| janfields |
Join us today in the
AUDITORIUM-Scheduled Events Room for open forum. Today's topic for
pontification is "Time Management." Come and join in five minutes
from now.
|
| janfields |
Today's Forum on "Time
Management" will begin shortly. While you wait for chat to begin,
feel free to use your ASK A QUESTION button RIGHT BETWEEN THE YELLOW
“MAP” AND THE RED QUESTION MARK IN ICHAT to post some questions or
comments on how best to manage your time -- how to do those things
that are most important to you! Chat will begin two minutes from
now.
|
| janfields |
Hi, and welcome to open
forum on "Time Management". I'm your host/moderator, Jan Fields --
Presently I juggle ICL web editor, ICL instructor (of three
courses), article writing AND a book project -- plus the summer
demands of being the mom of a 6-year-old. So, feel free to ask
questions about any element of the process. If you want to ask a
question and be sure I get a chance to see it you'll need to use
either the "ask a question" button on the bar across the middle of
your screen. OR type /ask...then space once and type your question.
That passes the question to me and I can post it for
answer.
|
| janfields |
Summer can be one of
the most challenging times for children's
writers...
|
| janfields |
Because we often have
trouble getting our families to believe writing is
work...
|
| janfields |
and not something that
should be shunted aside for EVERYTHING.
|
| janfields |
I know some writers who
don't work at all during the summer...and use that time for research
and reading rather than writing.
|
| janfields |
I know others who
switch to shorter, more easily completed bits for summer -- poetry
or crafts.
|
| janfields |
Which is not to say
those are chinchy...but they are short and can be worked on in short
bursts.
|
| janfields |
For some of us, it's
not really an option to leave work aside for
summer.
|
| janfields |
Folks still want to
read Kid Magazine Writers.
|
| janfields |
My ICL students still
want their work critiqued (how surprising!)
|
| janfields |
And I'm sure y'll are
also just clamoring for those newsletters I send out
:-)
|
| janfields |
Plus, a series writing
job which they took over a year to respond to...now wants the
finished book by July 7th.
|
| janfields |
So...time management is
being FORCED on me.
|
| janfields |
You are so right,
omalizzie...totally not fair.
|
| janfields |
Good thing I have my
6-year-old to help me with the plot points on the
book.
|
| janfields |
She's an amazing (and
sometimes terrifying) brainstormer.
|
| janfields |
But...now...let's do
some GOOD NEWS....because it makes me happy!
|
| janfields |
GOOD NEWS: TERRI: My
first picture book, "Legend of Papa Noel: A Cajun Christmas Story"
will be released by Sleeping Bear Press in September. It can now be
ordered @ www.sleepingbearpress.com or at
www.amazon.com.
|
| janfields |
A FIRST PICTURE
BOOK...is that totally cool or WHAT!
|
| janfields |
Plus, it just sounds
like fun.
|
| janfields |
Can you just imagine
the voice in a Cajun Christmas story?
|
| janfields |
GOOD NEWS! NIKI: I just
wanted to let you know that Highlights for Children just bought one
of my fingerplays! I am very excited! This will be my second
published piece and Chirp is holding one of my pieces for their farm
fun issue next year!
|
| janfields |
I love selling to
HIGHLIGHTS...that means over 2 MILLION kids are going to see Niki's
fingerplay.
|
| janfields |
And those are so much
fun -- so lively.
|
| chippy |
I have the summer
vacation problem all year, my disabled son is home 24/7. I have to
juggle my time betwen him, housework .... Do I get up earlier or
just deman that I am given X amount of time each day to write? Any
suggestions to get a suitable solution to a rather difficult
situation.
|
| janfields |
When my mom had cancer,
I was her full-time caretaker.
|
| janfields |
And I also had to keep
up all my deadlines.
|
| janfields |
Being a caretaker is
ROUGH...no question about it.
|
| janfields |
It's draining and that
can make it very hard to create.
|
| janfields |
One way I managed was
(first) simply to tell myself I didn't have any other
choice.
