Monday, Monday

The Mamas and the Papas...

I once wrote that if the days of the week were body parts, Monday would be the asshole. Am I right? Of course, I am. Monday, as a day of the week, is fraught with negativity...because of the two days we just spent goofing off or relaxing, right? Everybody hates Mondays.

But, let's turn that around. Make that negative a positive. Monday is a fresh beginning. As a writer, you have a clean slate. Forget those unfulfilled promises you made yourself last week...

Make yourself a new promise...no, better yet...set yourself a new goal. Because you probably set an unreasonable goal (promise) last week, why not be a little more reasonable this week? Let's set a goal we know we can reach for each day and then exceed it. Consider what's on your schedule this week. Can you write four pages a day? My friend, Pat, used to set her goal at four pages a day and she stuck to it, regardless of what happened. Oh, there were days when she had to drag herself to the keyboard, but she did it. The funniest thing was, she'd do those pages even if she had something else to do. And, if she had something else she just really had to do--she'd write a lot of dialogue. Of course, if you "cheat" by writing dialogue every day just to get those four pages done, you haven't helped yourself, have you?

Maybe you have children and feel you can't devote the time to complete four pages a day. Decide what amount of time you can commit and then do it. If it's two pages, then, by all means, make it two. If, by chance, the little darlings are just angels this week, maybe you can squeeze in three pages. So, instead of fourteen pages this week, you get twenty-one. Oh, that means you write on Saturday and Sunday...Jeez...

Stephen King said in an early interview that he wrote every day except his birthday and Christmas Day. In his book, Stephen King on Writing, he said that he'd lied in that interview. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but he said, "I actually write every. I only said that because people already think I'm a real geek. What would they think if they knew I wrote every day?"

Several years ago at a writer's meeting, I polled about 100 writers. Of that 100 people, approximately twenty were published. When I asked the question about their writing habits, all twenty of those writers said they wrote every day. Are you beginning to see a trend?

But, how, you may ask, can I commit that much time if I have little ones? Another friend of mine, Rita, found herself and her three children abandoned by her husband. No child support...nothing. She had sold a few pieces to national magazines. She could do that and stay home with her children, so she committed herself to writing articles for the slicks. Her children were still a problem. They interrupted at will, never realizing they were interrupting something important. So, one day, she and the kids were at the bakery. (This was in the days of fabric baker's hats.) The kids were fascinated with the hats. The baker ended up giving her one. Rita told the kids that, when she was wearing that hat, they shouldn't interrupt. Miraculously, it worked. I saw Rita years later at a convention. Her youngest was in college. I laughed and said, "I'll bet you're glad you don't have to wear that baker's hate anymore." She just shook her head and said, "Nope. I still wear it. For some reason, I can't write unless I'm wearing it."

Writing habits (yes, it's an addictive habit) need to be created and adhered to. If you work (outside of writing) then set aside a time that is your writing time. Suffer not lightly the fool who blunders into your writers den to inquire about the availability of cookies or beer.

So, take my challenge. Set yourself a goal and stick to it. If your goal is five pages, write five pages every day. If you know, you won't be able to do five tomorrow, then write more the other days of the week to make up for those lost pages. That will work, but don't make a habit of skipping a day. Train your mind and body to write during your writing time.

One more story of a writer friend and then I'm off to write. My good friend and mentor, Bill Evans, (Dr. William A. Evans, professor at Georgia State University several years ago) wrote every day. Bill was a full-time professor, so he was at school most of the day. In addition, he was a farmer. He had cows, chickens and various crops. When he got home from school, he had the entire operation of the farm to attend before he could settle in to write his pages. Bill's goal was to write two sonnets a day. He was working on his epic (true epic, all the epic conventions found in The Odyssey, The Aeneid and The Illiad.) called, The Mayaad, published in Jan. 1983. He usually managed to sit at his desk around midnight to write those two sonnets, but he did it. Every single night. I received a call that he was dying and had asked for me. I rushed home from the conference and immediately went to the hospital. His family welcomed me graciously, and I stayed there with them. Bill was in intensive care. His sweet wife allowed me to go in and visit with him. One of the nurses made a comment that I found fascinating. Though he was unconscious, at midnight, he became more active. His body moved, his eyes moved. I just smiled and said, "Bill's muse is with him. He's writing sonnets." Every night at midnight...

Today is the day you should start. Don't put it off until tomorrow. Grab your baker's hat or whatever it takes and stake out your writing time. Guard it jealously. Remember, writing is as necessary, perhaps even more necessary, than food. God...I can't believe I just said that!

Make a contract with yourself...and with me.

Most writers who sell write every day. It is a job. It is a joy. It is a compulsion. Do it!

Ciao, for now, my friends.
Nancy, who is off to write five pages...