Keep Your Date

In the midst of crazy times, my writing always suffers and now is no exception.  I need to be reminded again and again to use the little snippets of time here and there and not wait for the big chunk of time that never materializes.  While I've not been good at sitting down, butt in chair, and actually working on a manuscript as of late, I have been knocking off several things, writing related, such as listening to replays from the PB Summit and a 12 x 12 webinar I missed.  I've also not been very good lately at posting consistently here on my blog.  I aim to do better going forward.

Today, I was reading a chapter in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers and was reminded it is possible to find time in the chaos and use that time effectively and efficiently. I read a chapter by Linda S. Clare.  She talked about finding time to write during years of running a daycare.  One thing she wrote that really stuck with me is to keep a date with your writing.  She did so by setting a timer and writing during the 90 minutes her day care kids rested/napped. I so agree that one must get creative in battling the challenge of finding time in a tight schedule, but it can be done. And I will do it.

Remember...

"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." ~ H. Jackson Brown

Well, then...back to work I go!

Finding the Magic

 

Do you ever think of those special seeds of ideas which seem to pop out of nowhere as magic dust?  Seems silly, but I often have these random ideas that float in from out of the blue and start working "magic" in my brain--or try to when I give them the time to germinate and do so. 

Today, I was reading a few chapters in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers.  One of the chapters started with a quote by William Bernbach which stated, "an idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it." 

So true, so true; however, I would argue persistence and perseverance are also at play in the development of "magic" in our writing.  Don't get me wrong...one must certainly have talent.  However, all the talent in the world won't necessarily help if one isn't persistent in one's perseverance to write and create the stories which others find "magical."

As was also stated in this chapter, "magic seeks a willing heart."  The chapter (The Magic Wand: Making Time to Write) was written by Harriet Cooper though it appeared this quote was attributable to someone else though was unclear whom.  

This quote spoke to me on many levels.  As a writer, one must be able to be strong of mind and persistent in pursuing this writing path in the face of all the daily stressors and detractors...one's heart must be open to the ideas which come, to letting those ideas fester and grow into the words, sentences and stories we create to provide the "magic" for both the writer AND the reader.  It is this reader's magic that initially made me want to be a writer.  I loved (and still do love) nothing more than to get lost in the pages of a story, to become someone else and live in that character's magic for just a little while.  It is this that drives me to create my own "magic" for someone out there, my readers, to want to get lost in the pages of my stories. 

Having said that, it certainly does take a willing heart (and committed and determined mind) to clear the chaos of life, even for just a little while and to be willing to utilize all those little moments of time and see and use the ideas to create the magic for both writer and reader alike.

If you are so inclined, I would love to hear how you turn ideas into magic for your reader.