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Hello, furballs, and welcome to this part of my little writer's assistance guide! In my earlier guides, you've learned a bit about how to fight your way through writer's block, and how to remain motivated. So you love your work, you're motivated and able to write... but there's something still holding you back. No. No, there isn't. If you think a lack of time is your problem, then you're stuck procrastinating. Now, we're going to talk about something that most writers (or those who call themselves writers) should know; we're going to talk about time management.
First, a reiteration of some core facts about this guide. I am NOT a trained writer. I've done no courses, no workshops. I don't attend any writers groups, and I don't claim to have professional knowledge. I HAVE been writing for over ten years, and I HAVE sought out the knowledge that I can to improve my skills. However, this little guide is going to have little to nothing to do with technical writing, if I have my way. Rather, this guide is being provided as a way to motivate and inspire other writers here on this site. I'm not going to tell you what to write, or how to write. I only hope to provide you with some mental ‘tools' that will allow you to craft your words to their greatest potential. That said, let us begin!
The fourth lesson is this: You have plenty of time! Use it!
"Oh, sure!" I hear you already cry. "That's easy for you to say, Fae! You sit at home all day and have all the time in the world to write whatever you like!" Well, yeah. I'm blessed (or cursed, really) by an overabundance of time on my hands, and I do use most of that to write, or plan things I'll write. But that doesn't mean a damn thing here. We're not talking just about me; we're talking about you as well. We're here to help you with your time problems. So let's get cracking.
Ask yourself the following questions. How much time do you spend playing video games each day? How about TV? If you go out with your friends a lot, how long do you stay out with them? How late do you stay up at night? Now think about your answers for a moment, before you ask yourself this: How much time do you spend writing? Follow that up with: How much time do you want to spend writing? That's an important question there. Not everyone needs to write on the scale the enthusiasts do. For some, it IS just a hobby.
You're probably wasting a lot of your time in every day, and you don't even know it. Little things like what I had you ask yourself above are just the tip of the iceberg. Look at it like this. What if you cut fifteen minutes of TV, fifteen minutes of gaming, and stayed up just half an hour more? What have you done there? The non-mathetmatically-challenged out there will have determined that they've just given themselves a whole hour of free time right there. That's a whole damn hour. I can fit a good 2000 words of story into that space of time. Now. What could you possibly do with that extra hour... hmm...
I know! You could WRITE!
This is a short one this time, because time is essential. I don't want you taking a moment longer reading this than you need to. You shouldn't be wasting your time reading this! You should be writing, right now! If, however, you absolutely need to keep reading a little longer though, these handy bullet points will help summarize the core facts above.
- You've got plenty of time! Use it to write!
- If you're not spending your time writing, and you want to write, MAKE the time!
- Little sacrifices of TV or gaming time can give you lots of writing time.
- Don't waste time! Write! Right now!
Still reading? Don't! Go, and don't waste a second more! Go write something! I don't care what, just write SOMETHING! Go on; get!
Stay tuned, furballs! Next time, we're going to look at revision. Oh-bloody-no. Oh yes. Yes, I'm going there. You've just taken the time to write, and worked so very hard to get to the finish, and you're all done! You want to upload it here for all the internets to see! Well, STOP! Don't upload that story! Not until you've revised and re-written! Unsure of what to do? Well, catch me next time, and I'll show you how! Until then, take care!
Faora
First, a reiteration of some core facts about this guide. I am NOT a trained writer. I've done no courses, no workshops. I don't attend any writers groups, and I don't claim to have professional knowledge. I HAVE been writing for over ten years, and I HAVE sought out the knowledge that I can to improve my skills. However, this little guide is going to have little to nothing to do with technical writing, if I have my way. Rather, this guide is being provided as a way to motivate and inspire other writers here on this site. I'm not going to tell you what to write, or how to write. I only hope to provide you with some mental ‘tools' that will allow you to craft your words to their greatest potential. That said, let us begin!
The fourth lesson is this: You have plenty of time! Use it!
