Tag: Balance

Posted in The Writing Path, Writing Goals

Balancing Love and Ambition

Posted on by beckylevine

Last week, Jordan Rosenfeld blogged about getting back to the joy of writing. She posed the question: “What would it be like if you wrote because it made you feel worthy, bigger, and joyful?”

This is a very important question, I think. My basic answer was the one I always come back to–the dreams I have about getting published are impossible to guarantee, so if I’m not loving what I’m doing (at least overall!), I’m in big trouble.

But I think my answer there is a bit too simplistic. Because, yes, I do have the dreams. I think most of us do. The dreams about getting published–whether it’s via agent/traditional publishing house or by way of our own self-publishing journey. We want to see our book in print, on a shelf that isn’t our own, in the hands of other readers than our family & critique group (as wonderful as they all are!). We want to know that someone else thinks it’s good.

As I said, there are no guarantees of this dream. We can work and work and grow our craft, strengthen our skills, revise our little hearts out, and still…we may still “just” be writing. Which is, I believe, the important part–at least for my happiness.

I also believe, though, that while I try to rest in the joy of the writing act, I need to take as many steps as I can to forward the dream–or to put it in more practical terms, to push my ambition. It’s actually hard for me to think of myself as an ambitious person–it brings up visions, for me, of having to become seriously competitive, to work past my emotional limit-switches, to put aside other things in life that are important to me. I have to remind myself that ambition can be a good thing, that it can hold us to a level of commitment that we need to grow, that it can bring out a professionalism in ourselves that can supplement what we’re learning about the art of writing.

I can read blogs to find out what’s happening in the market. I can make sure that a decent % of the books I read are recent publications. I can attend conferences and take webinars that teach me both craft and strategy. I can, obviously, continue to turn out chapters and send them to my critique group and really listen to their revision suggestions. I can think as I write, trying to feed what I’ve learned in the past few years into the story, so that I don’t just sit, too comfortably, at the same writing level I was back then.

So, yes, there are times when a publication goal seems so far away as to be overwhelming, scary or depressing enough to threaten our writing brains with shut-down. There are times when focusing on what we’re “supposed” to do can poison our ability to find the truth in the story. There are times when we have to pull the shade over that future vision and just write. And then there are times to look ahead, dream, and do something about it.

Jordan is absolutely right–writing without the joy is bloodless. I don’t believe that for me, that approach would ever bear fruit. The trick, I think (hope!), is finding the balance. And, somehow, staying sane as we go for it all.

Posted in The Writing Path

Doing it All: Keeping Your Writing Goals a Priority

Posted on by beckylevine

I can bring home the bacon (at least from the grocery store), and I can fry it up in the pan. I can…well, never mind. You all remember the rest.

Most of us handle the daily stuff just find. What gets tricky, though, is keeping the writing, or a specific kind of writing, at the top of the to-do list. For the past few years, I’ve been handling the fiction very well. I’ve made steady progress–got a book ready for submission and started researching and brainstorming the next. I loved it.

Then I started writing nonfiction. I also love this part of my writing life. It uses a different part of my brain, it goes much more quickly than the fiction (which makes for many more instant-gratification moments), and–with it–I’m getting published. Always a plus.

When I got the contract for this latest project, The Critiquer’s Survival Guide for Writer’s Digest, I faced a realization. I might not be going back to work full-time, in an office or cubicle, from nine to five, but I was back to work. The deadline is not impossible, but it’s tight, and signing that contract was a serious (albeit ecstatically happy!) commitment.

And because of that commitment, I have a new challenge: to make time for my fiction. I refuse to push it aside, lose track of my characters, or give up the sheer joy I get from writing it.

There are many variations on my theme:

  • Full-time workers writing at the end of a long, hard day
  • Parents fitting in a few minutes of writing while a baby naps or Sesame Street is on TV
  • Journalists making space and time for that dream novel
  • Series writers scheduling time to draft (or just propose) the next book, while writing another and revising a third (Hi, Terri!)
  • Every other writer with a challenge I haven’t specifically listed here

I don’t know one writer who has it easy, who doesn’t struggle with this juggling act. LIfe happens, and–wonderful as it often is–it does give us too many reasons and excuses to turn away from our writing.

Don’t.

Here are some things I’ve been mulling on over the past couple of weeks, reminders to myself about how I canmove foward on all parts of my writing path–nonfiction and fiction. Thought I’d share.

  • Put your work on the calendar. If you schedule the time, it will come. Block out specific time slots for your writing–whatever kind you want and need to do. Work hard NOT to schedule anything that’s a conflict.
  • Write a little bit, on everything, every day that you can. Fifteen minutes may seem like nothing, but it’s more than zero (see, I can do math). One of the biggest steps you can take for your writing is to keep it in the front of your mind. Every day that you stay away from it is another chunk of time that it will take you to get back up to speed on your story.
  • Talk to other writers. I know, for some of us, sharing the details of a story before we’ve reached a certain point is hard, even scary. You don’t have to take it that far. Just have a conversation, discuss your progress or your struggle. Connect. It will remind you that you are a writer, and that will make you act like one.
  • Reward yourself. Chocolate. A new book. These days, I’m using writing as my reward. When I use my main writing hours to be productive on the nonfiction, I get to spend my evening time with the fiction. The balance of time is definitely skewed toward the nonfiction, but that’s how it needs to be right now. But this method is keeping my fiction world alive.

Finally, I’ve given myself a mantra or a visualization or a statement–whatever you like to call it. I wrote it on a small piece of paper and stuck it to the bottom of my monitor, where I can see it everytime I sit at my desk to work. Three short words. It says simply: Room for Both.

What balance are you trying to achieve on your writing path? Do you have tricks or tips, or another mantra, to share? Drop into the comments and let us know.