From Edie: Tim Suddeth helps writers how they can build a lasting writing habit through consistency, continual learning, and patience while cultivating a sustainable and rewarding creative life.
Tending Your Story: How Writers Build a Lasting Writing Habit
by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth
For my last two posts, (links below) I’ve been looking at the similarities between writing and gardening. We first looked at preparing the garden plot by getting rid of the weeds of distraction and clearing out the time and space for writing. Then we looked at choosing the best seeds and plants to, er, plant. Which kernels of ideas are worthy and viable enough to be made into a lush story.
Last year, I decided to start writing a new book on January 1. Like John Grisham. (If you haven’t heard of John, he’s…Oh, who am I kidding.) Because they (Whoever they are. They sure get me into a lot of trouble.) say that the best thing to do when you’re trying to get a book published, instead of sitting around fretting and complaining about how long the publishing-industry glacier takes, is to start the next book.
Plus, is there a better way to procrastinate from querying than to procrastinate from writing? Doubling your procrastinating efforts.
My goal was to write five days a week, five thousand words a week. And by the end of May, I’d have the first Yucky Draft finished. It was a great plan. Absolutely brilliant. But poorly executed. The wheels came off somewhere around the end of February. And now, I’m trying to put the bike back together.
So, how do you tend to a garden while it’s growing? You go on your start-of-summer vacation and come back to find that the babies of the weeds you pulled have returned with vengeance. Or the rain God sent washed away a row. Or that writing habit you so carefully started has been replaced by a longer to-do list.
Tending Your Writing Garden
1. Make it a regular habit
For thirteen years, I was the youngest in my family. Until he came. (I’m sure I’ll rant about that in a future post.) And as the youngest, I got the privilege, the great joy, the amazing opportunity to do a lot of the caretaking for the garden. At least that’s what Mom said.
In other words, I’m the one who got to do the weeding. Under the hot Carolina sun. Oh, the joy. What a blessing.
Weeding is a painful, tedious chore. Especially when you’re a kid with friends who have a pool. But it’s necessary for the health of the garden. Because the longer you put it off, the larger the hold the weeds will take. And the more the garden gets taken over.
So, it is with our writing. Once you lose the momentum of the story, it’s hard or even impossible to get back into it. Sometimes you can get back into it. Other times you may need to start over.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his newsletter Arnold’s Pump Club, discussed struggling with procrastination. Through his research, he’s learned that procrastination is not because of laziness, (I knew that. I put a lot of work into putting things off.) but that it’s emotional avoidance. “When a task makes you even a little annoyed or overwhelmed, putting it off makes that feeling go away for a moment. You are not avoiding the work. You are avoiding the feeling.”
It’s that feeling that becomes the weed. The longer you put something off, that blog post or that phone call, the bigger it and your dread grow. The molehill becomes the mountain you feel you have to scale. Later. But you’ll need a Sherpa.
2. Fertilize and Water
Every garden needs a steady supply of nutrients and water. So does your writing. Keep growing in your writing. Whether it’s learning more about the craft of writing, more about the subject, or what other people are doing in that genre, keep learning.
We just completed the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Where many of us had our writing fertilized and watered. (The faculty is going to love that.) Not only were we inspired by uplifting keynote speakers, but we also had experienced faculty leading the classes. And the cherry on top was connecting with other writers and speakers and hearing about their journeys in their writing, speaking, social media, and their walks with our Lord. So much inspiration.
Another place where you can fertilize and water your growth is by reading or watching podcasts. Read in your area of interest. If you blog, read other blogs. If you write devotions or poetry, find other writers and read them. See what speaks to your heart and emulate it.
It’s always fun when I meet a more successful writer. I ran into Lynette Eason at a conference a few years ago, when she only had forty or so novels published. Only. I told her that I didn’t know she was teaching at the conference. “I’m not,” she said. “But (so and so) is teaching a class I came to hear.”
As a writer, as fast as our world changes and new technologies are constantly coming out, there is always something else to learn.
3. Be Patient
I’m very aware that we have all types of different goals, styles, and circumstances represented in our readers. Some of us have publishers to please and deadlines to meet. Some of us are looking to get our writing out into the public, whether we do traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing for our stories. And some of us write knowing that no one else will ever see it. We write for the Audience of One.
Writing can be like gardening in June. The excitement has passed. It’s hot (Said in a whiny voice.). The fruit is small and green on the vine and looks nothing like the picture on the seed packet. And the bugs are coming out as if they were coming to a free barbecue. Why put yourself through all the bother of all the work?
But remember, the harvest is coming. That little fruit will grow. You will write those two beautiful words: The End. You will get to send your articles in and see them in that blog or magazine. Your Bible study will show you a new and incredible facet of God.
Just don’t quit.
Many of us have a tough time answering when someone asks if we are a writer. I still do. When they asked me in the dining room at the conference, there was that moment when my brain froze and I thought, “Can I really say I am a writer?”
We think about what we’ve produced. Whether it was a book, an article, or a poem? Does it count? How many people read it? Did I get paid for it? How much do I need to get paid to be called a writer?
What are the qualifications to be a writer? A friend at the conference told me about winning an award and, as she was walking off the stage, the devil whispered to her, “You only came in second. It was probably a short list. You’re not any good.” (Oh, that smelly devil.)
Looking at what you’ve produced isn’t the best way to judge whether you’re a writer or not. Instead, look at what you do. Do you write? Then, there you go.
We shouldn’t look at writing as a destination where we say, “I’ve made it.” Instead, we should look at writing as a journey (I say that a lot, don’t I?) that we are on for life. One with peaks and valleys, pastures and swamps. One with a terrific traveling Companion guiding us to places we could never have imagined.
A garden takes a lot of work. But it also gives a lot of satisfaction in seeing the plants grow, digging in the dirt, and seeing your hard efforts rewarded.
And hopefully you’ll get the grand prize. A homegrown tomato sandwich.
TWEETABLE
Don't miss the other posts in this series!
1. Weeds in Your Writing Life
2. How Writers Find and Develop Story Ideas
1. Weeds in Your Writing Life
2. How Writers Find and Develop Story Ideas
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