Every person has their own way of finding focus. But every now and then, it feels like the old ways stop working and I need something new to regain my focus, creatively or even in the work setting.

Fortunately, DIY MFA has you covered with tons of tips on how to find or regain your focus. Just in time for the holidays with all of their disruptions and distractions and in time for the new year with its set of lofty goals.

1. Overwhelmed? Overworked? Over-Committed? How to Keep Focus in 2014

This is truly an oldie but a goodie! It’s a month out from being nine years old! But the information that Marcie Flinchum Atkins shares about goal setting is still applicable today. She breaks down how you can narrow your focus in quarterly, monthly, and weekly segments. Check it out if you are in need of some general order.

2. Episode 31: Finding Focus in Your Writing

This episode was back when Gabriela was primarily doing solo shows on the podcast. Here she walks listeners through her process for deciding where to spend her writerly energy. Inspiration is everywhere and there are shiny new projects around every corner, but we can’t write all the things at once. This episode will help you narrow it down.

3. #5onFri: Five Tai Chi and Yoga Techniques to Help With Writer Focus

Physical movement is a great way of expending excess energy, which then allows us to return to the task at hand with a clearer mind and sharpened focus. Columnist Ambre Dawn Leffler walks you through five exercises to help relieve stress, reduce mental clutter, and fuel your creativity.

4. Lose The Mental Clutter and Find Your Focus

Remember several years ago when we were all Marie Kondo-ing our possessions to get rid of clutter? Well, former DIY MFA columnist Leanne Sowul walks you through five steps that will help you Marie Kondo your mind and get rid of mental clutter. Once your mind is freer, you’ll be able to return to the open page with more clarity.

5. Episode 293: Find Your Creative Focus — Interview with Jessica Abel

Jessica Abel is a longtime friend of DIY MFA and in this episode, she talks about taking the creative process from beginning to The End. Jessica is all about helping writers find the structure and processes they need to cross that creative finish line, but it all starts with finding focus and taking control.

6. #5onFri: Five Tips for Narrowing Your Focus

Choosing a topic for a book can be a pretty daunting task. We want to tell ALL THE STORIES! But we can’t do that in a single volume. So how do you choose? Well, this guest post will help walk you through Lynne Golodner’s process for narrowing down your possibilities until you find that one topic you’re excited to write about. Then you save the other ideas for your next project—nothing is ever wasted!

7. #5onFri: Five Ways the Vagus Nerve Helps Writers Focus

Sometimes we need a little grounding in order to get back on track. When we get stressed, our brains kick into fight-or-flight mode and they don’t always know when to come out and resume normal operations. But guest poster Brittany Capozzi shares her secret weapon—the Vagus nerve—and how you can harness its power to get grounded.

Regardless of what kind of focus you are trying to gain—be it organizational, creative, or momentary—I hope these resources help you out.

Happy creating!

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. She is also the producer and co-host of DIY MFA Radio and editor-in-chief of DIYMFA.com, among other roles. Lori is a copyeditor for Amanda Filippelli and collaborating fellow for The Poetry Lab. She writes personal essays and memoir in Tulsa, where she lives with her husband and cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post Find Your Focus Round-up appeared first on DIY MFA.

I have a silent partner-in-crime: the Vagus nerve. We actually all have this silent partner. This nerve is the longest nerve in our body. Its signals of fear or ease narrate a story to our facial muscles, heart, lungs, and stomach. 

Sometimes I think of it as my accountability buddy. With shallow breathing or anxious thoughts, it tells me that I’m in fight-or-flight mode. I see only a threat in front of me and feel as though I cannot work. With relaxed muscles and even breaths, it tells me that I’m in a calm mode. I don’t see any threats and I can do what I need to do.

We can’t always be stressed, leaving our sympathetic nervous system light on. At the same time, we can’t always be in a resting state, leaving our parasympathetic nervous system light on. Our Vagus nerve needs to be balanced in order for these systems to be grounded. When we are not grounded, we can get in our own way of creating, networking, and essentially building our writing career. 

As we writers work alone, yet constantly with fear, we can keep in mind five ways the Vagus nerve helps us to regain focus: 

1. The Vagus Nerve Strengthens Our Communication Skills 

As a narrator, our job is to be present by communicating to an audience. But if we’re stressed, we can’t pass stories along clearly and concisely. We certainly can’t ask our Ordinary Joe protagonist to convey emotions if we can’t convey and work with them ourselves. 

Before anything, we need to understand what we’re thinking, showing, and telling before someone else can pick up what we create. I think of this as needing to nourish our seed of self-communication.  

