Write A Way: Journey to Creativity
By Sandra Lee Schubert
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
~ Douglas Noel Adams, English humorist and science fiction novelist
The Myth of Time: Improve Your Life One Deadline at a Time
It has taken me forty minutes to begin writing this column. I had to find the
right music to play. There were the writing books to look through. After all,
the experts have all done it before me so I can learn from them. I needed
water, chocolate, my hair had to be pinned off my face. I checked outside to
see if it was raining. I positioned the fan just right since the air
conditioner is still sitting on the floor in front of the window. I have a
deadline to keep. I am like a runner before a race, pacing nervously,
stretching drinking water, getting ready for the starting shot to set me off to
the finish line. Let me tell you right off that I hate deadlines. They make
me itch, I get cranky and all my bad behavior and methods of procrastination
begin to over take me. I whine. "I am artist I can't create by
schedule"! It is awful.
Along the way I picked up some real bad habits about doing things on time.
Unlike the commercial that admonishes me to just do it I will do anything else.
So if you tell me how difficult it is to get to your writing I will
understand. I am right there with you in fact we should go get coffee and
talk. We can get back to pen and paper later. Who am I kidding? Life is
about meeting deadlines. Whether you like it or not, a deadline can improve
your creativity.
"Goals are dreams with deadlines." ~ Diana Scharf Hunt
I envy all those people who seem to produce massive amounts of written
material. I know two women with full houses of children, pets, mates, and jobs
that manage to write books and short stories and articles. They create courses
and espouse brilliant life philosophies. I know another woman who is a
fulltime doctor and an Episcopal priest and still has time to go to school. It
annoys me just as much as it fills me with awe.
The reason why any of us procrastinates is best left to the experts. I can tell
you this; action begets action. All the books I have on writers and the writing
life say the same thing. If you want to write, you have to write. Studying
what others do is helpful to discover what can help you. Each successful
writer has a passion for the craft. They live and breathe writing. Stephen
King would write on breaks during work. Annie Lamott brings index cards with
her to jot down notes. Natalie Goldberg writes as spiritual practice. Money
motivates some, success others, the love of words excites yet another.
Regardless of the reason something brings them to writing every day.
"Get the action habit - you do not need to wait until conditions are
perfect."
~ David. J. Schwartz, PhD,
The Magic of Thinking Big
Personally, I waste time. There are ample opportunities to write. But I
restrict myself to a time and a day. As if I could only create during a
certain time period. Think of the ways you limit your writing time. According
to Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone in their book,
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,
"a motive is the 'inner urge' only within the individual which incites a
person to action, such as an instinct, passion, emotion, habit, mood, impulse,
desire or idea." Think about what rules you have for creating. What is
your motivation for writing? Do you have a desire to make money? Do you have
a life story to tell? Or do you just like it?
"Keep your mind on the things you should and do want and off the things
you shouldn't and don't want."
~ Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone
A final thought on deadlines.
We live in a fast paced society where the rhythms of nature and life are trod
upon all the time. Don't use deadlines as another burden but rather a
structure to free up more time for the important and fulfilling things in life.
My friends could write books as well as take time to nurture themselves and
their families. Managing their time allows them to fulfill their obligations
as well as their passions.
"Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in
order to conceive."
~ Napoleon Hill
Journal Writing Prompts
If your writing is not interesting to you, it will not be exciting to anyone
else. Take some time to think about what you would like to really write. What
makes your heart beat faster when you think about doing it? Write with your
heart and meeting deadlines will be worth the effort.
Time Thieves
Look at the things that waste your time. See if you can find 10 more minutes
to add to your writing schedule. Add more time as you go along.
Writing with a deadline will help your
writing practice.
Whether you write privately for your own benefit or for a publisher, set a time
limit. Make a decision to establish a time when you will begin to write. Set
a goal - as an example - I will write 500 words on any topic. Decide your
deadline. It may look something like this: I will begin writing at 10 AM
everyday, I will write 500 words on any topic and I will complete this task by
noon. This will establish a practice for you. It will also discipline you to
write no matter what you are feeling on any given day.
Reward yourself when you meet a deadline.
Take a long walk; listen to some great music or just dance around the house.
The benefit of meeting a deadline is how accomplished you will feel. Enjoy and
write away!
Sandra Schubert is the creator and instructor for the Self-Healing Expressions
e-course
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own.
To learn more about Sandra and her course, click here:
Copyright © 2004 Sandra Lee Schubert. All rights reserved. If you are interested
in publishing this article, please email
.
|