"Oh, sure!" I hear you already cry. "That's easy for you to say, Fae! You sit at home all day and have all the time in the world to write whatever you like!" Well, yeah. I'm blessed (or cursed, really) by an overabundance of time on my hands, and I do use most of that to write, or plan things I'll write. But that doesn't mean a damn thing here. We're not talking just about me; we're talking about you as well. We're here to help you with your time problems. So let's get cracking.
Ask yourself the following questions. How much time do you spend playing video games each day? How about TV? If you go out with your friends a lot, how long do you stay out with them? How late do you stay up at night? Now think about your answers for a moment, before you ask yourself this: How much time do you spend writing? Follow that up with: How much time do you want to spend writing? That's an important question there. Not everyone needs to write on the scale the enthusiasts do. For some, it IS just a hobby.
You're probably wasting a lot of your time in every day, and you don't even know it. Little things like what I had you ask yourself above are just the tip of the iceberg. Look at it like this. What if you cut fifteen minutes of TV, fifteen minutes of gaming, and stayed up just half an hour more? What have you done there? The non-mathetmatically-challenged out there will have determined that they've just given themselves a whole hour of free time right there. That's a whole damn hour. I can fit a good 2000 words of story into that space of time. Now. What could you possibly do with that extra hour... hmm...
I know! You could WRITE!
This is a short one this time, because time is essential. I don't want you taking a moment longer reading this than you need to. You shouldn't be wasting your time reading this! You should be writing, right now! If, however, you absolutely need to keep reading a little longer though, these handy bullet points will help summarize the core facts above.
- You've got plenty of time! Use it to write!
- If you're not spending your time writing, and you want to write, MAKE the time!
- Little sacrifices of TV or gaming time can give you lots of writing time.
- Don't waste time! Write! Right now!
Still reading? Don't! Go, and don't waste a second more! Go write something! I don't care what, just write SOMETHING! Go on; get!
Stay tuned, furballs! Next time, we're going to look at revision. Oh-bloody-no. Oh yes. Yes, I'm going there. You've just taken the time to write, and worked so very hard to get to the finish, and you're all done! You want to upload it here for all the internets to see! Well, STOP! Don't upload that story! Not until you've revised and re-written! Unsure of what to do? Well, catch me next time, and I'll show you how! Until then, take care!
Faora
Category Story / Tutorials
Species Western Dragon
Gender Any
Size 120 x 120px
Fortunately, I have the time to say something about this, as I am currently in the process of taking a little break from writing so that I can create new ideas; my larger projects are currently almost all snagged and on hold, and my smaller stories are finished so I need to come up with ideas for new ones. There's two large projects which involve a bundle of short stories, so the break is doing me good because it allows me to come up with ideas for new short stories for both bundles. And I have sat myself down and made some time to read through all your articles.
So there you have it, it's already working! =~.^=
So there you have it, it's already working! =~.^=
Actually, I just started a large project that's a compilation of shorter stories, so I know the fun you're about to launch into! Hope you enjoy the project, and that it goes well!
Thanks for the kind words, and happy to hear that the guide's helped!
Faora
Thanks for the kind words, and happy to hear that the guide's helped!
Faora
Yes, I am quite looking forward to my upcoming projects! I must admit that when I started writing, I always had the hope to get some of my work published someday, but I always had this idea that it would have to be a novel-length book. It's only since I started doing the short stories (which I used to have big problems with to actually keep them short), that I remembered not all publishings have to be multi-chapter epic novels; bundles of short stories make for great books as well! And since both my upcoming projects involve my new and rapidly rising in popularity characters, one of which has become my new muse as well, I am quite excited about doing these projects, and I have no doubt I will stick with them to make them successful!
You're welcome, and I will continue to read your guides with pleasure, for they do help me. I downloaded all of them as well to keep them at hand for future reference =~.^=
You're welcome, and I will continue to read your guides with pleasure, for they do help me. I downloaded all of them as well to keep them at hand for future reference =~.^=
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