Finding time has always been a challenge. While the modern world keeps promising to help us with this ‘finding time’ thing…it’s ALL LIES.

We have dreams and deadlines and most of us have grown fond of clean clothes. Also, our family is all needy and whiny and says things like, “Mommy, why is there no food?” “Daddy, why won’t the lights turn on?” “Honey, why are there people living in our basement?”

*rolls eyes*

Can you say, “high maintenance?”

OKAY, so tips…

First, a ‘Mea Culpa‘

I know my posts have been long. Mea culpa. Between the ghostwriting project and being ill, I was lucky to be able to blog at all. One to four times a month was about all I could do. Aaaand, I was afraid of y’all missing out on something important.

Now that I’ve gotten back to a schedule, I’m going to do my best to shorten these suckers up when I can. And thank you guys for being here. I appreciate y’all SO MUCH and I do value your time.

Moving on…

So how do we do this ‘finding time’ thing? It isn’t like time is lurking between the couch cushions like the remote, pet hair, and petrified cereal, sooo….

1. Accept There is No Such Thing as ‘Finding Time‘

If we want to excel at ‘finding time’ we need to accept that we have yet to figure out how to manipulate the space-time continuum to our advantage. Laundry and dishes have, but they’ve thus far refused to share their technology.

***Much like socks and Tupperware lids refuse to share teleportation technology.

In all seriousness, the simple act of accepting time is all around and only moving forward and faster as we age, can go a long way. If we keep believing in the ‘finding time’ myth, time will evade us easier than Sasquatch and Nessie’s love child.

This is when we suck it up and accept we need to MAKE TiME.

This is doable. If I told y’all tomorrow I could and would pay $10 MILLION to anyone who finished NaNoWriMo? I am betting we’d have the highest ‘winning’ rate in the history of NaNoWriMo.

***For anyone who doesn’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Want to Murder Your Family for Interrupting You Month. Wait, my bad. No, it is National Novel Writing Month and the challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

2. Perfect is the Enemy of the Finished

I just mentioned the space-time continuum. If you’re any kind of a science nerd, you’ve probably heard there’s this concept referred to as ‘folding space.’ If it really IS possible to fold the fabric of space-time, then I’m pretty sure space-time is The Fitted Sheet from Hell.

Sometimes, we just have to wad that sucker up, do our best and sally forth.

‘Finding Time’ is an imperfect activity at best. Most writers also work a full-time job, are parents, partners and are responsible for a TON of things that are not writing.

Me? If the house isn’t clean enough to have guests, all the laundry washed and put away and the yard mowed? I struggle with apoplexy sitting down to write….even though writing has been MY JOB for around 20 years.

I am not where I want to be, but not where I used to be.

Make a habit of carving out a particular time to WRITE. Even if it’s only a couple of pages, and even if you’re so behind on laundry your kids are wearing their swim suits to church.

Writing time is sacrosanct. I use a timer, and set it for a minimum of 45 minutes. Whatever I can do in that small chunk of time?

Well, can’t edit what I never put on the page.

For anyone interested, I pay for a NING (a private ‘social media’ group called W.A.N.A.Tribe) .Think of W.A.N.A.Tribe—W.A.N.A. stands for ‘We Are Not Alone’—more as a ‘digital office’ you share with fellow writers. We offer accountability and—since I am benevolent dictator—ads, politics, drama, distractions and spam are strictly forbidden.

We have very literally been doing writing sprints for almost seven years. Five days a week, every week, all year, and often all day, we are in the chat sprinting, writing, laughing, encouraging, so feel free to join us.

Back to a ‘page’…

The industry standard for a ‘page’ is 250 words. We are writers, and we can write 250 words a day. Do that every weekday and, within a few months, you’ll have a finished book. Granted, it will be a short book, but it will be something. Something is better than nothing.

And, odds are, once you get going, if you keep moving forward, you’ll probably do more than ONE page.

