Protecting Your Writing Time – And Yourself
By Guest | June 30, 2012 |
GIVEAWAY: One commenter will receive a signed, first-edition copy of today’s profiled novel, Wallflower in Bloom, (plus a flower hair clip so you can read it in style), to be chosen at random next Tuesday. Good luck!
Therese here. I’m so pleased to bring you today’s guest–master class writing teacher and bestselling author of nine novels, Claire Cook. (And writers, here’s some inspiration for you: Claire wrote her first novel at age 45, mostly in a minivan while her daughter attended swim practice!) Claire’s latest book, Wallflower in Bloom, released just last month. Already in its second printing, Wallflower in Bloom is a June Indie Next pick and a Simon & Schuster’s Something to Read About book-of-the-month-club June pick. What’s the book about?
Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound.
Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun.
Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land. (Read an excerpt HERE!)
Claire isn’t a prolific author by accident; she finds time to write, and works to protect it. Here are a few of her best tips.
Protecting Your Writing Time – And Yourself
Every day, your life bombards you with perfectly legitimate excuses not to get your writing done: sick kids, leaky roofs, roots in desperate need of a touch-up. A text beeps in just as you’re getting into the zone. You Google-research one little thing and get sucked in for two hours. You remember you haven’t posted on Facebook all week. A brilliant Tweet comes to you like a vision. You know you need a platform, but if it comes at the expense of your writing, the whole house of cards collapses.
So this is how I do it: When I’m writing a novel, I write two pages a day, seven days a week. My deal with myself is that I’m not allowed to go to sleep until I finish them. No matter what is or isn’t happening in my life, I can find a way to write two pages. I have to paint myself into a corner so I don’t cheat – I write the page numbers down on a calendar so I know on a given day that I have to write, say, pages 131 and 132. I can finish a draft in about five months this way. (And then the real work of rewriting begins, but still, I’ve got that lump of clay on the table and I can start tweaking it into shape.)
I write early in the morning before the rest of the world wakes up, because I find that the longer I procrastinate, the harder it gets. And I don’t allow myself to check email, Facebook, or Twitter before I start writing – they’re my reward for finishing my pages.
Here are five more things I’ve learned along the way that I hope might help you on your writing journey.
1. Rise about the negativity. People told me I couldn’t get published without connections. I didn’t know a soul. Lots more people told me the Must Love Dogs movie would never be made. Long shots happen every day. Believe in them. Believe in yourself. And if there are people in your life who aren’t supportive of your dreams, dump them if you can. Or at least stop sharing your dreams with them.
2. Work your butt off. It’s tough out there, so make it a point to always do more than the situation requires. I did this when I was trying to break in to the publishing biz, and I continue to do it on a daily basis. I meet every deadline. I dive back into a manuscript again and again and again – whatever it takes to make the novel I’m working on as good as it can be.
3. Be who you really are and write the book only you can write. The buzzword these days is branding, but I think of it as authenticity. Being a novelist is the first job I’ve ever had where I wasn’t pretending, or at least trying to pretend, to be a slightly different person. Who I am and what I write are totally in synch. There’s tremendous power in that.
4. Remember karma is a boomerang. This is the truest thing one of my characters has ever said. Many of the great things that have happened to me (including a Today Show feature!) were triggered by something nice I did for someone else. People talk; your actions determine what they say. So do something nice for someone and set that boomerang in motion.
5. Don’t wait around for someone else to make it happen for you. You’ve got the power to make your writing dreams come true. The Internet is a great equalizer – everything you need to know about the world you want to conquer can be found online. Research. Network. Create an online presence. And most of all, write on!
How do you protect your writing time?
Thanks for a great post, Claire! Readers, you can learn more about Claire on her website, and by following her on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a first-edition copy of her latest novel, Wallflower in Bloom. Write on!
Photo courtesy Flickr’s Brandon Christopher Warren
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Great insights – particularly numbers 3 and 4. Thanks for sharing these!
“The buzzword these days is branding, but I think of it as authenticity.” Thanks for all the practical advice, Claire, but especially the quote above. The word “branding” always seemed just slightly false. Nice to shift the perspective to being true to yourself.
I especially appreciate how you’ve made the distinction between branding and authenticity. It’s so liberating! Sigh ‘o relief!
