Are you a writer looking for direction or inspiration? You’ve come to the right place. This month, Connie L. Peters, of Colorado, offers suggestions on finding time to write, and my article addresses showing and telling.
Finding Time to Write: Seven Tips
The top two reasons writers give for not writing is they don’t have time and the thoughts aren’t flowing. Prolific writers also have busy schedules. What makes the difference between a writer who writes, and one who doesn’t? I’ve learned a few things over the past thirty-some years of writing with a “full plate.” These seven tips may help you discover what works for you.
- Give yourself permission to write. Examine how you’re spending your time. Value your writing, and target those less important areas.
- Write at will. Don’t wait until the mood hits. Setting a timer and free-writing is the best way to show your “muse” who’s boss.
- Stay energized. Sitting long periods of time can make you lethargic and throw off your sleep patterns, and then your entire schedule. Alternate “seat work” with “feet work.”
- Prioritize. There are a lot of factors to consider. How much time do you need to allot for this project? Pay? Deadline? Other activities?
- Use deadlines. I’m conscientious with an editor’s deadline, but at times, I do my own work first, to make sure I get both done.
- Stay sane. It’s hard to write when you feel half crazy or depressed. Writing itself can calm you, but sometimes you may need to take a walk or dine out. However, some people thrive on a bit of havoc.
- Stay motivated. Occasionally, rearrange your schedule, time your tasks, or even cut up your to-do list to randomly choose your next project.
I also found that January 1st, I was so "gung-ho" with resolutions, that I’d redo my whole schedule, thus nullifying a lot of work I had already done. Now, I remind myself that January 1st is only a day after December 31
st, and though it’s a good time to re-examine my goals, all I really have to do is take the next steps. And I realized how important it is to rejoice in the little accomplishments and not get too upset at things undone.
We all have 24 hours a day to spend. Spend it on what’s important to you. If it’s writing, write.
Connie Peters writes from Colorado, where she and her husband host two adults with developmental disabilities. She enjoys travelling, reading and playing Words with Friends. For more information about Connie, see
Southwest Christian Writers/SCWA/Connie_Peters.html and read Connie’s poetry at her blog
Enthusiastic Soul.
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Showing and Telling
You take a writing class or join a critique group and you hear the line “Show, don’t tell.” It’s important to show, there’s no doubt about it. Think of a four- or five-year-old bringing something to school to show her classmates. She’s excited to bring that sand dollar she found on the beach on her vacation. The students come in close for a good look at it, and the child wants to talk about where she was, who was with her.
Which part—showing or telling—do you think will be more important? For children, and all of us really, engaging the senses makes the whole activity real.
What would happen if the child only showed and didn’t talk about the sand dollar? Might her classmates have questions about where she found it, and what sort of creature lived in it at one time? So, too, in our writing, we must have both, but let’s focus on the showing this time. As you write fiction or creative nonfiction, here are three places to show:
- Character’s appearance: Author Dana Mentink* gives us a vivid image of one of her characters. “Alva Hernandez wobbled up the path. He rang the bicycle bell again before he dismounted and hobbled over, a red toolbox in his gnarled hand.”
- Scene: the place where your subjects find themselves. “A bird swooped overhead and headed toward the water. The women looked up into the brilliant blue sky over the ocean.”
- Dialogue: even a snippet of conversation will help the reader understand the character. Mentink shows Alva in a hospital room where the protagonist sits with her injured son. He says, “I’d better go. Nurse Atilla there will take my treasures if I’m not careful.”
Balanced showing and telling brings all the parts together. The telling is the narration, essential in any story—the lines that set the stage or time and place and that get us to the action and understand the characters. Thus, when you’re telling a story, real or fictional, use both show and tell.
Next month:
On Telling
*Examples taken from
Treasure Under Finny’s Nose, by Dana Mentink, a book I recommend if you like mystery.
--Carolyn Wilker is an
editor, writer and storyteller, and author of
Once Upon a Sandbox
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