JUST WRITE THIS SUMMER

The long sunny days of summer have arrived and, with these days, we have two choices: to write or do something else. If you choose to write 300 words 5 days a week for 8 weeks, you do the math! That's 12,000 words--1/3 of a book completed by summer's end with no more than 20 minutes worth of time each day. This is how successful authors and writers becomes successful--they actually sit down and write. While the rest of us talk about writing, meet at writer's group meetings, attend writer's conferences and take classes, the writers are counting the words added to their work every day and shopping for publishing options. Below are 5 things to do to make writing happen.



Establish a writing schedule. If you have a solid writing project in mind, start writing about it. Set aside time five days a week and promise not to leave your computer or pen until you have a certain amount of words on paper. OR, if you prefer time-pressures, implement a writing schedule of 15 minutes per day. Several authors, became authors by writing 15 minutes a day.



Create a tracking log. A tracking log starts with four columns: the date; the starting word count, ending word count and the difference. Track your progress by inputting the information daily into your writer's tracking log.



Seek out inspiring writing materials. Look for books and magazines that inspire you to write your desired genre. Read what other writers do and adopt your own system that works with your lifestyle and schedule.



Plan one or two extended writing periods. I book 'writing appointments' with myself. If I don't do that, phone calls, Facebook, texts, kids, laundry, the dog, or work will take over every second of every day. However, if I schedule writing appointments, they are just as important as work-related meetings. If you don't think of your work as important enough to keep an appointment to write, how will others take you seriously and treat your time as valuable?



Leave your normal surroundings. The best way to avoid all of the other things that will steal your time away from writing, is to leave them behind. Head to a park, lake, beach, or mountain spot with your pen and paper or fully-charged laptop and write for as long as you possibly can.



Remember to JUST WRITE. Don't stop to edit a work until you've completed a large portion of it. First--get all of your thoughts out, then go back and write, rewrite, edit and put in the mechancis. Don't get bogged down with the nuts and bolts: JUST WRITE!



For more writing tips, check out Writer's Digest, The Writer, and your local library or bookstore for writing tools. Also, if you live in Bucks County, PA and would like to know more about the Communicators' Clique, visit us at http://www.onedaysharing.com/. We have writing days scheduled this summer as well as a Fall Commuicators' Retreat.



For the record: This blog is 527 words and I wrote it in less than 20 minutes. Choose to write this summer--it can be done--but it is a choice!