I turn off my cell when I’m writing and unplug the land line. Everyone knows to call my husband in case of emergency, which, of course, has never happened.
Claire,
Thanks for sharing these great tips. I especially like number 3. Writers must carve out a separate time to write and do it before getting sucked into the social media black hole. Good luck with your new book. What a great premise.
Claire, this came at a great time for me! I was in St. Louis at the writer’s conference in April where you spoke on this topic; today’s piece just reaffirmed your April teaching. Wallflower in Bloom was so much fun to read! You go, girl!
I am a champion procrastinator! Videogames and e-mail have been my drugs of choice in the past. When I write a paragraph, I “reward” myself with “just a look” at e-mail or “just another level” of the videogame. Huh. Guess that’s why I haven’t finished my novel. Two pages a day sounds extremely doable! Thanks for the good advice, Claire.
I have a very demanding 9-5 job and I am a student in a master’s program. One thing that has helped me protect my writing time during my off hours has been a difficult one: giving up television for the last two years. I couldn’t get anything done, trying to keep up with shows I missed. Even one favorite show a week was too much, especially with everything I needed to do for the program.
Great advice, particularly #2. Writing is work no matter how fun we might make it look, and I’ve found composing the first draft of any piece is only 25 percent of the effort at best.
I guard my own writing time much like Claire. When I’m writing, I set a 2,000 word goal to hit every day on my WIP. I start working as soon as I get up since that’s when I’m fresh. Also, with the rest of my house still waking up, I can usually work without too many distractions.
But distractions or no, the 2K gets written before I go to bed, even if that means I’m still awake at midnight.
Therese, thanks for bringing Claire Cook to us. And Claire, thank YOU for your fantastic advice. I particularly loved “Long shots happen every day.”
It doesn’t bother me anymore when I notice someone’s negative reaction to my confidence in my memoir. I totally believe in my writing and in myself!
I would LOVE to win a first edition, signed copy of Wallflower in Bloom.
Learning to rise above my own negativity is the biggest stumbling block. Procrastination is the force behind the negativity.
Hi,
This post gets a resounding yes! I’ve fallen off the schedule wagon that helped me write my book and now I need to revisit my schedule and my goals. The daily deal on number of pages is crucial. The only thing I would add is scheduling retreats–a weekend or week away with the manuscript. Very hard to make happen, but I need bigger space and time for heavy revision…the daily hour doesn’t allow me that global view.
Lyn
Great insights. I can say I’ve applied them all in my nonfiction work, but I needed this kick-in-the-seat-reminder as approach the frightening realm of fiction. Thanks!
So simple yet so true and profound. These are rules to live (and write) by. Good stuff, Claire.
What a great post. I don’t have a favorite, they are all so good. Ps loved the book!
#4, Karma – that’s my favorite! I think it should be noted that you should be sincere about it and not just blanket like and friend people for favors. Share and promote others when the work is good, and it will come back to you ten-fold.
I am going to print these out and put them above my desk. Writing on the edge of the kitchen counter while cooking seems quite easy compared to writing in a mini-van during swim practice! It really is true: some writers have books and some have excuses… Excellent!
I’ve got a copy of Wallflower in Bloom so you don’t need to enter me in the contest. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this post–especially since I’m working on novel revisions this summer with my children home and I’ve found it SO hard to protect my writing time. Thanks for the deep breath of courage.
Ariel
Thank you for sharing your insight into this. Protecting our writing time is a topic I encounter at almost every writer’s gathering I attend. Your two-page rule is quite realistic, maybe even a bit conservative to some. But writers like me, who have full-time jobs and youngish children, know how difficult it is to sometimes even get one page down.
I’m looking forward to giving the rule a try. Thank you.
Wow, what a great post! Thank you for being so inspiring! I will be bookmarking this :)
This is great advice! Thank you so much for the insight you have brought us in this post!
Definitely taking this to heart, and not just for writing!!
This post came at a good time for me. I’ve spent the last five months wound up in a non-fiction project that took everything I had. Now I’m finding it hard to get my head back in the fiction place. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love your books.
