As is usual around this time of year I catch some form of cold. This year there was a cough attached to it. It arrived on my birthday and is still here. I have this week been given antibiotics for it. so hopefully it won't be around much longer. Jamie has also been suffering and while I had a days sick leave, Jamie had to be taken out of Nursery for two days. This has meant a lot of juggling and of course has meant no time for writing......
I am still glad I did the workshop for the Lindum Scribes as this has focused my mind on what I want to achieve in the coming year. Unfortunately, January is nearly over and there are two resolutions that have already failed!!
Fingers crossed that this week I am feeling better and can concentrate once more on giving time to my writing. I have at least booked in a number of annual leave days for the next couple of months so will have the luxury of a few days to myself....
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Summary of the Key Points from Kickstart
* Time is precious. We all have a tight budget of just 24 hours.
* Prioritise the things in your life that are important and getting rid of things that are not.
* If writing is truly important to you as a hobby or career, then you will FIND time for it.
* Book an appointment with yourself into your diary and just WRITE!
* Record it as an appointment like you would any other important commitment.
* Don't feel guilty. This is your time.
* Treat your writing as a proper job - with a start time, production goals and deadlines.
* Start small. Don't get overwhelmed with the thought of the whole project.
* Break your project up into bite sized chunks and it will seem more manageable.
* Just because someone throws you a ball, doesn't mean you have to catch it!
Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
* Prioritise the things in your life that are important and getting rid of things that are not.
* If writing is truly important to you as a hobby or career, then you will FIND time for it.
* Book an appointment with yourself into your diary and just WRITE!
* Record it as an appointment like you would any other important commitment.
* Don't feel guilty. This is your time.
* Treat your writing as a proper job - with a start time, production goals and deadlines.
* Start small. Don't get overwhelmed with the thought of the whole project.
* Break your project up into bite sized chunks and it will seem more manageable.
* Just because someone throws you a ball, doesn't mean you have to catch it!
Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
KickStart Your Writing Year Workshop
Led my KickStart Workshop at the Lindum Scribes last night (see previous posts) and was very pleased with how it went. Members had completed the exercises in very different ways; including one member who had written that she 'never wrote resolutions' but then did give us a few anyway.
As I have said previously the majority of the workshop was based on quotes and articles that I have collected in the 4 years I have been writing this blog, so it would be daft to reproduce my workshop notes here. If however, anyone would like to see all the materials I produced I am more than happy to send them to you.
I split the workshop into 4 sections: Focus / Enthusiasm / Prioritise and Allocating Time, and gave out two handouts. The Jam Jar Illustration - to emphasise the need to allocate time to our writing (see: http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2009/05/jam-jar-illustration.html) and another entitled; Setting Goals, which asked members to assess whether or not their resolutions were SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Targeted.
My main aim was to get members to really think about what they wanted from their writing and to look at how important it was to them; compared with the other 'stuff' in their lives. Therefore I used a few shock tactics including reading out Regrets of the Dying http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2011/06/regrets-of-dying.html This led to a lively discussion about why we feel the need to do so many other things before we allow ourselves time for what we really want to do i.e. upbringing, guilt, wanting to be 'nice', not wanting to appear 'selfish' etc.
As I said in the workshop; Just because someone throws you a ball, doesn't mean you have to catch it!
One of the members resolutions was 'To get rid of this Writers Block'. This led to a very interesting discussion regarding possible reasons for the blockage and possible solutions i.e. setting realistic goals, breaking his work down into chunks and Jon suggested 'morning pages'. The need to always have a notepad handy was re-emphasised as was the need for writers to think positive about one's work.
Another member discussed his desire to read, read, read this year, to which another member agreed and added he would like to see more plays and attend the theatre this year; as that was something he was interested in writing. There was talk of editing, writing, reading and more writing so I foresee a busy year for members of the Lindum Scribes.
A number of members were missing which was a shame and I suspect the reason for this may be that they had not written their resolutions. I for one see it as a good exercise if only to reassess what we want to achieve with regards to out writing in the coming year and give us a signpost.
As I have said previously the majority of the workshop was based on quotes and articles that I have collected in the 4 years I have been writing this blog, so it would be daft to reproduce my workshop notes here. If however, anyone would like to see all the materials I produced I am more than happy to send them to you.
I split the workshop into 4 sections: Focus / Enthusiasm / Prioritise and Allocating Time, and gave out two handouts. The Jam Jar Illustration - to emphasise the need to allocate time to our writing (see: http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2009/05/jam-jar-illustration.html) and another entitled; Setting Goals, which asked members to assess whether or not their resolutions were SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Targeted.
My main aim was to get members to really think about what they wanted from their writing and to look at how important it was to them; compared with the other 'stuff' in their lives. Therefore I used a few shock tactics including reading out Regrets of the Dying http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2011/06/regrets-of-dying.html This led to a lively discussion about why we feel the need to do so many other things before we allow ourselves time for what we really want to do i.e. upbringing, guilt, wanting to be 'nice', not wanting to appear 'selfish' etc.
As I said in the workshop; Just because someone throws you a ball, doesn't mean you have to catch it!
One of the members resolutions was 'To get rid of this Writers Block'. This led to a very interesting discussion regarding possible reasons for the blockage and possible solutions i.e. setting realistic goals, breaking his work down into chunks and Jon suggested 'morning pages'. The need to always have a notepad handy was re-emphasised as was the need for writers to think positive about one's work.
Another member discussed his desire to read, read, read this year, to which another member agreed and added he would like to see more plays and attend the theatre this year; as that was something he was interested in writing. There was talk of editing, writing, reading and more writing so I foresee a busy year for members of the Lindum Scribes.
A number of members were missing which was a shame and I suspect the reason for this may be that they had not written their resolutions. I for one see it as a good exercise if only to reassess what we want to achieve with regards to out writing in the coming year and give us a signpost.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Local Poetry Group
Obviously I have been working hard on my new years resolutions for the workshop I am running on Tuesday. The main resolution I have is to concentrate on my poetry this year. To this end I have contacted a number of local poets and groups to ask about poetry meetings.
Although I love attending the Lindum Scribes and the Poison Pens, I find it a bit unfair that while someone who has written a chapter gets (shall we say) 20 minutes to read and discuss their piece, a poet only gets perhaps a third of that time. And it seems somehow rude to then ask to share another poem!! I am now aware of another writers group that meet in Newark and three poetry groups; two that meet in Lincoln and one that meets in Newark. I have pencilled in a couple of dates and hope to attend one or more meetings very soon.
Although I love attending the Lindum Scribes and the Poison Pens, I find it a bit unfair that while someone who has written a chapter gets (shall we say) 20 minutes to read and discuss their piece, a poet only gets perhaps a third of that time. And it seems somehow rude to then ask to share another poem!! I am now aware of another writers group that meet in Newark and three poetry groups; two that meet in Lincoln and one that meets in Newark. I have pencilled in a couple of dates and hope to attend one or more meetings very soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)