It’s a nice thought to imagine that one day a creative urge will hit you and you’ll finally write that novel you’ve thought about writing for years. But it doesn’t work that way.
Maybe you think, “I’ll start being creative when I retire,” but here’s the thing: it takes a lot of practice to be “creative.” If you don’t do it now, you very well could be dead before reaching your potential.
So how do you produce regularly?
Come up with a plan–even a basic plan–and stick to it!
My Current Writing Plan
Here’s what my current plan looks like:
- Submit Promise to agents.
- Keep working on the outline for A Magic Life. (My next book.)
- Rewrite my second novel and sell it as an ebook.
- Work on the outline for Twelve Rounds with You. (A one-act play that has generated some interest.) If the interest is genuine, then write the thing.
That’s it, and it’s plenty to keep me busy.
The great thing about the plan? If I don’t feel like working on one thing for some reason, I have other things to work on.
The Benefit of Having a Writing Plan
Such a simple plan comes with a great benefit: I never have a reason to not be busy.
Read that again: “I never have a reason to not be busy.” It’s easy to sit in front of a TV and hope inspiration strikes, but it’s better to have something that ensures you’ll actually be productive.
Writing’s work, and when you have a plan–even if it’s just a loose list–there’s no reason to be lazy. Throw in some self-imposed deadlines, and every year you’re another step closer to your dreams. It’s really that easy!
Your Plan
So what are you working on right now? What are your plans for the rest of 2011. How about 2012?
Thanks for this post, I need to take stock of my progress . .
Still in the throes of editing / learning how to edit what will be my debut novel. A year ago, I thought I would be submitting to agents at this point. Funny how creative pursuits always take so much longer than you think they will. The more I learn, the more I see there’s so much more work ahead of me. But that’s great, because I am able to recognize I need to improve, and I love improving. 🙂
So I will be editing my WIP through this fall.
In November I will be NaNo-ing.
By 2012 I hope to have my WIP finally ready for submission.
While all of this is happening, I’ll still be trying to fit in my other creative endeavors- cooking, sewing, photography, etc. I want to get into making videos and drawing again. I’ve had the beginnings of an illustrated cat humor book on the back burner for a while now. Also on the back burner is fantasy humor book about schizophrenic phone sex worker. (Really, it’s not as awful as it sounds.)
I’m really bad with hourly schedules, but I find I can usually get by with daily / weekly schedules. My blog helps keep me motivated by allowing me to present finished products- flash fiction and other blog posts. Otherwise I’d probably feel like I’m running in a giant hamster wheel of unfinishedness. Plus blogs like yours help keep me focused on the finish lines- however far off they may be. Thanks for that!
I usually don’t write things down, so I find writing about my plans on The Juggling Writer helps put an actual list in front of me. I have a bit of an aversion to big lists, finding that–for me–when I have a list of every little things I need to do, down to things that really don’t matter, that I tend to not do much of anything because I always feel like I’ll never accomplish something.
So it’s usually a list of a couple big things in my head. Bills become an automatic payday thing, writing projects are always at the front of my mind. Even if it’s just one thing for a writing list, like “Work on my novel,” that’s a plan. For me, having a few things as a part of that plan help because if I don’t feel like working on a particular thing, there are always other things I can write.
I know people who make lists of every idea they have, and many of them get lost in their list. If it works for them–that’s cool–but for me, just a little plan works best.
I’m already dropping the play thing from the list in this post. I’m not sure if it’s going to happen. While it sounded like a somewhat sure thing at first, I haven’t heard from the director and I’m not going to chase it down because I have other things I can be doing. While I LOVE collaborating with others, I must say that one of the best things about novels is if they don’t happen, you have only yourself to blame…