My “seed” is actually a small moon snail shell at my workstation that reminds me to use my vocal cords during Writer’s Block. Recording and listening to my voice grounds my mind and body. Sometimes I read a poem or excerpt of a book out loud. Playing with tone and vibrations through different narratives helps strengthen the parts of our brain that maintain attention, empathy and language. 

2. It Taps into Safety as We Approach a Blank Space

As with a tiger in the wild, our nervous system is wired to evaluate the level of potential threats. Showing up in our creative area day after day is a great way to teach ourselves through repetition that as stressed and fearful as we may be about facing our WIP, there is no primal danger. 

We create a predictable routine and we know what we need to work on. It echoes the concept of homework after school.

In school, we were taught to remove our emotional brain and use our logical brain in order to complete tasks. As simple as it is, it’s not always easy to do. After all, if we bring our own truths into our WIP, how do we deal with the emotions that may inevitably call on us?

When emotions trigger us, we can come back into a safe space using our body: sit in a chair and inhale through the nose. On the exhale, create a low sound of “vooo” through the lips. Not only does this vibration reset our safety button but it also balances our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. When we have the oxygen needed, we can think and create at our best.  

3. The Vagus Allows us to Laugh into Confidence 

Let’s face it, not only do we writers struggle with the ruminating thought “I can’t do it,” but the majority of people struggle with that toward any facet of their lives. 

The antidote to self-doubt is, once again, that partner-in-crime, the Vagus nerve. How does it support our wobbly self-confidence? It can make us laugh and lean right into our strength. We can seek out laughter in comedy shows or we can create our own.

Try these exercises:

• Be your own Santa Claus: Pump the naval while shouting “ho ho ha ha ha.” Do this several times and compare how you felt before versus after. 
• Mimic a Happy-Go- Lucky Character:  Stare at yourself in the mirror with a smile, lift an eyebrow or two, and march the arms back and forth. Then simply give yourself permission to laugh at yourself. And then, with yourself. Don’t forget, you’re your own partner-in-crime during the “Writer’s Block.” 

Our body doesn’t know if we force our way into laughing or stream our favorite comedy show.  The important thing is that with laughing sounds, oxygen gets moving, as does our motivation and positive thinking. 

4. The Vagus Nerve Moves Us through Levels of Engagement

As we focus on Vagus nerve exercises, we’re reminded of how to be engaged. When we attach ourselves to the word “engage” we do just that, attach. Promise. Commit. When engaged with something or someone, we should hold positive energy, empathy, and safety in our body and mind. 

“Vooing,” the practice of self-engagement, extends outward toward project engagement. We commit and promise to care for our blank or marked-up sheet of paper. We move into the flow of our WIP. 

As long as we treat our craft with respect and keep showing up, we have the ability to pass our gift of the “present” along to the literary community. For example, we can trust our work ethic when we commit to playing catch with a fellow writer. We are better equipped to give and receive. 

5. It also Empowers the Writer within Us

Working with the Vagus nerve gives us permission to focus on being our own leader, creator, and educator. 

As with the levels of engagement, our partner-in-crime helps us build the strength to become a mentor or example for others. No one can approach his/her/their writing with fear and ease. It’s important to explore what both feel like and how we can coexist with our reactions. To explore and learn is to constantly use the practice of focus.

Tell us in the comments: What was your biggest takeaway about the Vagus nerve and how it helps writers regain focus?

Brittany Capozzi grew up outside of Boston and holds a BA in English from Curry College with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Professional Writing. She draws inspiration from teaching and studying yoga and belly dancing. Feel free to say hi and check out her work at her website, or follow her on Twitter.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways the Vagus Nerve Helps Writers Focus appeared first on DIY MFA.

Last year taught me to be content with the good memories, and to be grateful for those who were with me in the low moments. 2021 was, for me, a year of adapting, of being flexible and taking things as they come, to let go of the way I thought things should be.

This year my focus is on rituals, nourishment, and slowing down. I want to celebrate the simple joys each new day brings. I am learning I can’t control anything except my own breathing, and what I choose to focus on. And that’s okay. That’s enough.

Haiku as Self Care

In that spirit, for the month of January, I focused on the Japanese poetry art form of Haiku. If you’ve never heard of Haiku—it is a type of short-form poetry. Traditional Japanese Haiku usually consists of three phrases that contain a kireji, or “cutting word” that either finishes the poem or when used in the middle cuts the stream of thought. It is usually in a 5, 7, 5 syllable pattern. 

But don’t get too caught up in the rigors of the form. Haiku is meant to be enjoyed like a good sake. On its surface, it is a simple and humble celebration of the ability to focus on the present moment. And then there are layers, meanings that float up to you out of the darkness of your own mind like a shimmering flash of gold from the depths of a Koi pond.

