Hi all,
Here is your lesson for the week of June 17th.
For those of you who have your kids home for the summer, please sit down and create a writing schedule for the summer, given your time constraints. This is very important to your success and to getting some writing done in the summer.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care, and let's all have a productive week!
Irene Roth
To successfully write during the summer months, you will have to have your family on board for the ride. In other words, they will have to agree to your being absent sometimes to write and complete your word count every day.
This may mean that they will have to agree to do some of the chores every day. They may even have to pick up groceries if they are needed or pick up dry cleaning. Further, they may have to agree to do small, yet time consuming tasks such as cleaning out the litter or taking the dog for a walk. Most family members will be more than happy to help, and some may even be inspired by what you are doing.
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen writers make is not to communicate with their family members and tell them that they will have to write consistently every day. If you don’t tell your family members what you plan to do, they will start resenting when you leave to write for an hour after dinner or they will wonder why you are waking up earlier yet again
If you have children, working towards completing your goals can teach them valuable lessons. Setting goals and being serious about completing them can demonstrate how they too can be resilient and how consistency can lead to success. It can further show kids that hard work can result in success. Therefore, there can be many benefits to writing during the holidays.
However, there is nothing worse than having to fight for every minute or hour that you need to write. Writing is hard enough. You don’t need additional stress and pressures put on you from your family.
Therefore, if you don’t get cooperation from your family, you may want to find a public place to go to, like a library or café, to write for an hour. Once your family sees that you are serious about your writing, they will stop being as upset about it because they will realize that you will be habitually writing.
So, it is up to us to set up the ground rules in our family. I’ll show you how to do this later when I discuss creating a family mission statement. Most families don’t understand the life of a writer. So, you will have to teach them that writers tend to disappear for part of the day so that they can write.
If your family members are willing to work with you to prepare the mission statement, they will also be willing to let your writing become a part of their life too. Ideally, your spouse and family members will do something else while you’re writing. So, all of you could win from your need to write.
Tip 7: Deal with Distraction
It's easy to become distracted during the summer months. Almost anything can distract you, if you allow it to. It can take a long time to learn how to focus on your writing in such a way that distractions will be minimized, if not avoided altogether. Most of us can learn to focus on one project and write for an hour, four to five days a week with a bit of planning.
Distractions can take many different forms. We could be distracted by our children, spouses, family members, beautiful weather, or internet, phone and email. Limiting these distractions can be easy, if you take a few steps. Here are a few to consider.
Set an egg-timer
I find that setting a timer helps a lot. I set it for, say, 30 minutes to an hour, and during that time, I don't do anything but write. The timer gives me the structure I need to keep my eyes and mind on the manuscript that I am working on.
Do nothing but write during your allotted time
Nothing, except an emergency, should move you to do anything else than write during your allotted time. If you are serious about writing, make sure that you actually write during your planned time.
Shut out all outside distractions before sitting down to write
It is important for writers to shut off the ringer on the phone and cell phone during your allotted writing session. Do nothing but write.
Communicate your Writing Times To Your Family
Tell your family what your writing schedule will be for the week. Then when you’re writing time comes, honour it so that your family can honor it too. Don’t be persuaded to do anything but write during those times.
Work on one project at a time
Successful writers usually complete all their writing projects. They work diligently through discouragement and rejection. They also find a way to work consistently on a project until it is complete.
Writers will usually hit a lot of distractions when they set out to write during the summer. This is to be expected and is very much a part of writing practise. Try not to give up and quit when the going gets tough. Just keep finding ways to write here and there, even if it is for short periods of time. It all adds up.
I always encourage the writers who I coach to write as often as possible during the summer. They have all made a commitment to write every day, even if it is for a short time such as 15 minutes. You have no idea how much momentum and success this brings to your writing life until you try it. So, part of our motto is Write every day! And that is the promise we make to ourselves, as writers.
Some summers it can be especially hard to find time to write. If you know this is the kind of summer you will be having this year, then it is important to think outside of the box so that you can find time to do some writing. The place may not be ideal. However, if you form an intention to write, you will be able to get some writing done. The key is to remove yourself from the noise and give yourself some privacy and quiet for about 30 minutes. If you can find a place to do that, you will be able to write wherever you are.
Be creative and innovative. I have even heard of writers writing in the bathroom. Some went back to their hotel room and wrote for an hour. Be courageous and get used to people wondering where you are, especially those who are outside your immediate family. Remember, you are a writer, and this time is important to you.
Here are some unlikely places that you can get some extra words down to complete your goal during the summer:
By taking these steps, you will be getting some writing during the summer holidays.
Your Assignment
Please answer the following questions and post them by Sunday, June 23rd, in the forum under this thread.
Here is your lesson for the week of June 17th.
For those of you who have your kids home for the summer, please sit down and create a writing schedule for the summer, given your time constraints. This is very important to your success and to getting some writing done in the summer.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care, and let's all have a productive week!
Irene Roth
Tip 6: Create a Family Mission Statement
To successfully write during the summer months, you will have to have your family on board for the ride. In other words, they will have to agree to your being absent sometimes to write and complete your word count every day.
