Tuesday is the day to remember all the things I didn’t get done on Monday so that I can put them off until Wednesday.
Or something like that.
It’s my first full week back from the beach (have I mentioned that?) and the desk and calendar are full. But, I knew that would happen.
And, as I’ve written before, most of the things are on that desk and calendar because I put them there.
I’m already seeing people start talking about fall and how they’re looking forward to cooler weather. I’m going to remind them of that when we have a hunnert and eighty-leven inches of snow and the kids have been locked up on the house for that past forty-three months.
I was never good at math.
Sure it’s been a hot summer. It’s still my preference.
But, just two short weeks from today, the school buses will be back on the road. This is your reminder to not drive like a moron.
I’m being proactive and getting some of my winter work out of the way. Two Augusts in a row I’ve endured the plague of the dreaded summer cold. I’m good for the year, thankyouverymuch.
So, with autumn approaching and the dreaded lawn-mowing shifting to the dreaded leaf-raking, here are some things I need to remember about this writing thing. You may find them helpful. (***cough*** tip jar ***cough)
- Make time to write. Don’t plan to write just when you have the time because you never will.
- Read. To be a good writer you need to be a good reader.
- Practice, practice, practice. (see yesterday’s post).
- Learn from your mistakes. That seems simple enough.
- Edit, edit, edit. Very few pieces are perfect the first time.
- But, write first, edit later. Let the words flow then go back and figure out if something else was flowing.
- Turn off the distractions. Netflix is wonderful, but not if you want to spend time writing. And seriously, how many times can you hit “refresh” on Facebook?
- Learn when it’s time to take a break. Maybe that’s a nap, maybe it’s Netflix…just not all seven seasons.
- Write because you love writing, not to make money. That’s the thing that bugs me most about the classes that promise to make me rich through my writing. That would be nice. But I want my writing to be worth reading.
- Believe in yourself. You can do this. Besides, if you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else?
Work on these things. I plan to.
Maybe when we have the inevitable snow day we can talk about how we’re all doing.
In other news,
American actor, singer, and dancer, Gene Kelly, was born on this day in 1912 (died 1996).