For me, reading Haiku is a form of self-care. A retreat from the world of fast and loud and over-stimulation. Even in the middle (hopefully the end?) of this pandemic, I think everyone feels overscheduled and overcommitted from time to time. Reading Haiku is a great way to give yourself a small bubble of stillness, even if you’ve got young kids around and it is never actually silent. (I hear you stay-at-home-parents.)

Three Simple Lines

Here is an example of a wonderful and ancient Haiku poem from Masaoka Shiki that is now one of my favorite translations:

Peeling a pear –

a trickle of sweet juice

along the blade

Thank you to Natalie Goldberg whose book, Three Simple Lines – A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland, this translation is taken from. Half poetry, half memoir, this book has got me sending the kids to Walmart with their dad so I can sit down and read just a few more pages the way this book was meant to be read: gratefully, in stillness, in the quiet reflection of solitude.

Sitting alone now, after all of the holiday hubala has faded and the guests have gone home (and the kids are at Walmart with their dad) and the decorations are put away for another year—this book, these poems, are what my heart needed. I am comforted and at peace, my haywire-holiday brain aligned and focused on the three simple lines. The rest of the world falls away.

I am not exaggerating when I say Natalie’s insights into writing and reading Haiku have changed how I see the world. Everything is Haiku now. The mug of tea steaming in the sunlight, the dog curled up at my feet. You don’t need a master’s degree or a writing technique to memorize to do this. You just need stillness, and the courage to experience profound moments of joy (or grief) in everyday scenes.

Putting the Spirit of Haiku into Action

Usually, at this point in the article, I go on to talk about the other books I am reading but I’m not going to do that this time. I am going to honor my focus for the year, which is to slow down, self-nourish, be present, do one thing at a time. Breathe in, breathe out. Read the next three lines. 

All you need for this self-care ritual is a pot of tea and a couple of Haiku poems. 

How are you going to take care of yourself better this year? What rituals or books are you looking forward to opening for yourself?

Tell us in the comments: How are you going to put the spirit of haiku into action?

Angela Yeh hails from Atlantic Canada but lives and works in Texas – after her liberal arts degree she wandered into Corporate America but managed to escape. She is a staunch advocate for writers and literacy/learning with her online writing community at DIYMFA.com. She lives with her husband, two lovely human children, and two cranky fur babies. You can check her out on Twitter and Instagram or on her website.

The post The Spirit of Haiku: Finding Nourishment and Joy in Daily Life appeared first on DIY MFA.

1. Shut off the phone and . . . find the time to write.

You know that little button on the side of your phone? Push it, and a startling message will appear: “Slide to power off.” 

Really, it’s okay. You can turn it off. Not just the ringer, the whole damn thing. It’s exhausted. Let it have a rest. 

It’s now longer a gateway to the rushing, compelling, demanding world outside your writing; it’s now your magic concentration device. 

2. Shut off the internet and . . . find the time to write.

See, at the top of your screen, the little triangle thing that means you’re connected? Click on that, and shut it off. 

Feel the flicker of anxiety when you do this; what if you miss something? What if some further catastrophe is happening in our world and you’re not the first to know? What if your friend Marie has a new hairdo she’s showing off on Facebook? How can you bear to not be connected? 

Instead, you’ll be connected to your writing, your work, your self. 

Wait few seconds, and you’ll feel a wash of relief: You don’t need to know whatever is happening in the world right now. 

What you need to do is get to work, and write.

3. Close the door and . . . find the time to write.

Tell your partner/spouse/mother/child not to interrupt you until you come out. Some people (children, in particular) respond better to this if you give them a time, like “I’ll be out in an hour,” instead of “I’m not coming out until I get some depth to this character.” 

This may help you, too: setting a timer for 40 minutes can alleviate some of the anxiety of writing. You know there’s an end in sight. 

If you don’t have your own room with a door, tell the people around you that when you’re wearing your Yankees ball cap, or when you’re wearing your headphones, or when you’re sitting in a particular chair, that’s your writing time, and you are not to be disturbed. 

4. Don’t even look at your email before sitting down to write.

No, not even a peek. Not even to check and see if there’s something from the publication you submitted to yesterday. 

Take a deep breath. 

If there is something of interest waiting in your email, desperately banging on the bars of the cage so you’ll read it, it’ll still be there in a couple of hours, or 15 minutes, or however long you’re going to give yourself to write.

I know these first four may seem impossible; what helps me is to think of someone in a job where they really cannot be disturbed. Because we’re writers, we’re often at the computer, phone at our side, appearing available. But we’re not. We’re writing. 

You wouldn’t want the surgeon, scalpel in hand, to suddenly need to check the airfares to Mexico, or to answer a call about this weekend’s plans. 

A low-wage worker in a big-box store can’t suddenly decide to do a little job search on their phone, or see if an important email has come in with a coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond. 

