Distractions

Distractions are... distractions only if you want them to be!

If you focus on the subject in hand, and allocate time later to the present making, shoppping, partying, you will succeed in reaching your word total for the day/week/month.

Don't use other things as excuses - and don't let them swamp you down!

You can only do one thing well at a time - just make a list and work your way through all of them.

Stay in control!

Distract your distractions!!!

Christmas

Christmas is on the way, a truly wonderful feast that we all can look forward to every year.

Sometimes, however, failurists make it an excuse not to write.

Yes, presents have to be planned, made or bought.
Yes, you have to catch up with all your friends.
Yes, there are parties to go to.

However, while this may reduce the amount time you have available to you, you should not allow it to prevent you from writing.

Make sure you get some writing done every day, even if it is only an hour. This will keep you ticking happily over the festive season, so that you can get stuck in once more early in the New Year!

A Word of Warning!

Beware of over-doing writing!

Writing is like using a delicate fragile instrument. If you abuse your talant, you might have to rest while you have a retune.

I heard a sad case of two sisters who rented a cottage down the country (they were not called Vicky and Irene!). They spent the week writing intensively. To their credit, they produced a wonderful book (yet to be published).

Sadly for a long time afterwards, neither of them wanted to write again.

Some tips to try to speed up recovery, should this happen to you:

Go shopping
Get your hair done
Travel
Read Darren Shan
Take a five mile hike through lion-infested terrrain
Sleep for a week

Prevention is better than cure, so remember: Moderation in (almost) everything, including writing!

Bored? Never!

Bored - me? As some of my fans have asked - to my surprise!

Yes, the truth is - I took my own advice. Sleep until you wake up!

I went to sleep earlier in the week, and only woke up this evening.

This does not mean I won't sleep for another three days!

A Good Night's Sleep

Make sure to always get a good night's sleep.

Sleep Deprivation leaves you extremely vulnerable to Failurism!

If you must be up early in the morning, get to bed early the night before.

Otherwise, always wake up naturally. You'll find that after a little while your body clock will adjust so you always get the correct amount of sleep, be that nine, ten or eleven hours.

To get your correct sleeping pattern, you do need to go to bed at roughly the same hour every night.

Remember: No Rest is a Pest!

A Little Every Day

One advantage of doing Nanowrimo that I hope accrues to all you November scribblers is that it will - hopefully - get you into the habit of writing regularly!

A few words every day, a half hour here or there - and your words accumulate. Soon you're editing and polishing and submitting...

Failurism becomes a thing of the past...

Nanowrimo

Nanowrimo - is really one big support group.

This is a great help in the fight against failurism. Failurism is very democratic in its taste - the great leveller, you might say. So nobody is immune to it, even when you try to guard against it.

Therefore be inspired by nanowrimo - enjoy the forums, the word wars. Watch your regional affiliation slowly climb up the charts - or fall rapidly down! Go to local meetings - especially if they are hosted by wonderful talanted people (like Inkpot) - and enjoy the whole writing experience!

Don't falter during November - beat Failurism with the help of nanowrimo!

Master of the World

I did not mention Mungo, the Master of the World, in my post yesterday because I thought he deserved to be in a category on his own. I hope this caused no misunderstanding or confusion!

I was afraid Mungo would not like to be in with the other amateurs - though, of course, The Countess has had 5 books published. Inkpot, her name mis-spelled, has also been officially printed. Anon has published many times, albeit scientific papers, so I suppose the only amateur mentioned was actaully Valpot.

Hmm.

Mungo still deserves a category on his own. And don't forget Leaf is available in both hardback and paperback - contact Mungo to purchase.

Happy Nanowrimo!

A Good Start

I hear that a wonderful start in the Nanowrimo challenge was made today by Inkpot, Valpot, the Countess and Anon.

This is great news.

Nanowrimo is a useful tool for beating failurism during November, and that competitive element works all the better!

Good luck all you Nanowrimos - you can do it!