tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post7046756272825722458..comments2024-03-19T05:15:25.731-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: One Thing at a TimeJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83092980641333009622015-09-21T23:12:36.534-04:002015-09-21T23:12:36.534-04:00Yes, Kathy, I think that might work! It's all ...Yes, Kathy, I think that might work! It's all about making a big task in to doable bites. Pick one thing to do. One drawer. One closet. You don;t have to do the WHOLE house. Just--one thing. Keep us posted! <br /><br />And yes, Debs--writer's work is work. ANd we have to --get to--do it. So it's all part of it and that's very very difficult.<br /><br />I still think it's about setting time limits. xoxoHank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-76467672971638119932015-09-21T22:10:17.317-04:002015-09-21T22:10:17.317-04:00Hank, I'm going to use your timer idea for get...Hank, I'm going to use your timer idea for getting my house back in order after the last nine months of new paint, new floors, and some remodeling. It has seemed overwhelming to finish the sorting, weeding, and putting back together. I'll try the timer method for different tasks. Thanks!!!Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-77560005305300753492015-09-21T19:37:05.742-04:002015-09-21T19:37:05.742-04:00How to juggle time between actually writing and &q...How to juggle time between actually writing and "writer's work" is something we might want to talk about in future, right, REDS? I'd love to know how other writers deal with this.Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22789513610242060372015-09-21T16:16:40.102-04:002015-09-21T16:16:40.102-04:00Thanks, Debs! I like the idea of a nice hot bath a...Thanks, Debs! I like the idea of a nice hot bath and thinking time -- and of setting up for the next day! It takes me awhile to wake up sometimes, so there are days I fart around for almost an hour trying to get the shape of a new scene in my head. Would be nice to have the shape by the time I fall asleep.<br /><br />I tend to the promo in the in-between spaces, which means I rarely allot them the necessary time ... <br /><br />Hi Roberta! Dedicating a time slot to marketing stuff is an idea, and taking half days off every now and then could work ...Lisa Alberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591430453957883948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5553954706956889852015-09-21T16:09:26.120-04:002015-09-21T16:09:26.120-04:00Luckily Lisa you're doing the most important t...Luckily Lisa you're doing the most important thing first--writing! Marketing is of no use if you have nothing written:). Sounds like making the list and marking which are priorities might help. And the thing is, you may need that time off if you're working a day job too!<br /><br />Debs, the mock=up cover sounds perfect! And I did use Julie's idea for a while, something like Ramona's sprints. I had 2 other writers who wanted to finish projects, so we set the 1000 word goal and would check in at the end of every day. It really did help to have to report.<br /><br />Hallie, I get what you're saying, but I think you can do something similar by writing ahead and then fixing and rewriting later. I think.Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660402177299546055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-25234277848895330692015-09-21T15:59:21.565-04:002015-09-21T15:59:21.565-04:00Lisa, the only suggestion I have it to get through...Lisa, the only suggestion I have it to get through the evening chores, get ready for bed, and then see if there's a little gas left in the tank for writing. Usually for me, if I've had a good think in the bath, I'll want to write down the results before they drift away. Even if it's only a paragraph or two to set up for the next day's writing. This is incredibly helpful and I wish I could say I did it every evening...<br /><br />But as for anything author/work related like promotion, I have to do in the morning.Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38617447998622075552015-09-21T13:31:34.496-04:002015-09-21T13:31:34.496-04:00Everyone here is so inspiring!
I'm so disjoin...Everyone here is so inspiring!<br /><br />I'm so disjointed in life these days that I can barely keep a list. Lists are helpful--why can't I write one down for the day? It's like I don't want to tie myself down or commit (story of my life). The main struggle these days is with marketing tasks. I have my 750 words/day first draft writing goal, but then I fall apart for anything else writing-wise -- dogwalking, laundry, grocery shopping take precedence.<br /><br />How to fit in the marketing stuff?<br /><br />Also, does anyone have any tips for getting authorial tasks accomplished in the evening? I squander those hours most of all because I'm weary at the end of the day (day job) ... Lisa Alberhttp://www.lisaalber.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52008410300877098412015-09-21T12:57:19.579-04:002015-09-21T12:57:19.579-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Julie Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990409312754201655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-70863163886387104032015-09-21T12:56:22.729-04:002015-09-21T12:56:22.729-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Julie Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990409312754201655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-30208780246283361632015-09-21T12:54:55.609-04:002015-09-21T12:54:55.609-04:00Hank, thank you, thank you, thank you for the time...Hank, thank you, thank you, thank you for the timer method and the same thanks to you FChurch for the 2 minute rule. And to Lucy for reminding me of goals and breaking into steps which was how I worked in law school in my 40s. My writing now is not professional, letters...I would have made a lovely Edwardian lady with her daily correspondence...which have morphed into long emails