You are the surgeon. More to the point, perhaps, you are the low-wage worker. 

5. Once you’re sitting in front of the work, let yourself relax into the bubble you’ve created.

If your mind is still flying all over the place (pandemic, climate collapse, racism…who can blame you for feeling anxious and distracted?), just sit at your desk for a moment. 

Look around you, name five things you can see (clock, plant, other pair of reading glasses), then four things you can feel (the fabric of your shirt, the floor beneath your feet), three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. 

And then, get to work.

Sarah Van Arsdale’s first poetry chapbook, Taken, is forthcoming at the end of this month from Finishing Line Press in October 2021. Click here to order a copy. She is the author of four books of fiction and a single book-length poem, titled The Catamount (Nomadic Press, 2017), illustrated with her watercolors. Her other books are: Toward Amnesia, In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, Grand Isle, and  Blue, winner of the 2002 Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have been published in widely in literary magazines. In addition to teaching in the Antioch/LA low-residency MFA program, she has taught with Art Workshop International in Assisi, Italy, at New York University, and with Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv. More of her drawings, short films, and writing can be seen at sarahvanarsdale.com

The post #5onFri: Five Ways to Resist the Inexorable Forces Pulling You from Your Writing appeared first on DIY MFA.

That makes sense. We all have a story to tell – and really, more than one story. Which can make it super hard to narrow the focus of a book, and make it a manageable project.

Writing a book is no small feat, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Narrowing the focus of your book is the first step in making it possible to complete the manuscript. Remember that writing one page each day leads to a pretty hefty book in a year’s time, which makes the project seem doable – if you have a clear focus of what you’re writing about.

But how to narrow your focus? Consider these tips for focusing on a book project you can’t wait to dive into.

1. Free-write all that you could write about.

You may have great ideas for a lot of books, but how do you get them written and into the world with everything else you have going on?

Just because you have ideas doesn’t mean they will all make it into book form. 

Sit in a place where you won’t be distracted and write (by hand!) freely about the topics you’d like to write about. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write without judgment and without reviewing what comes out. Just write.

• What could you write about?
• What stories do you have to tell?
• What incidents have you endured?
• What obstacles have you overcome?
• What lessons can you share with others?
• What inspiration can you offer?

Be as specific as you can and see where the brainstorming takes you. Right now, you’re just cultivating ideas and capturing possibilities.

2. Review your notes and highlight finite options.

After the brain dump, use a highlighter to identify topics that are specific enough to tackle in one book. Periods of time or individual incidents.

You likely generated enough ideas for more than one book! Now that they’re on paper, you can always go back to them for the next book. That frees you from trying to cram everything into one manuscript.

The more narrowly you focus your topic, the more detailed you can get, and the more time you can spend on particular events that move the narrative along. You can pay attention to dialogue, establishing setting, building depth in your characters. All of these components make a book come alive.

3. Choose one focus.

Consider which topic you want to tackle in THIS book. On a new sheet of paper, write this topic at the top and jot down specific events, a timeline, or key turning points.

In the margins of each event, day, or point, write 3-5 specifics: 

• Where were you? 
• Who was there? 
• What was the weather like? 
• What emotions did you feel? 
• What is important to move the story along?

These details will be pivotal for your writing. When you have a starting point, it serves as a prompt to generate compelling writing. The more specific a scene can be, the more universally relatable it becomes.

4. Create an outline of chapters.

When I write a book, I outline the topics for each chapter, then write one chapter a time. When you narrow down your book’s overarching topic, you can narrow it even further by outlining chapters and writing in steps. That makes the project incredibly manageable.

Think about what has to happen from beginning to end of your story to take the reader on a journey. 

• Where do they start? 
• Where do you want them to end up? 
• What outcomes or revelations should they have by the end of the journey? 
• What pivotal points will help get them there?

As you outline your chapters, consider examples, anecdotes, or case studies to include throughout the book. Small stories to illustrate a larger point help connect the author to the audience at every step of the journey.

5. Set weekly goals.

Now that you have a road map for writing, build a structure toward success! Set weekly goals for when you will write, where you will do your writing, and how much you want to churn out in a week’s time.

Perhaps you start with time of day and location. If you can, choose a writing place away from where you do your normal work. It should be a space that sparks creativity and that, in time, when you sit down there, your creative juices will just start flowing!

It can help to adorn your writing space with little items that encourage creativity. Perhaps you light a candle to signify the start of your writing time. Or, when you achieve the number of pages you set out to write that week, you buy yourself a bouquet of flowers to display on the desk next to your laptop.

Designate a set goal for your writing. A chapter by the end of the week, or 10 new pages, or whatever feels reasonable. 

