Journaling
In this crazy world of car pools, work schedules, PTA meetings, social functions and the like it's amazing that anyone (other than the well-seasoned professional writers) gets any writing done at all. I know that I, myself, have fallen victim to the grim reaper of "I'm too tired," "I'm too busy," or "I've got so many other things to do," and put my writing on hold.
Today, more than ever, if you want to be a published author, or a produced playwright, it is imperative that you carve time out of each and every day to accomplish your goal. This isn't one of those one-time exercises where you wad it up and toss it into the circular filing cabinet beside your desk. This is the exercise that keeps on teaching.
A friend of mine once told me that she spends 40 hours a week doing writing activities. This amazed and astounded me. When I asked how she managed to do it she told me that she wrote down everything that she did that related to writing if she read a book, she wrote it down. If she critiqued a short story or novel chapter, she wrote it down. She wrote down every minute she sat in front of her word processor, typing out what ever she was working on. It sounded like a simple enough plan, but some how I never got around to implementing it myself. Until six weeks ago
My writing has always been scheduled around my life. Working a full time factory job (with mandatory over time), and going to college on a part time basis, I had little time to concentrate on my writing. I was constantly telling myself that I would work seriously at my writing when I had more time to devote to it. Well, I finally received my associates degree and got a new job, but told myself that I was just to tired to concentrate on writing. I didn't read. I didn't write I just vegetated in front of the television until it was time to go to work.
Finally guilt grabbed me by the collar. How can I call myself a writer if I don't write anything? It was then that I decided to implement a plan. Part one was to set goals. I decided that I would write one poem a week, one ten-minute play a month, a short story every week, and in between I'd work on my novel in progress and rewrite a play that I wrote in high school. It was time to pry my butt from the couch and get to work. But it wasn't that simple even with the goals set I was still lethargic. Weeks passed and little writing was accomplished.
Part two is what made me kick myself into gear. Journaling. Now I'm not talking about a journal that contains your inner most thoughts and feelings, or even a daily run down of your life (though that is often useful). I'm talking about a dedicated journal or in my case several of them. I keep 4 journals one for reading, one for keeping track of my writing goals and accomplishments, one for freewriting, and the last for ideas, titles, lines, situations, etc.
THE READING JOURNAL
I keep track of everything I read novels, plays, magazine & newspaper articles, etc. I write down the times I started and finished reading, the title and author of the piece, the chapter number (if applicable) the pages I read (p. 118-133). I even write down movies and television shows that I might watch. I don't write down everything I watch on TV or every movie though. Only the ones I deem worthy enough to be included in the journal. For instance I'm hooked on "Survivor" but I wouldn't write that down because it's really not engaging on a literary way I wouldn't write down sitcoms either, but that's just me. But if I was watching a serious movie or TV show where great writing shows or if I'm watching say a documentary on the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic, then I do write that down
THE WRITING GOALS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS JOURNAL
At the beginning each month I write down my goals for the upcoming month I want to write this many short stories, this many poems, complete so many pages of dialogue in my play and write x number of chapters in my novel. Then as I complete each task I write it down. At the end of the month I tally everything up and maybe rethink my goals for the next month maybe I'll decide to cut back on the poems and write a ten-minute play instead.
THE JOURNAL OF INSPIRATION
This is where I write down all of my ideas, observations, lines, titles, names, situations, and anything else that might be of use to me in the future. I even transcribe newspaper articles into this journal on rainy days I'll go out looking for strange news stories you never know where the next character name or story idea may come from.
And finally
THE FREEWRITING JOURNAL
Every day for 30 minutes. I sit down and write. It doesn't matter what. I just let my fingers roam over the keyboard. Whatever thoughts come through my head I write them down. Sometimes it will be dialogue between 2 characters, or just the beginning of a story, or just me venting my opinion about a particular topic.
EXERCISE
What's listed above is what I find works for me. It's focused me on my writing. Your task is to find something that works for you. Like I said I've been doing this for the last six weeks or so and I feel like it's made me a much more productive person. Incidentally. I have each of these journals on the desk top of my computer to remind me every morning when I turn it on and every night when I turn it off. Do SOMETHING every day read a chapter, write a poem as long as you are accomplishing something each and every day then soon enough you will reach that goal of being a published author or a produced playwright.