[…] Every day, your life bombards you with perfectly legitimate excuses not to get your writing done: sick kids, leaky roofs, roots in desperate need of a touch-up. I write early in the morning before the rest of the world wakes up, because I find that the longer I procrastinate, the harder it gets. Here are five more things I’ve learned along the way that I hope might help you on your writing journey. […]
I protect the writing time with a set schedule and a ‘no phone’ policy. I let voicemail do it’s thing and I call them back later.
When I am rough drafting a novel my target is 2,500 words minimum in a session and I like to hit 4,000. If I hit 4,000 or so I’ll stop ahead of time for that day. But I have to make sure my outline is done right so I don’t have to spend a lot of time rethinking scenes and refitting the puzzle or my word count goes way down.
I like the 2 pages per day. That seems doable. All that write-a-book-in-a-month stuff is overwhelming and I feel sooo inferior to the Nora Roberts of the world.
I agree writing has to be the first thing of the day. Exercise second. Otherwise, neither one gets done.
Thanks for the advice.
Good advice – especially karma as a boomerang. Thanks.
I believe in a simple life with few commitments. Calling myself an author and claiming the time to write has been transformative for me. I think it is about prioritising the book above less important things and simply being faithful to that decision.
Wonderful post!
Protecting my writing time is something that troubles me – bot because of the bouts of procrastination I go through, and the highly hapazard times and non-habits we keek here. There is nothing I’d rather do than write, and yet I always find something else that must be done “and then I’ll write”.
But your wise, cheerful and no-nonsense insight on the matter, Claire, is just what I need. I’ll have to work on my writing schedule, most definitely. Thank you!
Love this post, Claire. It really does take consistent effort and self-discipline to protect one’s writing time.
Congratulations on your success…your book sounds terrific!
Congrats, Cindy! You’re the winner of a signed copy of WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM plus a flower hair clip. Email me your address at ClaireATClaireCook.com and I’ll get it right off to you.
I know this. I know this. I know this. And yet I must hear it again. So glad Claire shared it with us, and I can’t wait to read Wallflower.
I love this, and plan on not only saving it but on printing it out and hanging it some place I can always see it!
(Also – Love that that you are offering us the chance to win! Thanks!)
Thank you ! Thank you! I have taped your comment “Long shots happen every day” to my desk to look at every day.
Great encouragement for a never before pubbed author with a finished novel about twins called Forever One…because I AM a twin and I too lost a twin, but we will always be forever one!
Thanks for these writer pointers–I’m all for those two pages a day and karma working in our lives.
It’s like salmon running upstream at times, but we have to have faith. These days, it’s easy to epublish, but harder to grow reading fans.
Don’t forget to join a good critique group and any professional writers’ organizations you find.
I love your point of not sharing your dreams if you can’t dump the people who aren’t supportive! I’ve learned that one the hard way. This post is just what I need as I try to start a new project over summer.
Huge fan of Claire-Cook!
Even when people remember most of those steps, they tend to forget number 2: Work Your Butt Off. I’ve know doubt you’ve done it, and there’s a lot of people that give up too quickly because they don’t realize how key this step is, not just in writing, but in every aspect of life.
Really enjoyed the post today. Thanks for introducing us to Claire, Therese!
Your excerpt of Wallflower in Bloom won you a new reader, Claire. I was also very inspired by the bio on your website. You gave me a real kick in the pants today. Thanks.
This advice was karma boomerang for me today – just completed edits on a fellow critique group member’s ms and then had nothing left for my own work. Yes! Head slap! Putting self first is not being selfish, it’s respecting who I am and living the writer’s life with intention.
Thank you for the inspiration, which I need since I get a “D” in carving out time. However, I give myself an “A” in carving out space. Our municipal park has a Recreation Building with a porch attached. The porch is my “office” (overlooking a lake, no less!). Getting out of the house without having to pay for space is the nicest gift I’ve given myself.
I needed this today. I love the idea of two pages and putting it first above everything else. Thank you, Ms. Claire Cook! I love and admire your work and now, this post as well!!
Thank you!
Katherine Owen
I’m having trouble finding time to write fiction. Currently my time goes to my day job, freelance articles for the local newspaper, and professional articles for my day job, and making some time for family and friends. I’m writing and publishing regularly, but I need to make time for the novel I want to write. The question is how?
