Each and every morning, I have to get out of bed and choose, all over again, to be a writer. Sitting there at my writing desk, waiting for me, is Fear and his charming sidekick, Doubt. I don’t know about you, but my Fear is ugly. Massive chipped teeth, bad breath, twisted yellowing claws, not to mention his horrible paisley shirt. I have to walk over and kick him out of my chair, while he growls and shouts obscenities at me. But recently, I’ve been getting the upper hand.

How? you might ask.

“Lower your standards.” Lisa Yee imparted this sacred gem of knowledge at the SCBWI Writers’ Day this past spring. She didn’t mean that you should expect less from your writing. No. You have to lower you standards in the rest of your life, so that writing becomes your priority. Lisa lived this advice, somewhat humorously, by putting her kids to bed in their school clothes, so they were ready to go in the mornings. After all, she reasoned, the clothes were just going to get wrinkly anyway.

Lisa Yee’s not the first to suggest this radical priority shift. Donna Jo Napoli at the 2004 SCBWI Summer Conference stated that you could eat off her kitchen floor… for weeks without going hungry.

So at this year’s conference, when Elizabeth Partridge asked during her Sunday break-out session, “Would you rather have a clean house or a book?” my enthusiastic answer was, “A book!”

Now those of you that know me will also know that a clean house has never been a priority for me. While my bedroom was immaculate for an entire year once when I was 5, responsibility somehow lost its attraction for me along the way. But, I’ve taken the advice to heart in other ways.

I no longer apologize for my messy house. I’ve stopped using what other people might think about me as a criteria for the choices I make. And most importantly, since the conference, I’ve been setting tasks for myself or ‘manageable bites’ as Elizabeth Partridge put it. At the end of my writing day, I think about what I want to accomplish the next day and put them in my Writing to-do list. The list is purposely vague allowing me the flexibility that I need and love, but it lets me know what to do next, so I won’t wander off and start watching youtube videos. This has given me a tempting taste of success and I’m definitely ready for more. And Fear isn’t looking so cocky these days. He knows he’s not on my list.

Here’s a few of Elizabeth Partridge’s other pearls of wisdom (and a picture of one of her many books):

• Find 6 or 7 critical scenes in your book to be used as stepping stones. This way you know where you’re heading and how to get there.
• Barf on the page. Many people suggest this down and dirty outpouring of ideas for getting the first draft of your story.
• Write as many days in a row as you possibly can. Your story needs to be kept alive with your energy.
• Keep moving forward. Do not go back. Even if this means leaving large blanks or notes to yourself.
• Hang out with writers who have different skills than you, so you can strengthen each other.
• Make sure to take time to get re-inspired. Or as Julia Cameron puts it in The Artist’s Way, ‘Fill your well.’

Posted in SCBWI, Writing

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Trackback from your own site.