3. ‘Finding Time’ is Related to Proper Preparation

I get it. Many writers love being pantsers (writing by the seat of your pants). To be blunt, though? This method of writing— especially if you don’t understand story structure deep within the marrow of your bones—can be problematic. It is easy to get off course, lose the tension/conflict, and end up having to do a gazillion revisions.

I’m in no way suggesting you change your personality or style…just maybe modify it a bit to help you finish.

Even doing something as simple as writing out a log-line can do WONDERS. With a log-line, we know what our story is ABOUT. If we can scribble in some main plot points? Even better.

***Keep in mind these ‘main points’ serve as general guideposts. They’re not set in concrete.

Doing just this little extra bit helps you remember the entire GOAL of your story and, since you ‘know’ the major benchmarks, it’s easier to make better use of limited time.

Here is a great example of a log-line, the oldie but goodie, Romancing the Stone.

A fraidy cat romance author must travel to South America and team up with a shady ex pat in order to rescue her sister from jewel thieves before the crooks kill her sister.

We can almost SEE all the plot points and BONUS! We know the ending. Author thwarts thieves and rescues sister (with help of shady ex pat because it is a romance).

See? No detailed outline needed and SO MUCH easier to stay on track.

***Check out the post I hyperlinked or sign up for my upcoming workshop if you need help mastering this skill. We work on YOUR log-line until it is good to go.

4. ‘Finding Time’ and Research

One way we writers LOVE to goof off, yet still claim we are ‘writing’ is….research. If you know you’re going to write a book and get down the log-line at least (and scribble down some main plot points that CAN change), then you know what to research.

Set aside a limited block of time and read up.

Save any useful websites. Bookmark them, save in Excel, a file, or a video using coded jazz hands. Don’t care. The idea is to simply be familiar with the subject ahead of time and to have proper documents easily accessible.

Since there is NO way to know all the information we’ll need, if you hit a spot and don’t know? Just keep writing. If we take the above example, Romancing the Stone, and imagine this as our book? Then we might want want to describe the jungle. Fine. In another color, write insert cool jungle details here later…then move on.

Tell the story, FIRST. Then, flesh out the story once the first draft is finished.

5. ‘Finding Time’ Means SALLY FORTH!

This is similar to the tip above. Brain farts happen. Maybe you know your ending, but you hit a wall somewhere in Act 2. It happens. If, however, you know what is likely to happen next, simply type, in an other color, something super cool happens in here…then sally forth.

Keep moving forward.

Deep down, you know your story. Let your subconscious chew on the trouble. Very often it will come up with crazy twists and turns you never would have found by giving yourself an aneurism trying to manhandle the story forward.

Too many writers (and I have been guilty) get scope-locked on perfection. We go back and edit and revise and tweak the heart and soul right out of the story. As I have said before, there has never been a runaway hit/international best-selling HALF of a PERFECT book.

***That and there is no such thing as ‘a perfect book.’

To do this writing thing professionally, we have GOT to become finishers. We cannot revise what isn’t on the page.

And, for those who claim they cannot possibly do a log-line or plot points or continue forth without perfection? If y’all are finishing books then just keep on keeping on. Dean Koontz writes FIVE pages a day and never revises.

But…um…he’s Dean Koontz.

This advice is for the rest of us mere mortals. Trust me, every time I ignore my own advice? I end up writing myself into a corner, held hostage by plot bunnies. So, I hope at least some of these tips help y’all out. The more books we finish, the better writers we become.

***Yes, I remember we were going to address podcasting. That’s later in the week, so stay tuned!

I LOVE hearing from you!

Do these tips help? Can you think of any to add? What has worked for you? What do you still struggle with?

To prove it and show my love, for the month of SEPTEMBER, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly. I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel, or your query letter, or your synopsis (5 pages or less).

AND REMEMBER to treat yourself to a class! I don’t reveal all my best intel on my blogs ;).

Classes!