and poetry for the fun of moving words about. But I still have trouble focusing with all the variety of distracting housework and errand running <br />and all those novels all of the Reds and your ilk produce to tempt me. ;-) <br />Wishing you all productive and healthy days!Elisabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-45961627314936601182015-09-21T12:27:17.590-04:002015-09-21T12:27:17.590-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Julie Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990409312754201655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-3448653237769259372015-09-21T12:25:25.250-04:002015-09-21T12:25:25.250-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Julie Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05990409312754201655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55746990304443815562015-09-21T12:21:08.955-04:002015-09-21T12:21:08.955-04:00Jim, that's so funny! I'm going to have th...Jim, that's so funny! I'm going to have this great image in my head all day, now.<br /><br />And Reine, I've contemplated your method but decided it wouldn't go over too well with my editor:-)Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-74053662088339226972015-09-21T12:05:30.755-04:002015-09-21T12:05:30.755-04:00One of the things that made me very good at my job...One of the things that made me very good at my job was the ability to keep a lot of balls in the air. As I get older - not former, but old - I find more of the balls hitting me on the head or splatting on the floor. So I'm working on a two-tier strategy that involves some separate planning time, with more lists than I used to need, and time allocated for specific tasks, rather than for whatever handful of things are grabbing my attention. I can no longer respond to as many questions off the top of my head, and I haven't got my new process working smoothly yet, but I'm getting better at keeping things organized. I suspect I'll have the new approach running really well the day before I retire.<br /><br />As others have said, I really enjoy hearing about so many different things from everyone!<br /><br />JimJim Collinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-28417321900308070132015-09-21T11:48:12.710-04:002015-09-21T11:48:12.710-04:00Karen, thank you -- I will take extra D -- I take ...Karen, thank you -- I will take extra D -- I take a multivitamin, but seriously avoid the sun/wear sunscreen, so...<br /><br />Reine, you made me literally laugh out loud....<br /><br />Now that I'm not on deadline, I'm sort of excited to learn Scrivner....Susan Elia MacNealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00349842866995778987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37216622150707803752015-09-21T10:38:25.531-04:002015-09-21T10:38:25.531-04:00Lucy... I do the visual reminders of the big goal ...Lucy... I do the visual reminders of the big goal to motivate me when I am down. I have my awards on a display shelf that I have to pass to get to my office. I have my Edgar nomination certificate and first NYT list on the wall above my desk , it's great to say "I've done this before, I can do it again!"Rhysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-66844751017811526892015-09-21T10:21:32.879-04:002015-09-21T10:21:32.879-04:00Kaye, I watched the video. Lovely and so true. And...Kaye, I watched the video. Lovely and so true. And I will take it to heart. (And maybe will write about it later this week.)<br /><br />BUT, I still have a book to finish, so am taking everyone else's advice to heart as well. Setting my word count AND my timer today:-)<br /><br />Susan, Diane is better at Scrivener than I am if you have questions. And they have a great FB page with all kinds of tips.<br /><br />Hallie, I'm always going back and forth. It's one reason I'm slow, and it's also a reason I find Scriverer so helpful. It's really easy to go back and add material, or to take it out, or to move things around.<br /><br />Karen, so interesting about the D3!! I do take it every day. The last time I had a respiratory bug was when I was on book tour last year, and I was NOT taking my vitamins, including the D3. Hmmm. It's going with me from now on.<br /><br />Lucy, for years I used to make a mock cover for the book-in-progress. I'd use one of my photos from wherever the book was set. Sometimes it wasn't even the final title but that didn't seem to matter. And you know what? I haven't done that for this book. It seems a little bit silly, but I'd put that cover where I could see it while I worked, and it made the book feel like a real thing. An existing thing. Does that make sense? So I'm adding that to my to-do list today--after I've done at least a couple of timed writes...<br /><br />I love the way our conversations mutate on this blog--today, from staying focused to visualizing goals. And all of you always have such helpful and inspiring things to say.<br /><br />Thank you, Reds and Red readers, for being a part of my life!<br />Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-3350957124175711342015-09-21T10:06:08.888-04:002015-09-21T10:06:08.888-04:00One tool I use is the 2-minute rule to help me sta...One tool I use is the 2-minute rule to help me stay on track--keeping on top of three jobs, a household with 2 active kids, one cat, a hamster, sometimes 4 dogs, can get overwhelming. Oh, and me time: writing time, reading, exercising. Most of my work these days involves sitting at the computer, and that's where the 2-minute rule comes in. <br /><br />Experts advise that you should get up from your desk for at least 2-5 minutes every hour--all that sitting shortens your life span. In 2 minutes I can walk out to get the mail (bonus pts: I get exercise and some sunshine), 2 minutes to throw in a load of laundry, or unload the dishwasher, make appointments, or just walk through the house on cold days). When I sit down again, I'm ready to get back to work. This break helps especially when I need to switch from one project to another. In