What Good Writers Do ~By Suzy Leopold

Showing up where you are with what you have is what good writers do.

Are you showing up where you are with what you have? 

In January, many writers set goals and resolutions when the 2016 calendar began. Perhaps it is time to revisit your set of writer’s goals.

Think about and check your list of short-term goals and your long-term SMART goals. Has your plan provided you with the results that you set out to achieve?

First Step: Set Goals

Second Step: Get to Work

Third Step: Stick to It

Fourth Step: Make a Plan

Fifth Step: Achieve

If your established plan is working, celebrate your accomplishments both big and small. Perhaps there are some areas where you can improve. Adjust as need be. For more information see a previous post Ready or Not. It's Time to Show Up.

As I look back on the first three months of 2016, I note there are some days when I stumble with the Third Step: Stick to It. Sometimes just sticking to my plan and sitting down to begin writing is all it takes. 

It’s easier to make unacceptable excuses for not writing today:

It must be writer’s block.

I’m waiting for inspiration to strike.

I don’t want to stare at this blank page.

No excuses allowed. Stop the stagnation. Dismiss negative thoughts that zap your productivity. Surround yourself with positive thoughts and find determination. Sure, there will be some days when you skip and stumble a step or two when  writing does not happen. It's okay. Take small steps and move forward without being critical of yourself. Think about what works best for you and your writing career.

There are many days when I feel I can justify my unacceptable excuses for not sticking to it. Yet, I know I need to believe in my voice and learn to ward off the urge to procrastinate. 

Making time to write is both a matter of desire as it is discipline. It takes determination. 

Writing can be compared to exercise. You feel better once you’ve done it.  

Created by my
Cousin Sheri McCulley Seibold

If inspiration is eluding you consider crafting a new story. Select an idea you wrote down during Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo Writing Challenge. Feel accomplished after revising a manuscript. Refer to a stack of books as mentor texts from the research that you did during ReFoReMo, with Carrie Charley Brown. Participate in Angie Karcher's RhyPiBoMo that she hosts this month. Writers will grow and learn from the many resources, lessons and writing prompts. 

Write a blog post about a recently read book about the craft of writing that you found inspiring. Set a timer and chase after your daily word count. Consider establishing some agreed upon rules, expectations and most importantly accountability with a critique partner or group. By checking in with a writerly friend, I feel I can do a better job of holding myself accountable to my promises and aspirations than just checking in with myself. Perhaps heading to your local indie book store or the public library you will find some ideas and inspiration, along with time to read and write.

Time to revise & edit.

A stack of mentor texts.

One more thought. Take your writing serious. Make sure you go to work because this is your job. Your boss does not accept excuses for lack of inspiration, for feeling tired, for not showing up nor other lame excuses that you can think of. And don't forget the importance of having a set of business cards. This is your career.

Business cards

So grab your writer’s tools: a computer, a journal, a pen or a pencil, a highlighter, a dictionary, a thesaurus, a stack of mentor texts, a cup of hot tea and turn on some music to find your muse. You can do it! Yes, you can!

Would you like some sugar or
a slice of lemon with your tea?

One thousand crumby words on paper are better than one hundred thousand fabulous words that are in your head.

Make writing a habit and you’ll see improvement in you writing.

A writer writes. Write, always.