Practice Your Pitch: Master the Log-Line 10/14/21

Register HERE and use Pitch10 for $10 off if register by 10/1/21

Bring on the Binge: How to Plot & Write a Series 9/30/21

Register HERE and use Binge 20 for $20 off until 9/21/21

The Edge: How to Write Mystery, Suspense & Thriller 10/21/21

Register HERE and use Thrill10 for $10 off if you register by 10/14/21

The post Finding TIME: Five Simple Ways to Finish a Book appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

Original Image via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of Mike Spasoff

Writing is a uniquely difficult profession for more than a number of reasons. There are a lot of things we could have chosen to do that would have been easier. For instance, discovering life on Mars, developing telepathy, or inventing gluten-free dairy-free calorie-free carb-free pizza that smooths wrinkles the more slices you eat.

There are days that even I go. Really, Kristen? You HAD to be a writer? You could have been a brain surgeon by now.

Then my muse comes back and says, “What? And take the EASY way out?”

Me and my Muse

This is a tough tough job and I am here to let you know…

It never gets easier.

Ever.

It’s like Space Invaders. It just gets faster and faster and harder and harder…until you DIE.

Or give up.

You’re welcome.

This is why we must do this job because we love it. Writing is not a profession we get into for any other reason other than we have a passion for one thing…writing. I’ve experienced many levels of being an author. I’ve been the wide-eyed teenager in a bookstore spending babysitting money on a copy of Writer’s Digest Magazine because one day I was going to be a writer.

I’ve been a brand new writer who had no clue that POV did not mean Prisoners of Vietnam.

I’ve graduated from being so clueless I didn’t even realize how clueless I was to being someone who writes full time, travels the country speaking to hundreds of people. I’ve written almost a thousand blogs and have three books under my belt. Five if we count the two that are not yet published.

Fifteen if we count all of those that the State Department has locked at the CDC.

This is all to say that, at some point, I’ve been where most of you are now. In my last post, Good Girls Don’t Become Best-Sellers I talked about how imperative it is that we CALL ourselves a writer, that we USE our names. There is no aspiring. When we hide behind cutesy monikers and avatars and call ourselves “aspiring” writers we are being chicken$#!t.

*If you didn’t know better, it is okay. I did it too ((HUGS))*

Fortune favors the bold.

But what happens if you have been bold? Maybe you are calling yourself a writer and you are blogging (mostly) and you just have hit a slump that you just can’t seem to get out of. Having been at this for many years, I will tell you it happens. Success is not a straight shot up and to the right.

This is why I loathe the term aspiring writer with the power of a thousand suns. Aspiring is a poseur. Aspiring wears a beret and quotes Keates in a phony accent and drinks too many cappuccinos then walks the check. Aspiring is a fake and a flake. Aspiring won’t be there in the dark night of the soul when the blood runs freely and you’re holding your own guts. Aspiring is a literary booty call and a book baby daddy. Aspiring wants all of the benefits of a “relationship” with none of the sacrifice.

The thing is, “aspiring writers” never get stuck any more that a unicorn gets stuck because a unicorn isn’t a real animal and an aspiring writer isn’t a real writer and only real writers get stuck.

And yeah, I know I just made myself about as popular as a clown at a funeral for that one, but the aspiring writers will all be too lazy or chicken to blog about it.

Now that we are left with the writers. You will get stuck and today we’ll talk about three main reasons why.

You are Still Trying to Find the Time

This happens a lot especially in the beginning of your career, especially if you are unaware of that nonsense about calling yourself “aspiring.” If you desire to be PAID for your writing then you are no longer a hobbyist, you are a writer. This means this is a job. Granted, what level of job is going to be up to you. It must be congruent with your goals.

This said, time is not loose change lying around in the couch cushions with the Cheerios and the remote control. We don’t find time, we make time. If you were attending law school, would you have to “find time” for that? If someone told you today that a NYC agent had a deal ready to sign along with a check for a sweet advance, would you wonder if you could find the time to make the meeting?

If we don’t take ourselves seriously no one else will.

Decide how much time you require to meet your goal and then everything else is scheduled around THAT.

You Aim to Please

People please, that is. I hate saying this, but I have struggled with being a notorious people-pleaser. I’ve bordered on an almost pathological need to be liked. Still do. When I was starting out, everything came before my writing. My brother and sister-in-law would drop off their young children for me to watch because I didn’t have a real job.

