That’s what someone said about what you have to do to make a living as a writer, although just precisely who said it is escaping me at the moment. When I remember, or if you know, please help jog my memory in the comments! It refers to having to write projects, edit projects, and submit projects all at the same time, so that you’re not wasting precious time sitting around on your hands doing nothing productive. (Okay, let me rephrase, “doing nothing productive on your writing”… we all know there’s plenty of other productive things to do as a living and breathing human being, but that’s not the focus of this blog, so moving on!)
I have known of this method for a very long while, but I have certainly never practiced it until just recently. And although it is definitely exhausting and filled with its share of “OMG-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking!?!??!” moments, in the end I find it exhilerating, and honestly, I think it has saved my novel.
I want my novel to be a fantasy EPIC. The problem with EPICS is that they are EPIC. They are very complex, involved, and LONG. Mine won’t be all that epic as far as epics are concerned really, I’m estimating it at only 450 pages instead of 900 or so. But still. The complexity I want to achieve within its pages can be daunting at times. And before I started working on and submitting short stories and poems, I was filled with this burning anxiety and nagging impatience to just finish it and get to work on getting it out there. This, of course, worked against me. It prevented me from being willing to give the novel the time and attention it really needed to be what I wanted it to be.
The moment I completed the last round of editing of my first official short story (“In Morte, Omnia”) and hit that Submit button to Clarksworld Magazine, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I suddenly felt light, free, satisfied, and overcome with a great sense of calm and more importantly – PATIENCE. And so it has been this whole month. With every submission (even if it is repeatedly rejected) I feel like I am doing something pro-active in my writing career. I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m whiddling down the time it takes until I finally get my first ACCEPTED acknowledgment. Meanwhile, I can actually focus on my novel like I should, content in knowing that I still have stuff out there already, making the rounds.
I love it!
And so… at the beginning of every month I will post a Project List for that month, a list of goals I hope to accomplish in my writing world. At the end of every month I will post a Bait, Fish, and Reel summary, listing what I actually accomplished that month in the way of submissions, new projects, and editing.
Today is not officially the end of the month, but I won’t be getting much else accomplished in one day, so I’m throwing up my Bait, Fish, and Reel post right now!
Bait, Fish and Reel Report for March 2013:
Short Stories
# Completed: 2 (“In Morte, Omnia” and “Gray”)
# In-progress: 1 (“Colorless”)
# Submissions: 3 (to Clarkesworld, DSF, and Witness)
# Acceptances: 0
# Rejections: 2
Poems
# Completed: 1 (“Sandstone”)
# Submissions: 2 (to Animal and Kudzu Review)
# Acceptances: 0
# Rejections: 0
Novel
Words Written: 0
Outline Written: Act 2
Editing
# Own Projects edited: 1
# Others’ Projects edited: 6 (one paper and 5 chapters for three different people!)
Education
# Workshops Attended: 0
# Tutorials Watched: 1
# Books Read: 4 in-progress, 1 fiction and 3 craft O_o (I should probably pick one and finish it!)
…. ergh, just reading all of this is making me tired! On the plus side, I definitely feel like I’ve accomplished something this month! WHEW! Here’s looking forward to April 2013!!!
You have been very busy! I’m so glad you are getting your system up and running and are enjoying the process! Way to go, and keep up the good work!
Thanks! 🙂 It is fun to look back and see everything I’ve gottten done… it helps to keep me going! Lol.
I am a list-maker too, and I think I might have to steal a little from your list here…especially the part about submitting stuff! I’m still in the writing phase and I need to get ready for the action phases for my stuff, ugh!!
Go right ahead! Pick and choose whatever works for you from this method! Another function of this blog, I hope, is to help other writer’s out! I’ve gotten more than a few of my ideas for organization from other writers before me, so let’s pass it on! 😉
Way to prioritize! It certainly feels better to cross smaller projects off a list while completely steps towards a bigger project.
Yes it does! As I mentioned in this post, sending off short stories and poetry has really helped me feel like I’m accomplishing something and enabled me to better focus on the huge project of the novel! 🙂
Awesome! You are just awesome!! 🙂 What a great way to create a track record to see at a glance everything you’ve accomplished and know in your heart that you can do it!! “Onceyou make a decision the Universe conspires to make it happen.” -Henry David Thoreau
Heheh, thank you! 🙂 You are so right, it’s a track record! Very helpful in the motivation catagory, that’s for sure!
This is a useful idea! 🙂 I like how it’s a quick way to keep track of what you’re up to–that’s great for prioritizing and keeping yourself balanced. I might give this a try, especially considering what you mentioned about having multiple projects going at once so that you’re never idling with your work–what a smart tip! I look forward to seeing how you progress. 😀
Thanks! I’m glad you like the idea, and I’d love to see you give it a try, so I know what you’re up to! Lol, that sounds kind of stalker-ish, doesn’t it? 😉 Hehehe. I am always curious to know what my writer friends are working on, if they have submitted anything and if they have had success in getting anything accepted, so I can cheer them on! So if others would adopt this little summary, it would satisfy my nosiness, lol. It is true, though, this method is really helpful for killing the time waiting for responses on submissions and as I mentioned, for keeping me sane while working on the very SLOW process of noveling!
Not at all–I’m the same way! Watching other writers grow is fascinating to me. It’s part of why I love reading author blogs so much. 🙂 I can’t wait to see where we all are in a few months’ time!