Dear Me

Dear Me:

Here it is, a new year, the same resolution--write more often. How often have you written that down, only to fail with some poor excuse? Every single time. You have good intentions, but that won't get you published. Only sitting down and writing will you achieve your goal. I know you write during lunch breaks at Emcon and Wal-Mart, but that isn't enough. You need space to branch out with your papers, time to do a decent job with the story, and the comfort and quiet of home to do your work. Writing during lunch gives you a good start, but for a spectacular finish, you need to do the main body at home. Here are some suggestions I hope you will follow for 2009:

1) No more paper, notebooks, pens in the house. You have a gazillion of them! Use what you have.

2) To relieve writer's block, leave your writing where it is, and grab some coffee, a snack, whatever. The brief time away from your story should give you a little space in time to reflect on how you got to that point in your story, and how to procede from there.

3) If the coffee and snack doesn't help, leave your writting for a day or two. Work on something else, them come back to it with a fresh mind.

4) Since you are laid off from Emcon, and you work days at Wal-Mart, may I suggest writing in the evening? You always did your best work in the wee morning hours of the day. Late at night, with the TV off, you should be able to do wonders!

5) When you are called back to work, be it day or night shift, make the time to write. No more excuses! You work Wal-Mart on weekends during the day--the nights belongs to writing! Keep pens and paper with you at all times. You never know when an idea might hit.

I do hope you take these suggestions to heart. Only by following what you already know, and working hard at your writing, can you ever be considered good enough for an agent, and smart enough for publication.

Good luck!

Me