Today is day 4 of the Slice of Life challenge at “Two Writing Teachers”.
I was up early this morning, as I usually am through the week. Each morning,I clear the car for my husband or start it to clear the frost. (The car told me it was -16C this morning – yes it speaks to me and I get tired of its messages at times.)
Once my husband went off to work at 7, I really had plans to snuggle back in bed for an extra hour of sleep. (Shush – don’t tell him!) But, instead I got pulled into that time vortex of twitter and facebook. I couldn’t believe how fast two hours went! Yes – I found some excellent articles on writing, but did I do any writing? No.
Someone mentioned a book online and so I found my copy of “Writing Down the Bones/Wild Mind” by Natalie Goldberg. For the past hour, I have been reading her book and amazed that I had not read it yet. It is full of such nuggets of writing wisdom.
In both books, she gives a list of rules for writing. Here is a combination/overlap of the two:
1.Keep your hand moving.
2.Lose control.
3. Be specific.
4. Don’t think.
5. Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar.
6. Don’t cross-out.
7. You are free to write the worst junk in America.
8. Go for the jugular.
The number one rule is one I have been avoiding lately – just write and write daily. I have been writing snippets here and there but I have definitely been procrastinating. Twitter and facebook are big time wasters lately for me. So, I must get back on track and give my writing first place. I have a number of projects waiting to be worked on.
Also entered for:
“Advice I’d Give to a Newbie Writer”
I’m linking up with Ruth Snyder’s Blog Hop for Writers. Be sure to check out what advice other writers would give to new writers.
Beverley A Baird 
The internet is really a love hate relationship for me, there are so many treasures yet it can be so time consuming. Sometimes I have to make the conscious effort to turn it all off and just live with what I’ve learnt the past few days . Thank you for the list! I think the hardest for me is the not thinking part… I overthink what I’m writing, how I’m going to write it and then even later I obsess about a different way it could have been done. By the way, your a lovely woman to go out and clean your husbands car!!!
Well, since I retired, I have a bit more time – and he always got my newspapers in the morning when I said goddbye to him. Fair is fair.
I try not to overthink – just keep going. But it can be a challenge at times for sure.
Great advice. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by.
I took a break from FB for two months. It rebooted my habit of reaching for electronic connections. I wrote letters, I used the phone….my life was no longer a series of FB posts. Make a plan and stick to it. It worked for me.
I’ve done that too as well. Amazing what we can accomplish when we step back.
I have the day off today and with a cold, so my time has been well wasted on reading FB, Twitter, blogs, etc. But in a way they all inspire me in some way to write or to be a better teacher. I know, “Just do it” lurks, but in the meantime, I am going to go get lost in cyberspace.
Hope you’re feeling better. Those are the days I do get lost in social media. You’re right tho – so much inspiration there.
Yea for you. You wrote. And your slice is honest and full of goals and guiding words. Good luck with the projects- they make me curious.
Thanks Lisa.
Hi Bev – sounds like an interesting book, I’ll have to look for that one. I do struggle sometimes with the advice to feel free to write as badly as you’d like. Maybe it’s just me being lazy (entirely likely) but it almost feels like sabotaging myself to just write whatever, and then have to start in on the gargantuan task of fixing everything from plot to characters to storyline to description back up again. My problem (one of many) is that I am also an editor, so I find it difficult not to check myself and my writing at every turn. Maybe I need to focus on #2 – Lose control – a little more. I just might be amazed at how much I enjoy the freedom! Thanks for the tips.
As a beginning (or returning actually!) writer, I am trying hard to do the daily writing and just let go and write. A challenge at times. But I am trying to enjoy the journey.