Remember, a page a day leads to a book in a year. One page is approximately 300 words – that’s not hard to do. And, most writers, once they get going, produce more than a page. 

You can do this!!

Lynne Golodner is the author of 8 books, with her ninth due out in February 2021. A former journalist, she is the host of the Make Meaning Podcast (www.makemeaning.org), a book coach, and a marketing/PR professional (www.yourppl.com). Lynne lives in Huntington Woods, Mich., with her husband and four teenagers.

The post #5onFri: Five Tips for Narrowing Your Focus appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today’s episode is all about finding focus in your writing was sparked by a question from Mark Guay of The Traveling Cup. I had the great privilege of being a guest on Mark’s podcast recently and afterwards he asked me: “How do go about finding focus in your writing? How do you decide where to spend your writing fuel?”

Do you ever ask yourself that? We writers are so busy, and there are so many different projects vying for our precious time and energy. A writer can choose to spend talent and energy on blogging, newsletters, guest posting, books, and so many other things. How do you know what’s going to make the best impact on your career?

I look for three things when I decide what writing-related project to focus on next. The place where these three things intersect is what I like to call my “Hell-Yeah! project.” This “Hell-Yeah! project” falls in the white center section of the picture below.

1. What am I excited and passionate about? Don’t do something because you think you should. Be excited about it! Pick the thing that you really love, that you can’t resist, and do that.
2. What feels easiest? What project has the least amount of friction? Look for things that you’re good at, that come easily to you. Don’t always choose the hardest thing, or you’ll end up burning yourself out.
3. What will give me the best return on investment (ROI)? I’m not talking about what makes money instantly. Some things, like blogging, may not make any money directly. But over time a blog helps you build your audience and your writerly voice, which might in turn help you sell more books or get a publishing contract. Whatever the project, make sure that it helps you build credibility, build your audience, and build connections with experts in the industry.

Side note: Be careful not to invest too much time and energy in something, even if you really love it, if there’s no chance of any return from the effort you put in. We writers write for the love of it, but we need to be practical too!

Finally, do one thing at a time. Don’t take on too many new projects at once. You’ll end up overwhelmed and spread too thin. Make sure you do each piece as excellently as you can. Focus on one facet at a time. This is a slow process, not a short race to the finish line.

Spend the time that each piece takes to perfect it, then move on to the next. It may seem too clinical or organized a system, but I’ve found that using this left-brained approach in preparation for a project allows me to be more creative.

Thanks again to Mark Guay of The Traveling Cup for the inspiration for this episode!

Link to Episode 31

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 31: Finding Focus in Your Writing appeared first on DIY MFA.

Help is here!

I thought it might be fun to scour my @WriterThesaurus feed for some great motivators to keep you in your chair with fingers on the keyboard. (For those of you who don’t know about my @WriterThesaurus account of twitter, check it out sometime. Each tweet is a link to an unusual or unique writing tool or resource for writers. Over 500 tweets means over 500 gold nuggets to help you with your writing!)

Without further ado, here’s some tools to keep the words flowing!

1. For the distracted writer.

Focus Writer

Do all those shiny desktop buttons beckon? All those internet tabs waiting to be filled with search terms? This program hides all distractions, keeping your eyes locked on the flow of words.

2. For the chronic reviser

Keep Writing

This ‘typewriter-esque’ program won’t let you delete words, forcing you to stay focused on the word count, not the revising. (You can do strikethroughs, however!)

3. For the longhand writer

Penzu

Love writing longhand but hate how long it takes to turn thoughts to words on paper, to a doc.? Worry no more! This tool supplies the visuals to make you feel like you’re writing longhand on paper as you type.

4. For the Cat Lover

Written? Kitten!

Each time you write a set amount of words (100, 300, you set the number) you are rewarded with a cute kitten picture. AHH! *dies of cuteness*

5. For the Bacon Aficionado

Written? Bacon!

Just like the app above, when you hit your word count, a picture of GLORIOUS bacon fills the screen. (HINT: you can change the search term in the browser to anything you desire to keep you motivated. Like pictures of chocolate. Or Firemen. *coughs*

6. For the determined-yet-busy writer

750 Words

750 words is a modest goal–three pages a day. In a year, that adds up to a full novel. Accessed from anywhere, you get points for each 750 words you write, giving you something to challenge yourself with matching month-to-month. Darcy Pattison uses this method.

7. For the hardcore writer

 Write or Die

Time to get down to business. Set a target word count & reach it in the allotted time…or your writing will ‘unwrite itself!’ Be warned…this is a tool for the adrenaline junkie or high stakes writer!

8. For the social media addict

Cold Turkey

Can’t stop yourself from checking your email, Amazon ranking and Facebook updates every two minutes? Cold Turkey will temporarily block your social media, email and games so it’s just you and the page.