My mom would interrupt and expect me to take her shopping or help her paint or run errands. Everyone felt they had carte blanche to part out my day because I wasn’t doing anything anyway.

Then, later when I joined a critique group, every time someone didn’t like something, I’d change it to make them happy. Pretty soon, what probably was a good (albeit newbie story) was a Franken-novel beyond repair.

When I began blogging, the second a commenter said something negative, I’d change whatever the “offense” was. Or, I’d make my content “tamer”. Guess what I’ve learned?

Your family can find other friends and babysitters. No one wants to publish a Franken-novel and no one cares about milk toast blogs.

Why the aspiring writer is such a loathsome creature is that writers are mysterious and glamorous for good reasons. We are brave and daring and we say all the stuff that mere mortals wish they had the stones to SAY and yet we actually write and then sign our freaking name to.

Aspiring writers want to wear a purple heart when they’ve never left home, let alone been shot.

Real writers cannot be liked all the time by everyone. So, if you are stuck, it is likely you are trying too hard to be liked. Guess what? Some folks on Facebook were offended by my post Good Girls Don’t Become Best-Sellers because I didn’t include men. Well, I didn’t include iguanas or african pygmy goats either. Sorry. The blog is only so long and there are brave bold Bad Girl Guys who apparently had no trouble reading between the lines and are smart enough to think in metaphors. The rest? They are not my audience.

You Are Thin-Skinned

We all start out as baby writers and just like babies, we all start with baby soft skin. But this is a tough business and we need to put ourselves out there to toughen it up. And YES, it SUCKS! I remember the first time I attended a critique group. I cried for an hour in the parking lot and nearly ODed on Twinkies.

One of the reasons I love for writers to blog is that a blog is the ideal form of social media for writers, and in my book I teach how to do it well. Blogging plays to our strengths. Writers WRITE.

Who cares if our blog never goes viral or no one reads it? In the meantime, a blog makes you commit to a deadline. It trains you for a professional pace and puts you in a professional mindset. WRITERS WRITE.

A blog forces you to put yourself out there, to brave critique. And yes, there are trolls and we have to learn to handle them because they do no go away when we publish, they only get worse. You do not want to wait to develop thick skin once the book is out. TRUST me on that.

I was stuck for years because I was writing for the wrong reasons. I was writing because I was insecure and I needed to hear a non-stop outpouring of praise. Anything counter to that, I couldn’t handle. It made me give up. It wasn’t until I deliberately placed myself in the crucible that I began to toughen up and I started to really grow as a professional.

Very often we are stuck because we fear pain. We are experiencing pain because we have thin skin. The only way to get thicker skin is to brave pain. Place yourself where you are bound to grow the most. When I was new, I had all kinds of friends who eagerly told me that my writing was better than kitten hugs, but I knew I needed to win over the person who was the toughest to impress.

If you find a really great writing group, you know who I am talking about. Maybe invest in a writing class. Treat yourself to a Death Star Treatment with me *evil laugh*. Find an editor you respect. Don’t wait until you have to find the money to get a full edit. Get 50 pages and pay them to shred you so you don’t waste time and money on an unpublishable mess. We don’t grow unless we embrace the pain.

All three of these stumbling blocks boil down to making this profession (making YOURSELF) a priority. Time is what we make of it. When we try to please everyone, we please no one. We need to suck it up and writer up.

What are your thoughts? Do you let friends and family part our your time? Do you let them take far too much control over your schedule? Are you afraid of making waves? Do you try too hard to keep the peace and only end up resentful? OR? Are you a ROCKSTAR at putting down boundaries? What are YOUR secrets or tips? Do you struggle with being thin-skinned? Are you terrified of putting yourself out there?

I LOVE hearing from you!

To prove it and show my love, for the month of OCTOBER, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly. I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel.

For those who need help building a platform and keeping it SIMPLE, pick up a copy of my latest social media/branding book Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World on AMAZON, iBooks, or Nook. 

The post Three Reasons Your Writing Career is Stuck appeared first on Kristen Lamb.