|
| janfields |
I had to get my writing
done.
|
| janfields |
When you start putting
"have to" and "must" in front of your writing inyour head...it helps
when trying to squeeze it in.
|
| janfields |
Plus...well...in the
words of Linda Sue Park...sometimes housework just has to
go.
|
| janfields |
Linda Sue says
sometimes her house has been unhygienic.
|
| janfields |
So had
mine.
|
| janfields |
Beyond that...I found
it easiest if I did "low creativity work"
|
| janfields |
Not so much
fiction...fiction really has to dip from a well of resources that
might be a bit dry
|
| janfields |
But I find that working
on short nonfiction fills that creative well...
|
| janfields |
because my brain keeps
trying to convince me to work on fiction instead.
|
| janfields |
It depends upon what
kind of writing pours from you the easiest.
|
| janfields |
I did a lot of "squeeze
in" writing -- any available moment.
|
| janfields |
I realized that I
didn't always have to write at my computer.
|
| janfields |
I could do it in a
notebook while waiting for stuff...absolutely all of us spend a lot
of time waiting for stuff.
|
| janfields |
Waiting for stuff time
can be a good time to work on revision.
|
| janfields |
Write descriptions for
your "sensory" file.
|
| janfields |
Write light
verse.
|
| janfields |
Make lists of
interesting things you can make out of a blown light
bulb.
|
| janfields |
Just all manner of
things.
|
| janfields |
I also kept a log of
all these squeeze moments
|
| janfields |
Because when I added
them up, I found I had more writing time than I
thought.
|
| janfields |
But I know that you're
in a tough situation.
|
| janfields |
Don't beat yourself up
over the time you didn't write...but try to really feel good about
every moment you squeeze in when you did.
|
| eggamy |
Jan, How do you manage
everything?
|
| janfields |
For me,
personally...it's a matter of knowing myself well.
|
| janfields |
First thing I know...my
brain is not worth poop after dark.
|
| janfields |
So I do not try to do
any kind of creative writing at night.
|
| janfields |
I will never be one of
those writers who gets scads done after my daughter goes to
bed.
|
| janfields |
But I DO have a list of
"easy" tasks I can do in that time...I can do research to find facts
to back up something I'm working on.
|
| janfields |
I can write the emails
asking for quotes for the nonfiction I'm working
on.
|
| janfields |
I can play Spider
Solitaire with a notebook beside me for those cool thought that come
while I'm totally wasting time.
|
| janfields |
But I cannot work on
the series book in the evenings.
|
| janfields |
So I get up early...and
I work like a demon until my little girl wakes up.
|
| janfields |
And then I snatch
moments all day to accomplish tasks like answering emails, working
on sections of the newsletter, etc.
|
| gonewest |
I always feel like I have
to have all my house work done 1st
|
| janfields |
Yeah, you gotta get
over that one.
|
| janfields |
Unless you happen to
have time for housework AND writing.
|
| janfields |
I
don't.
|
| janfields |
If I go in the bathroom
and feel slightly scared...I clean it RIGHT THEN.
|
| janfields |
And I clean the kitchen
at night...brainless work for my braindead time.
|
| janfields |
I do laundry in bursts
all week.
|
| janfields |
And I contemplate what
an interesting look cobwebs gives things.
|
| gonewest |
before I can do my
writing, how do you change a habit?
|
| janfields |
Yeah, I used to have
this "my desk must be perfect" habit.
|
| janfields |
Back when I had no wee
girlie.
|
| janfields |
So, before I could
write...my desk had to be perfect.
|
| janfields |
I got over
it.
|
| janfields |
Right now my desk has a
bottle of my daughter's Benadryl (I have no idea why)...a wad of
hair scrunchies (hers again) some stray markets (hers) and a few
t
|
| janfields |
things even I cannot
identify...oh, and a razor...I have ZERO idea why I have a razor at
my desk.
|
| janfields |
Maybe to see if I can
shave my legs and write at the same time...multitasking is always
good.
