Help! Somehow I’ve lost an entire day this week. I’ve spent the entire day believing it was Wednesday, and now I find it’s actually Thursday! I had the date right, but I lost the day. This means I have one less day for writing.
I’ve spent lots of time this week critiquing others’ work and editing my stories instead of doing new writing. This is good, since in my version of Write 1/Sub 1, this is a “Sub” week, and I can’t submit without editing. (Trust me, no one wants to see that!) But I’d told myself I would have time at the end of the week for some new, fresh writing, a little reward for good behavior … and now I find that my week has nearly run out. I have less time for that new writing than I’d hoped to have (boo-hoo!).
For me, it’s often a case of “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” Whatever I should be doing, the opposite seems more attractive. I should be editing, so new words and stories seem so lush, green, and yummy. And on writing weeks, well, that editing over there is just so appealing; I mean, look at those cool ideas that just need a little tweaking … You get the idea. Things get done (usually), just not in the order I mean them to.
So I make deals with myself. If you get those three stories edited, any extra time you have is yours to write in. For me, this works wonders. It really lights a fire in me to get the “work” done so I can “play.” Until someone steals a day out of my week like this, of course.
Wait, it’s still Thursday. That means I still have Friday for writing. I can finish writing that story tomorrow, I’m sure of it. My submission for this week is in, and my other two stories are edited …
Okay, gotta run. I’ve got writing to do! (But if you’ve got any other ideas for staying the course when you’d rather play with other ideas, feel free to share.)
Everyday Magic | M. E. Garber 