e-day by reading my mail. Then I come to Blogville and check my dashboard for new posts from the blogs I follow. It didn't take long before I was spending more time reading blogs than writing my ms. I could so easily lose track of time.

Recently, I made the decision to just scan the agents' blogs for topics of particular interest. I saved notes on some of them. I was learning a lot of what I felt was very useful information. Problem was, what good is it to me if I never finish my book?

I've got to get back on track. For now, I'm not going to read ANY agents' blogs. That's right... none of them!

One of the things I've learned from following them, is that they do a very good job of titling their posts and referencing topics. When I am ready for the next step, it will be quite easy for me to search their blogs for the information I need.

According to my calendar, it is mid-September already. I should have been done with the initial writing and well underway with the editing!

Do you find yourself putting aside your WIP because of too much time spent elsewhere? If writing is your dream, make it a priority. Don't save it for when everything else is done... for filling those left-over minutes at the end of the day.