Buckling Down

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

On Monday, I read a quote on Laura Marcella’s blog that has been on my mind.  Harlan Coben (best selling author) was quoted as saying:-

If you can’t find the time to write, that’s just nonsense. My friend Mary Higgins Clark had five kids and was widowed–that’s a woman who had no time to write. And she still used to wake up and write and then get the kids up. There’s always time to write. You can skip the TV show you’re watching, you can wake up an hour earlier, you can write during lunch–you always have time to write.
Why have I been thinking about this quotation?


My seeming inability to make progress on my many works-in-progress.  

The project/s  I want to self-publish at year end was written for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) 2008. Book two was my 2009 Nano project.  Going further back – between October 2004 and now - I’ve written seven complete works  and have another six languishing with only a few chapters finished.  Of the fifteen projects mentioned above, two have been published and another is in the pipeline.

I’m not going to make any excuses as to why I’m not as passionate about my writing as I used to be.  What I do is spend a lot of time on the computer involved in other activities. I commented on Sue Roebuck’s blog last night that any minute now my critique partners will be warming up the tar and piling up the feathers – except that we’ve all gotten distracted with writing and other stuff. Life has a way of doing that.

However, I'm going back to something that used to work for me. Making lists. The other thing that works is looking at them once in a while. There’s nothing for it but to get back on track. I simply must.

If Mary Higgins Clark wrote with five kids to take care of and no husband to share the responsibility, I’m ahead of the game with an independent ten-year-old and an understanding spouse.

Besides, I won’t be here forever. I’ve got to make hay while the sun shines. Kinda like the fellow below.  
Are you making good use of your time, or are you like me, extremely distracted by everything else but writing?

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shoutout, Joy! That quote stuck with me, too. It really puts things into perspective. Everybody in the world has only 24 hours in the day; the most prolific and productive people in history had 24 hours in the day. So there's no excuse!

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  2. I read that quote on Laura's blog too, and again it stuck with me. I've been more productive since I read it, it really gave me the wake up call I needed!

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  3. So true, Laura. It's all in what we do with the time that's allotted to us.

    Christine, yes, it stayed with me too. I'm trying to stay focused.

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  4. This post really hits home with me today. I've been crazy busy doing everything except writing. Ugh! But the sun hasn't set yet, there's still time. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  5. Yes, there's definitely time to get some stuff done. :)

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  6. Great quote.

    Question: What do you mean by lists? What do you put on your lists? How does it work for you? I want details!

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  7. Thanks for Friday's post, Clarissa!

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  8. Very, very true - that's a great quote. If you want anything enough, I believe you'll find the time.

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  9. I think we prove this all the time, Talli.

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  10. No, you are not alone! Lots of distractions but distractions are easier to avoid than we think. Like, did I really need to watch two SEINFELD reruns last night?! No. I should be writing.

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  11. Love that quote. Now it's stuck in my mind :). I love lists too. They keep me on track...and sane. Distractions are up since the kids are home for summer, but I'm a morning person so I wake up a little earlier to hit the keys.

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  12. Liz, I laughed out loud at that. I've started turning the television off. Otherwise, I'm watching episodes of Law and Order and NCIS that I've seen a few dozen times.

    Rula, I'm working on mine now. I wish I had the discipline to get up earlier. If things get too dicey, I might have to try that rather that the zombie thing I do late at night.

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  13. I agree with that quote, and I think making lists can help to focus the energy on what we want to accomplish. I get up at 5:30 am to get some writing done before everybody else wakes up. My brain is alert and takes off easily in the morning. Good luck with your projects!

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  14. And I forgot to mention that I never watch television. There's no time for that.

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  15. Good plan of attack, Julia. Wish I could kick the television habit, but I'd done a lot better in the past couple of weeks.

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  16. Lol at this time of my life, I actually have to be distracted from my writing.

    ^_^

    Good luck on getting your focus back!

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