M is for Mentor, N is for Now
A mentor will guide without putting you down and will teach without taking over your thoughts. A mentor makes you a better writer and can offer advice and guidance in areas of publishing and marketing that you have not yet encountered. A mentor is a must, a good mentor. Join a writing group or club, find a critique group, look for a single writing friend.... but find someone who can be objective with your words and guide you in the right direction to improve your writing for publication.
N is for NOW. Find a mentor and move forward with your writing goals because one third of 2012 is already gone. Now is the time to take ahold of your writing goals and make it happen for the New Year. Take 15 minutes every day or a half hour every other day but make the time to WRITE. Then fit in the other aspects of a writing life around your writing time.
Short on time: here is an example of a writing schedule. It only takes 30 minutes three times a week.
Monday: 15 minutes to read a chapter in a writing book 15 minutes to take notes and list what you will write about on Wednesday.
Wednesday: Write for 25 minutes on the story that is closest to your heart. Take 5 minutes to outline where you will start next Wednesday.
Friday: 15 minutes to write a weekly blog post on your blog. 15 minutes to Tweet about your blog post and to visit one or two sites of other writers.
This is a very limited schedule and hopefully many of you have more time than this if you are serious about writing as a career, but for moms and full time employees, this gives you a great foundation to start working towards your writing goals. Thirty minutes three times a week, even if it giving up a lunch hour, can get you moving positively towards your writing goals. Try it and let me know what works and what you do to get your writing mo
I like how this example includes prep for writing (which I am learning is crucial for me to keep writing - I've become a huge fan of bullet points to step me through a scene). Also, visiting other sites. Its so important for writers to connect.I'm a visiting A-Z blogger.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post. I work full-time have a husband and a daughter and would love to write but always think I don't have the time. This was a nice reminder that I do, in fact, have the time, even if it's just an hour a week.
ReplyDeleteThis is really great advice. I would love to have a mentor or even a writing group but I can't find one. No one I know writes and I only have my twitter friends and blog friends online to talk about writing to.
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