Your Turn! What keeps you motivated? Let me know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN is a writing coach and co-author of the bestselling writing resource, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression, as well as the newly released Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Attributes and its darker cousin, The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and at Writers Helping Writers (formerly The Bookshelf Muse).

A version of this article was originally published on Book Dreaming. 

The post Stay Motivated: 8 Writing Tools To Keep Words Flowing appeared first on DIY MFA.

Happy New Year! Time to start fresh and get a head start on marathoning those seasons on Netflix while actively avoiding your to-do list.

Procrastination is the #1 reason that people don’t complete their New Years’ Resolutions (now that I think about it, that is kind of like saying that the #1 reason you ditched your diet was because of the extra-large pizza you put in your pie hole).

For writers, that can mean another year without getting that book done.

Bad writers.

Carpe diem. Write now. Write if you only have ten minutes to do it. Write if you’re on the bus and can only get a few sentences out due to all the jostling. Write even when your kids are trying to convince you they need to be fed (“Just one more paragraph, o apples of mine eye!”).

If me shouting “Write, you fools!” isn’t enough motivation, here are three practical tricks for writers (and other humans) to get your goals done.

Bribe yourself

Okay, you’re well past the terrible twos, and candy or the latest action figure have failed to be sufficient motivators (for me they still are, but that’s another story). But try exercising some self-restraint. Fill in the blanks and put it on a sticky note.

When I complete [1000 words, researching agents, reading someone’s novel for critique group] then I will allow myself to [catch up on Game of Thrones, put my hand in the cookie jar, quit my cubicle job and run away from home and never look back!].

I know what you’re thinking: “But I have no restraint! That’s why I procrastinate! I can’t control my urges!”

What are you, an animal? We’re an evolved species for a reason: We have a choice in how we act and react. When we feel an instinctual urge, we can stop, think about it, and resist that extra slice of cake or Hulu marathon. Yes, it’s hard. But you’re completely capable.

Twenty years from now, do you want to say “I read every tweet on my Twitter feed in 2014!”? Or would you rather say, “I finished a solid draft in 2014. It wasn’t perfect, but eventually it became my first bestseller!”

Big dreams take hard work.

Skip the Hard Parts

This could seem to contract my previous statement, but we’re still creatures of least resistance. The right path might be the hard path, but there are ways to skirt around this fact.

Namely, by tricking yourself.

I did this all the time in college. Ever heard the phrase “Once begun is half done?” Usually, you’re supposed to do research and then write the paper, right? For me, the research was the worst part. Slogging through journals and books for hours and still not finding what you need? Shoot me now.

So I would write a draft of the essay first (I was probably the only nerd who LOVED writing essays). I tricked myself into thinking I knew what I was talking about. Once the draft was done, all that was left was just plugging in some quotes from authoritative sources.

Boom. Done.

If you can get the easy part of a book draft, a difficult email to your agent, or a blog post done first, it makes it so much easier to follow up. Even better, even if you don’t finish that blog post today, you’ll still feel like you accomplished something.

Write a S*** First Draft

I always hate hearing this. If I’m going to write a first draft, I want it to be something usable. Something that doesn’t scream “Hahaha, silly author, look at all the wasted hours you could have been watching TV! And instead you wrote this crap?!”

But I let myself buy into the concept, because all the great authors seemed to believe in it. And do you know what happened? I got a first draft done.

Serial perfectionists put so much pressure on themselves that they can be frozen into thinking without doing anything.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be careful and thoughtful when you hammer out those first 100,000 words. But you have to relax a little, too. If it doesn’t come out perfect, it’s okay. The important thing is you got it done. In the immortal words of author-helper-outer-guru, Kristen Lamb, “The world doesn’t reward perfection; it rewards finishers.”

How do you avoid procrastinating? Share your tips and tricks below!

With a B.A. in B.S. (translation: English Major), Rebecca Ann Jordan is a speculative fiction author in San Diego. She has published short pieces in Fiction Vortex, Yemassee Magazine, Bravura Literary Journal, and more, and currently acts as Junior Assistant Editor at Bartleby Snopes. Her fetishes include controversial grammar, mythological happenings and yarn-swapping.

Got a question? Tweet me @beccaquibbles with the hashtag #askbecca, email me at becca [at] rebeccaannjordan [dot] com, or just leave a comment below! You could see your question answered right here!

The post Ask Becca: Procrastinators Unite, Tomorrow! appeared first on DIY MFA.

Goal making provides a roadmap for your year, but it doesn’t do much good if you lose sight of those goals. Some of you might be like me. If I want to take a cross-country road trip, I would have to be really cognizant of NOT meandering to every single attraction I wanted to see from Virginia to California. I’d never get there. I’d have to pick a few places that were really worth my time.