|
| omalizzie |
I don't think of it as a
habit but something instilled...
|
| omalizzie |
in us as a wee
girlie...housework first!!
|
| janfields |
Yes, and you will
TOTALLY feel guilty is you don't follow that inner
command.
|
| janfields |
I can tell you Linda
Sue Park felt HORRIBLE when she ignored housework.
|
| janfields |
Then she won the
Newbery and her family decided maybe they should...oh, I
dunno...HELP with the housework.
|
| janfields |
For me...it's not
housework so much as my wee girlie...any time I have to put work
ahead of something she wants to do...I feel sooooooo
guilty.
|
| janfields |
But sometimes I just
HAVE to...otherwise, I would not get anything done but
chores...chores will expand to fit the available
time.
|
| janfields |
And ultimately...it
doesn't hurt Rachel to wait a while.
|
| janfields |
As long as I don't
close her out.
|
| caq |
I read a statement in a
very good book, who's title escapes me, that if you truly want to
write, you will. Bei it 15 minutes every other day or however often
you can. No one can set your time frame or make you do it. YOu just
do it.
|
| janfields |
I think
ultimately...yes, one can...but
|
| janfields |
It's easier for some
folks to set things aside than others.
|
| janfields |
I have had WRITERS
suggest to me that a good mother doesn't write until her kid grows
up.
|
| janfields |
Writers.
|
| janfields |
I was a writer before I
had a child, I am one now, and I will be one after she grows
up.
|
| janfields |
But not everyone can
handle the pressure folks put on women to set who they are aside to
be what others want.
|
| janfields |
I have NEVER seen a man
who couldn't do it...but I've seen women who flatly
couldn't.
|
| janfields |
They couldn't live with
the guilt.
|
| janfields |
But sometimes it means
biting off much smaller writing chunks...doing small
writing.
|
| janfields |
Short stories for YA
instead of novels.
|
| janfields |
Finger plays instead of
picture books.
|
| janfields |
Crafts instead of
features.
|
| janfields |
If you give yourself
permission to take smaller bites and still feel like you're putting
in enough time to be considered "serious" t
|
| janfields |
it becomes easier to
make the fit.
|
| caq |
I think we forget the
fact that not all writers are female. There are male writers and
they have to find the time also.
|
| janfields |
Oh, totally...and it is
very hard for a man to quit his job to write full
time.
|
| janfields |
The pressure on guys
who try to do that is INCREDIBLE...
|
| janfields |
but there is less
pressure (overall) on men who want to write in their "spare"
time.
|
| janfields |
Rather than spend all
of it taking care of the kids and house.
|
| eggamy |
I the other side of the
problem from the one who is a careta
|
| eggamy |
taker. I am the person
needing care. I have to try
|
| eggamy |
around caregivers. I have
a home health program which has be
|
| eggamy |
become a job in it's
self1
|
| janfields |
It is much harder when
your health/physical condition makes it hard to
write.
|
| janfields |
There isn't much you
can do to just suddenly not have the physical
problem.
|
| janfields |
Though I have known
writers who have worked around serious issues, but overall...that is
probably harder.
|
| janfields |
Still, a lot of it
still has to do with snitching moments to work.
|
| janfields |
And getting technology
to help you -- which can be a financial issue, I
know.
|
| janfields |
I got a digital
recorder because I could hang it around my neck and write anytime
anywhere. by talking.
|
| janfields |
That was a totally
different media though.
|
| janfields |
And I still find it
ONLY works for me with poetry and nonfiction.
|
| janfields |
And I still feel
silly.
|
| janfields |
But sometimes ya gotta
push through how you feel.
|
| janfields |
Before I had a baby I
have a HUGE issue with writing in bits.
|
| janfields |
I wrote 10 hours a
day.
|
| janfields |
Every
day.
|
| janfields |
Then I got
married...and the guy expected my attention (poor
man)
|
| janfields |
Then I had a
baby.
|
| janfields |
No more 10 hour
days.
