One Little Elephant

I'm better at keeping Lenten promises than New Year's Resolutions. My New Year's Resolutions tend to be big and idealistic. I'll vow to tackle a massive problem with precision and perfectionism. I'll maintain a Green-Beret-ishly grueling workout schedule, or write a Tolkien-length novel every three months, or NEVER, EVER eat anything yummy again. I always fail.

My Lenten resolutions are smaller, more focused, and more practical. I usually succeed.

A decade ago our family gave up TV for Lent (one small aspect of the larger problem of time-wasting inactivity). When Lent ended, evening TV returned. But daytime TV had been vanquished for good - a real and lasting improvement. For Lent 2010 we gave up TV again and when Lent ended our evening TV habit had so diminished that DH and I took the perfectly good TV out of our bedroom and donated it to charity. It hasn't been missed.

Lent works for me. But it's December and Lent is a long way off. I need change now. So a New Year's Resolution will have to do.

In the past I'd start my hunt for the perfect resolution by looking at the big picture: Get Healthy, Get Published, More Organized House, Stronger Finances, Spiritual Growth, Be More Social, Volunteer More, etc. Narrowing it down to one or two, I'd create" a plan for achieving this goal".
It was massive, complicated, and looked awesome on paper. It was DOOMED.

Perhaps it's time to take a lesson from Lent. Isn't it better to consistently succeed small, than always fail big?


Something that's helping me write today: Advent. Advent is a time of spiritual preparation for Christmas. And I'm trying to make it that. But when it comes to writing, I'm also using the example and inspiration of Advent preparation by doing small things each day to prepare my writing path for 2011. A smidgen at a time, I'm organizing my writing, my office, my systems, my schedules, my market lists, my submission lists, etc.

As promised, here is the information about the next FREE teleconference class:

Kevin J. Anderson and Wife Rebecca Moesta
December 14th, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Topic: Collaborating on a Novel
Call 1-218-862-7200. When the system picks up, enter the code 245657
There will probably be a Q & A after the class.

Something that's helping me write today: this thought. Decide on the goal. Ackowledge the length and difficulty of the journey, then put those thoughts aside. Check the compass regularly. And just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

For 5 years I've wanted to attend the RWA National Conference. I've plotted, planned, and saved. I've bought tickets twice. I've never made it.

Something always comes up. The saved money goes to something more urgent or the conference date coincides with a big can't-miss family event.

But hope springs eternal, so this year I'm plotting and planning and saving to go to New York. I have a pair of fun roomies for the hotel stay and a little money (for now). But how will I get there?

Texas to New York in the 21st century. The answer is obvious, right?

Not so fast. You see, I HATE flying. I can fly. I do - if I can't figure out any other way to (reasonably) get somewhere. But if there's another way, any way, I'm interested.

So I've wasted two good hours today, while I could have been writing, arguing with myself about cars and planes and trains. My husband thinks this is highly amusing.

"Fly," he says.

And I give him all the reasons that wouldn't be good.

"Take the train," he says.

I recite all the pros and cons of training my way to New York.

"Perhaps I should drive," I say. "I could camp along the way like I did to Utah last year. See some of the country."

He grins. "Which country? Canada?"

He's right. I have no sense of direction. I'm famous for my "interesting detours". I once tried to drive from Stuttgart, Germany to Paris, France and ended up at the border of Lichtenstein (or was it Luxemburg?). The border guard was quite amused. But I made it to Paris - eventually. I make it almost anywhere I decide to go, just not always by the most direct route.

So will it be planes, trains, or "the scenic tour"? Not sure yet. But I'll let you know.

How do you get where you're going - in life and in writing?

Something that's helping me write today: a timer which lets me know, in the most annoying fashion, that I've wasted all the time allowed today and it's time to get to work.

Last night I listened to Dave Farland's FREE telephone conference class. Those who dialed in early got a fifteen minute bonus up front and those who stayed a little late (like me!) got to ask Dave a question. Very cool. As before, it was a full one hour class, not just a sample.

These free phone conference classes are really great opportunities. I put the class on speaker phone in my office and do paperwork while I listen. At the end of the hour I have learned something new about writing and (huge bonus) I have a clear inbox. How cool is that?

One of the ways these phone conferences are superior to simply watching a video is that they're in real time. That creates a sense of urgency. It's so easy to put off watching that video class because you know you can do it anytime. And anytime turns into never. With these phone conference classes you can't do it anytime. It's now or no.

So I'm looking forward to December 14th when bestselling Sci-Fi Writer Kevin Anderson will be speaking again (free!). I don't know the topic yet, but I suspect it will be good. I learned so much from his last class. In fact, though I'm still working on implementing the tips he gave in that class, I've already seen a real rise in my productivity from following just a few of his simple tips on being a writer.

Anyway, as soon as I get the phone number and access code for Anderson's free telephone conference class, I'll post it. So stay tuned.

Something that's helping me write today: Setting up an excel sheet that lists all my works by type and current status AND allows me to access those works with a single click. This is making it sooooo eeeeasy to get to work each morning. It eleminates confusion and allows me to switch between projects quickly when I get bogged or bored with one. Love it.