It’s the same thing with goal-making. In order for me to get from a blank page to a finished book, there are a number of different ways I could get there, but I have to be focused on the one I want to do. As I analyzed why some of my goals from last year were really successful and some were not, I came to the conclusion is that I wasn’t checking in on them often enough. When I got off track and went on a side road, I didn’t come back to my main focus.

Quarterly Goals

In 2014, I developed a plan to stay more focused all year long. I’m breaking my goals down into manageable three-month chunks, or quarterly goals. In three months, you can accomplish some pretty big projects, or at least big parts of those projects. For example, in three months, I can draft a manuscript, research a manuscript, or take a class. If new opportunities present themselves, I can add them to the next quarter’s goal.

I don’t want to be so tied down to goals that I make in December for the next year that I can’t leave room for opportunities that come about—like freelance projects. Sometimes you have to adjust the route. It may not be something you specifically planned for, but it’s worth the trip.

Every three months, I’m going to take a look at my finished goals and create new goals. I put reminders on my calendar for the whole year to make quarterly goals—a reminder at the end of December 2013, March 2014, June 2014, and September 2014.

Each goal is very specific. Some goals might last for the whole year, but each quarter, I will check on my progress.

 Monthly Focus

I take these quarterly goals and break them down into a MONTHLY FOCUS page. It’s an at-a-glance view of the big things I need to work on that month in order to accomplish my quarterly goals. The categories I focus on are:

WRITING FOCUS

LEARNING FOCUS

RESEARCH FOCUS

BOOKS TO READ

MAJOR WRITING TASKS

BLOG TASKS

DEADLINES

Wanting to learn new things, read new books, and pursue multiple passions often distracts me. I write in several genres, for several age groups. This can sometimes mean that my focus is also divided. I end up with a jumble of things I know I need to work on, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed, over-committed, and overworked.

I created a Scrivener document to keep track of everything. If I find a class I want to take or a new skill I want to learn, I write it down in my Learning Folder.

I’m also really bad about wanting to read a bunch of craft related books, but in order to really apply what I’m learning, I know I shouldn’t read more than one at a timed. So I make a book wish list as well. As I prepare my monthly focus sheet, I can look to see what was on my wish list.

I place this focus chart behind my computer where I can see it everyday. I try really hard to make sure the big tasks I complete each week stick to these focuses. There is little time wasted wonder what should be done next.

Weekly To-Do List

Each week, usually on Sundays, I take a look at my monthly focus sheet and break down what needs to be done that week in order to accomplish these goals. For example, if my goal this month is to finish the draft of my middle grade novel, then every day that week, I have to write 500 words. That goes on my to-do list.

If I plan out what small things I have to do each day, then I am more focused in the hour I have to write before I go to my day job. One hour doesn’t seem like a lot, but with focus and consistency, it really adds up.

A Sense of Accomplishment

I’m more highly motivated when I see a task I know I can complete. Writing is hard. Thinking about writing a whole book or revising a whole book is overwhelming at times. But if I know that all I have to do is write 500 words today, then I can do it, and I can do it pretty quickly.

I’m motivated by completed tasks.

Plan out an article? I can do that.

Read book X for an upcoming project and take notes? Manageable.

Cut apart a work-in-progress picture book and see how it stacks up structurally? That sounds fun!

Planning my focuses little by little helps me to stop feeling so overwhelmed, overworked, and overcommitted. Having a system for what I want to accomplish helps me pluck my dreams out of the sky and start working on them each day.

Marcie Flinchum Atkins is an elementary school teacher and children’s writer.  She got her MA and MFA in children’s literature from Hollins University. She blogs about making time to write and using mentor texts at: https://www.marcieatkins.com

The post Overwhelmed? Overworked? Over-Committed? How to Keep Focus in 2014 appeared first on DIY MFA.

First, if you haven’t already, check out the first article in this series right here. We talked about the need to keep writing even when you’re busy, envisioning where you want to be on January 1st, and making a set of achievable, rather than ambitious goals for the next six weeks. Do you have your goals all set? Here’s a few ways to make sure you stick to them.

Set A Schedule

This is always a good habit to form, but it’s especially helpful during the holidays, when your schedule is fuller than usual. The act of putting something on a calendar makes it feel more “official” and permanent. You are much more likely to write if you’ve planned on it. Just the way that you would write down “Office Sweater Party — 5:00,” write down “Revise Chapter Six — 7:00.”

I’d advise looking at the entire month of December this week. By now, you’ll already know your travel plans, most party dates and family events. You also know your goals. So you can see the blank spots in your calendar, and make a game plan. Just remember–go for achievable, not ambitious goals–you’re much more likely to stick to your schedule if it’s a feasible one!