This may mean that they will have to agree to do some of the chores every day. They may even have to pick up groceries if they are needed or pick up dry cleaning. Further, they may have to agree to do small, yet time consuming tasks such as cleaning out the litter or taking the dog for a walk. Most family members will be more than happy to help, and some may even be inspired by what you are doing.
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen writers make is not to communicate with their family members and tell them that they will have to write consistently every day. If you don’t tell your family members what you plan to do, they will start resenting when you leave to write for an hour after dinner or they will wonder why you are waking up earlier yet again
If you have children, working towards completing your goals can teach them valuable lessons. Setting goals and being serious about completing them can demonstrate how they too can be resilient and how consistency can lead to success. It can further show kids that hard work can result in success. Therefore, there can be many benefits to writing during the holidays.
However, there is nothing worse than having to fight for every minute or hour that you need to write. Writing is hard enough. You don’t need additional stress and pressures put on you from your family.
Therefore, if you don’t get cooperation from your family, you may want to find a public place to go to, like a library or café, to write for an hour. Once your family sees that you are serious about your writing, they will stop being as upset about it because they will realize that you will be habitually writing.
So, it is up to us to set up the ground rules in our family. I’ll show you how to do this later when I discuss creating a family mission statement. Most families don’t understand the life of a writer. So, you will have to teach them that writers tend to disappear for part of the day so that they can write.
If your family members are willing to work with you to prepare the mission statement, they will also be willing to let your writing become a part of their life too. Ideally, your spouse and family members will do something else while you’re writing. So, all of you could win from your need to write.
Tip 7: Deal with Distraction
Distractions can take many different forms. We could be distracted by our children, spouses, family members, beautiful weather, or internet, phone and email. Limiting these distractions can be easy, if you take a few steps. Here are a few to consider.
Set an egg-timer
I find that setting a timer helps a lot. I set it for, say, 30 minutes to an hour, and during that time, I don't do anything but write. The timer gives me the structure I need to keep my eyes and mind on the manuscript that I am working on.
Do nothing but write during your allotted time
Nothing, except an emergency, should move you to do anything else than write during your allotted time. If you are serious about writing, make sure that you actually write during your planned time.
Shut out all outside distractions before sitting down to write
It is important for writers to shut off the ringer on the phone and cell phone during your allotted writing session. Do nothing but write.
Communicate your Writing Times To Your Family
Tell your family what your writing schedule will be for the week. Then when you’re writing time comes, honour it so that your family can honor it too. Don’t be persuaded to do anything but write during those times.
Work on one project at a time
Successful writers usually complete all their writing projects. They work diligently through discouragement and rejection. They also find a way to work consistently on a project until it is complete.
Writers will usually hit a lot of distractions when they set out to write during the summer. This is to be expected and is very much a part of writing practise. Try not to give up and quit when the going gets tough. Just keep finding ways to write here and there, even if it is for short periods of time. It all adds up.
I always encourage the writers who I coach to write as often as possible during the summer. They have all made a commitment to write every day, even if it is for a short time such as 15 minutes. You have no idea how much momentum and success this brings to your writing life until you try it. So, part of our motto is Write every day! And that is the promise we make to ourselves, as writers.
Tip 8: Think Outside the Box
Some summers it can be especially hard to find time to write. If you know this is the kind of summer you will be having this year, then it is important to think outside of the box so that you can find time to do some writing. The place may not be ideal. However, if you form an intention to write, you will be able to get some writing done. The key is to remove yourself from the noise and give yourself some privacy and quiet for about 30 minutes. If you can find a place to do that, you will be able to write wherever you are.
Be creative and innovative. I have even heard of writers writing in the bathroom. Some went back to their hotel room and wrote for an hour. Be courageous and get used to people wondering where you are, especially those who are outside your immediate family. Remember, you are a writer, and this time is important to you.
Here are some unlikely places that you can get some extra words down to complete your goal during the summer:
- Write in the car—of course when you are a passenger. If you are taking a trip to a special destination that takes an hour or two, you could bring your paper and pen or even laptop and just write for a few minutes at a time. I sometimes got into the back seat where it was quieter, and I wrote for about half an hour or so until the next pit-stop on our trip. You may want to do something like that too.
- Write in the airport—while waiting to board the plane. Sometimes there are delays. Most times, we have to get there at least an hour ahead of time. So, this can be a time to write for even a few minutes.
- Once the plane is in flight, you can write during your flight or at least read to prepare to write.
- Wake up a bit earlier and write.
- Stay up a bit later and write for a few minutes.
- While your spouse is watching television in the evening, remove yourself on the bed or at a table in the room and write for a few minutes.
- If it is a nice day, write outside. If its noisy inside, take your laptop outside and write into the greater outdoors. Or take your pen and paper and head to the park. Nature is a wonderful creative force for me. There is no better feeling than writing and thinking by the Avon River where I live. I go there often during the summer for creative escapes.
By taking these steps, you will be getting some writing during the summer holidays.
Your Assignment
Please answer the following questions and post them by Sunday, June 23rd, in the forum under this thread.
- Create a Family Mission Statement for the summer. Post it here.
- Will you have distractions this summer? How will you work around them and still get some writing done?
- Where can you write other than in your office during the summer when the going gets tough such as if you have family and friends over or you are on a trip? Post your reflections under this thread.
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