This provided me not only with inspiration for Monday’s post (which will include another thank you complete with links), but with inspiration for my 10th and final speech in my Competent Communicator Mannual. My Ala Moana Toastmasters Club will also be thanking you very shortly.
Love your article on Claire Cook! Definitely some great advice. I can’t wait to read Wall Flower in Bloom. :)
Great advice. And I love the description of your latest book. I will have to get it and read it.
What a great article. Thank you for posting it! It’s a keeper!
I’m so excited to find this blog! I love the advice about NOT CHECKING any email or Facebook before writing. I want to write something profound but by the time I doodle all over the internet my confidence and time are gone.
Thanks!!!
I wish I was better at writing in the morning. It’s so much easier to guarantee time before the day gets started and everything else takes over. Plus, I always feel more accomplished once I’ve gotten my writing done. I think I’m going to figure out a way to make this happen.
Claire, these are such encouraging words! The practical suggestions make sense to me.
I’m relatively new to the online writing community, but can see that I need to set some boundaries because it is so easier to fritter away my writing time. Your 2 page rule seems very doable. I look forward to trying it out. Thanks for a great post.
I think you meant ‘Rise “above” the negativity’ – sorry I used to be a teacher :). I totally agree and empathise with number 1. I go around thinking everyone else is wrong and I am right. Fortunately my close family are supportive (or they are humouring me because my writing keep me out of trouble).
Also numbers 2 & 5 is imortant to me. I phrase it as you have to make your own luck and you make it by hard work. I have always believed that nobody is going to knock n my door and ask if I have a manuscript in my bottom drawer; I need to write it and put it out there.
One way I protect my writing time is I get up an hour before everyone else in the house Monday to Friday and I write. This is my time because nobody else is up making demands on me. It means I need to go to bed an hour earlier but it’s no sacrifice to give up an hour of watching trashy instantly forgettable repeats on TV.
Great article.
Being a life-long wallflower and having written my first novel on the sidelines of lacrosse fields and the neighborhood swimming pool, I was thrilled to read this post today, Claire! I love your 2-page-per-day method, and many of your other tips. Especially the part about authenticity vs. branding. I TOTALLY agree. Therein is how a writer truly finds their unique voice. Writing mercies to you!
Claire, THANK YOU! I must say I don’t read many blogs straight through. As an author, I don’t have the time. But this one I read all the way through and more than that, I took it to heart.
What a wonderful post arriving in my inbox at just the right time!
My favorite part is the deal you have made with yourself and in truth, you’ve just inspired me to make my own writing deal.
Thank you! I needed this!
Thank you so much for this post. While it’s easy to know you have carve out the time, it’s so hard to do. Your post really reminded me of how important it is to make writing my priority during the day. Too often, it’s the thing that slides.
Also, numbers 4 and 5 really resonated with me. Both are so true.
Thanks again.
A terrific and encouraging post, thanks for sharing with us!
I’ve read many similar tips about managing time and advice on negativity, branding, etc., but never from someone who sounded as authentic about the advice she is sharing! And I like that word “authentic” as used in #3. I’m much more comfortable being authentically me than “branding” myself. Thanks for giving me the freedom to approach my writing in a more comfortable manner. And (yawn) I’d better get to bed so I can get up early before the house rises and interrupts my muse and me.
Number 3 really resonated with me.
I am a lifelong, card-carrying Eccentric, and I get antsy about having my work judged by more mainstream minds.
Thanks for this refreshing post!
This is just what I needed. I’m in the midst of revising what I hope will be my first published novel and find myself becoming mired in negativity at times. I so need to be reminded to rise above it. Thank you for a great post.
Thanks for this post! I recently quit my day job and I’ve just started writing from home, so setting priorities and organizing my time has become essential for me.
Great tips. As per #4, I once got a writing assignment just because I wrote a thank you note! And #1 is incredibly important, because thoughts do truly define us and our lives.
Thanks for inviting me, Therese, and thanks for all the great comments, everyone! I apologize for not answering each one individually, but I’m on deadline for my next-next novel. I did like them all though! As for the signed copy of my new novel WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM plus flower hair clip, I used random.org to choose…and the winner is Cindy Angell Keeling! Congrats, Cindy – just email your address to ClaireATClaireCook.com.