Plan to Plan

Okay. So you have your ideal schedule. But on Tuesday, your friends want to go ice-skating. You planned to outline the short story, but hot chocolate and cute pictures called! You couldn’t say no. Nor could you cut out early when tree decorating took longer than you anticipated. That knocked out the dialogue you were going to revise. But what were you going to? Leave your brother to do all the popcorn stringing alone?

Of course not. This is a time when family and friends might take a higher priority than writing. It’s a short season, and you don’t want to miss it. But you still need to write. So stick to your schedule, as much as you can, and, on the weekend, plan a time to revise it.

The key here is flexibility. Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t keep all your goals and all your dates. Instead, set aside fifteen minutes to revise them. Look at what you did accomplish, and look forward to what you can accomplish. Then have some eggnog. There’s plenty of time to make massive goals come January!

Bring a Buddy

One of the best ways to stay on track is to have someone beside you. The only people who really understand what it’s like to be a writer are other writers. So, find a buddy. There are plenty of meet-up groups online. Did you make a friend during NaNoWriMo? Exchange goals. Do you have a writer friend in your hometown or family? Let them know what you plan to do, and ask them to let you know the same. The mental check of having someone check up on you can help keep you on track.

You can also plan a holiday writing meet-up. Make it a festive occasion. I write with the same group of girls weekly. We rarely get together except to write. So, on the nights when we do go out to dinner or do something fun, it feels like a real treat. We’ll write for an hour, then put it aside and do something fun. Even if it’s just going for a walk to look at Christmas lights; you’ve combined festive cheer with writing time.

You can also use each other as sounding boards, critique partners and goal-keepers. I have told my writing friends I’ll be giving them a revised version of my book on January 15th. Having a due date is helpful; having people waiting on that due date makes it imperative.

Reward Yourself Often

This is my favorite part. Normally, I try to plan on giving myself small rewards for achieving small goals, and big rewards for big goals. Check out this article for a few ideas. But for the holidays, I step it up a notch. I’m planning to pull back. I’m planning to set small, achievable goals. But since ’tis the season for celebration, I don’t skimp on the rewards.

These can be simple things — when you go write at a coffee shop, get a peppermint mocha instead of a coffee. If you meet a weekly word-count goal, buy that new book that you could have got from the library. If you get a Christmas bonus, use some of it to buy new sharpies or post-its or that notebook that’s a little too expensive, but you really want. Tell yourself it’s because you’re writing and you deserve it. Because, you know what? You do. It’s December. This is the time when people get fat, lazy and happy. And maybe you’re getting fat, lazy and happy, but you’re also writing, and that’s quite the accomplishment. Which brings me to my last piece of advice.

Look Back

If you plan on nothing else, plan on this. Sometime toward the end of December, carve out an hour to look back over 2013. And don’t make this a flexible activity you can skip to play another game of checkers with your mom. Tell yourself that this is your hour to take stock of where you’ve been.

This can be a great New Year’s Eve activity. In the morning, when it’s still quiet and everyone’s sleeping in, get your favorite morning drink–be it tea or coffee or a giant mug of hot chocolate. Shut the door. Turn off the internet. And try to remember where you were this time last year. Make a list of everything you’ve accomplished. It’s tempting, at this time of year, to look forward. To set new goals. To plan all the things you’re going to do. You should do this; goal-setting is healthy and helpful. But don’t forget to look back, too.

I’m moving out of my apartment this week, which has caused me to take a look back at the past three and a half years that I’ve spent here. I can’t believe, now, how quickly the time has gone. Sometimes, it feels like I’m still fresh out of college, stepping through the door for the first time. The other night, I was standing in our living room, surrounded by boxes. My sister was helping me pack up my desk. She remarked, “Bess, you have a lot of papers!”

“Yeah,” I replied, looking up at the wall I’ve looked at for three years. It’s all tack and nail-holes now, but it was covered in magazine clippings, outlines, maps and quotes. Then I looked back to my little sister, holding a stack of binders. “Yeah,” I repeated, “I wrote two books here.”

I knew that. Of course, I knew that. But it hadn’t occurred to me that this, too, was something to celebrate. It was a milestone every bit as important as signing my new lease. As moving to New York. As the turning of one year to another.

Our writing is part of our lives. Just like our family and our friends. So, when you’re celebrating this December, celebrate that, too.

Bess Cozby writes epic stories in expansive worlds from her tiny apartment in New York City. By day, she’s an Editor at Tor Books, and Web Editor for DIY MFA. Her work is represented by Brooks Sherman of the Bent Agency. Tweet her at @besscozby, contact her at bess@diymfa.com, or visit her website at www.besscozby.com.

The post A Writer’s Holiday Survival Guide: Part Two appeared first on DIY MFA.