Tag Archives: time management

August 9, 2010 · 8:50 pm

So Little Time, So Many Writing Tasks

Is anyone else feeling bogged down with reading/writing activities right now?

Me:
(not necessarily in this order)

1. Finish reading the library book that I have been squeezing in between other time commitments, because it is due on Sunday and I’ve already renewed it the maximum number of times.

2. Complete the critique of a manuscript for two critique partners who have co-authored a novel (I’m only on page 35).

3. Rewrite my query letter (again!), this time baldly including the fact that my manuscript is really two stories that alternate throughout the novel.

4.“Attend” WriteOnCon for the next three days.

5. Finish reading Cry the Beloved Country. (My book group discussed it last evening, but I had only managed to get to page 104.)

6. Start reading next month’s book group novel (Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society).

7. Get back to either of the two manuscripts I’m in the middle of working on, which haven’t seen the light of day in months.

8. Read/comment on writer friends’ blogs.

9. Lurk on AQConnect.

10. Write my blog posts for the week.

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I have been randomly chipping away at these tasks, but today decided to make a schedule and stick to it, at least until I can get the critiquing and reading under control.

What do YOU do when overload strikes?

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April 19, 2010 · 11:36 pm

When the Time is Write

I am one of those people who is frequently late for things. Not terribly late, but not exactly on time, either. Sometimes, when it’s really important, I manage to get where I’m going when I should, but those occasions are rare, and don’t often happen without a struggle.

I have wondered where exactly I go wrong, that this happens so regularly. Is it because I don’t get up early enough? Do I not manage my time well? 

Several years ago, a similarly time challenged co-worker shared her theory that the inside of a shower is actually a time warp. Once one is enshrouded in its steamy confines, time passes unnoticed, and what seems like a five minute shower can be thirty minutes or longer.

While it might be an exaggeration to think of the shower as another dimension, I have realized that there is a grain of truth to it. When I am showering, my mind is not on soap and water, it is busy outlining stories, ironing out plot points, thinking up good names for my characters, and filling in backstory. Like a preoccupied driver, I end up at my destination (clean) but can’t remember how I got there.

I have spoken with other writers about this phenomenon, and they agree that it exists. Shower thoughts, running thoughts, car thoughts, those are the times that the really good writing takes place, the most creative, most machiavellian plot twists. When our bodies are busy but our minds are free.

When I do finally exit the shower, it usually takes me a few more minutes to write down my ideas before they evaporate.

Are those mini tape recorders waterproof?

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