an 8-hour day, I can accomplish a number of tasks this way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53511781678157375022015-09-21T09:29:12.400-04:002015-09-21T09:29:12.400-04:00Reine, that's too funny. One of my daughters u...Reine, that's too funny. One of my daughters used a variation of that trick when she was a kid: write the required number of words, even if you have to repeat yourself several times. <br /><br />Susan, you poor thing. Pneumonia is no fun. I used to get it, along with every other blasted upper respiratory thing that came along, until I started taking Vitamin D3. It's been almost ten years now, and I went from having at least two episodes of coughing and wheezing a year to TWO ever since. Apparently, avoiding the sun has repercussions, and the D3 (important to have this kind, not just the D) helps to overcome that lack of exposure. <br /><br />This post is so comforting, knowing that all of you struggle with keeping your butts glued to the chair. BIC, HOK: Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard. That was my motto for a long time, but I get chained to the idea, and feel guilty if I'm not there all day long. The reality, am I right, is that one can only write for so many hours a day. And it's really easy to fool oneself into thinking that sitting at the computer is actual working. Thanks for sharing your coping strategies, Reds! Karen in Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-70539172375155179482015-09-21T09:28:39.265-04:002015-09-21T09:28:39.265-04:00When it comes to my writing, I'm pretty discip...When it comes to my writing, I'm pretty disciplined. I think it comes from only getting one hour a day. Sometimes I can sneak more, and sometimes I can steal time on the weekends (if the kids don't fill up the days with stuff), but I am <b>guaranteed</b> only five hours a week - my lunch hour at the day job. Therefore, I have to be serious about it. I don't have to bother turning off the Internet - that can wait. I usually have a task to accomplish that day. Today is sending queries. If I finish that, there's some first draft work waiting. Tomorrow will be something else. And that is all I do for that hour.<br /><br />All of this completely falls apart at the day job. I support five different products. While I may come into work saying, "Today I am going to do X," there is always the likelihood that someone will interrupt me with something that absolutely has to be done. Or I'll have three projects that all have the same release date so I have to do a little of each every day (not simultaneously, of course).<br /><br />And yes, kid schedules demand multi-tasking. Especially when they go to different schools, have different schedules, different activities, all their doctor/dentist/orthodontic appointments. I often joke that if it doesn't exist on my iPhone's calendar, it simply doesn't exist.<br /><br />And don't get me started on laundry, house cleaning, etc. I saw a great Facebook meme yesterday: My housecleaning approach can be best describe as "There appears to have been a struggle." I often throw in a load of laundry and get so completely caught up in fifty other things that hours later I forget that there are wet clothes in the washer that need to go in the dryer.Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52134883157610049252015-09-21T08:29:15.483-04:002015-09-21T08:29:15.483-04:00A funny conversation I recently had with an old pr...A funny conversation I recently had with an old professor -- former not old -- was about my paper writing technique. <br />She: It always looked like you sat down at your computer and wrote until you ran out of time. Then you ran over here and shoved it under my door. <br />Me: How could you tell?<br />She: you'd stop writing in the middle of a paragraph and sometimes mid-sentence.<br />Me: That's pretty much it.Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68427183094827952372015-09-21T08:27:38.523-04:002015-09-21T08:27:38.523-04:00I love the idea of the Sprint Club... Am I the onl...I love the idea of the Sprint Club... Am I the only one who keeps second guessing myself as I write and so I have to keep circling back and rejigger? If I just kept going it would be okay, but not nearly as good as it could be. It takes me a long time to see the best (and most unexpected) course.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20966885038781122492015-09-21T08:26:29.212-04:002015-09-21T08:26:29.212-04:00One thing at a time, a doable daily to-do list, wr...One thing at a time, a doable daily to-do list, writing goal for the day, and no multi-tasking. I am 100% behind Hank on that. <br /><br />Thanks for the support, Edith. 7:00 a.m. writing hour, no Internet, no interruptions. Everything else is still there when the timer pings and you have 1000 new words.Ramonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00627775403015684868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7453185427548130742015-09-21T08:03:07.032-04:002015-09-21T08:03:07.032-04:00Yes, because your brain needs to see what it's...Yes, because your brain needs to see what it's shooting for, in very specific terms. That's why sports psychologists also suggest thinking about a big goal, and putting something to represent it in your workspace. For example, it could be a copy of the New York Times bestseller list LOL. Then forget about it and break it down into manageable little steps. If they are too big or not specific, we get overwhelmed.<br /><br />Joan we love that we are your first stop!<br /><br />Edith, you are proof that all the goals and tricks work--good for you!!Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660402177299546055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68783869992042609612015-09-21T07:43:41.078-04:002015-09-21T07:43:41.078-04:00Yes! Write down the goal. For some reason--that wo...Yes! Write down the goal. For some reason--that works! A psychologist would know why…Roberta??Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.com