|
| janfields |
And that stopped me
cold for a while because I was soooooooooooo resistant to writing in
grabbed moments.
|
| janfields |
But I had deadlines and
bills and my husband was making hints about how nice it would be if
I took in kids during the day for money.
|
| janfields |
(He has these weird
thoughts sometimes)
|
| janfields |
So I had to force
myself into work habits that felt unnatural and actually, honestly,
mentally painful.
|
| janfields |
Now...they seem as
natural as the long days.
|
| eggamy |
My disablity isn't as
much problem. As some of my helpers,
|
| eggamy |
It's either oh do that
later not inderstang deadlines,
|
| janfields |
Sometimes you just have
to smack people.
|
| janfields |
Honestly, my husband
thinks I should be able to maintain my present workload and just up
and do things on the spur of the moment.
|
| janfields |
That really doesn't
work well with my presend commitments so sometimes I have to remind
him of that.
|
| janfields |
firmly.
|
| janfields |
With threats of all
brocolli all the time if he doesnt' cut it out.
|
| cosmos |
There needs to be a
balance in a person's life. You can't give up who you are and what
is important to you all the time to please other people and take
care of others. If it is important to write, you MUST write. You
must steal moments and minutes from each day to
write.
|
| janfields |
Right, and balance
means being aware of your writing needs...and the needs of
others.
|
| janfields |
It also helps if you
look realistically at the difference between a want and a
need.
|
| janfields |
Rachel needs me to do
stuff with her every day.
|
| janfields |
But if I've practice
Taekwondo with her, read to her, and played 5 games of Pooh
Candyland (ick)...then she really doesn't NEED me to watch
Spongebob.
|
| janfields |
And...well...after Pooh
Candyland...a woman can only take so much.
|
| janfields |
SUSAN: Prioritizing is
the key to time management, but what's the key to prioritizing? I've
always had difficulty choosing which project to finish, start, or
research.
|
| janfields |
For me, I prioritize
based on deadline.
|
| janfields |
This July 7th deadline
gets to be a priority.
|
| janfields |
The July 1st deadline
for Kid Magazine Writers is a priority.
|
| janfields |
The weekly deadlines
for this job are priorities.
|
| janfields |
If a chore doesn't have
a deadline...I create one.
|
| janfields |
Right now, I pretty
much am not adding to my deadline life.
|
| janfields |
But when there is
space...I might set a deadline of finishing an article to send to a
magazine.
|
| janfields |
Finishing a chapter of
my young adult novel to send to my critique group.
|
| janfields |
Also, I break big
projects into parts and set deadlines.
|
| janfields |
I'm doing a bit article
on the magazine industry.
|
| janfields |
So I set deadlines for
emailing folks for quotes.
|
| janfields |
Deadlines for
collecting all my statistics.
|
| janfields |
Stuff like
that.
|
| janfields |
And when I have a bit
of time without something that needs to be done...I choose somethng
fun.
|
| janfields |
I love research...so
I'll do that.
|
| janfields |
You have to watch the
fun stuff though because you can end up doing it a lot longer than
it needs.
|
| janfields |
The key is to make sure
you're actually following a couple thigngs to
completion.
|
| janfields |
So prioritizing can be
about the process of completion.
|
| janfields |
Which thing is closest
to completion?
|
| janfields |
Which is
farthest?
|
| janfields |
How many things are in
process?
|
| janfields |
Our creative side can
try to lure us into starting things...lots and lots of
things.
|
| janfields |
And never finishing
anything.
|
| janfields |
So, you my need to
concentrate on the "completion" side.
|
| janfields |
And break a project
into tasks...and prioritize to reach completion.
|
| janfields |
I alway make sure I
never complete EVERYTHING at the same time.
|
| janfields |
Because then it can be
kind of hard to jump into something new.
|
| gonewest |
Using the recorder would
save typing/neck pain too.
|
| janfields |
Recorders can be good
for that.
|
| janfields |
That's one thing I've
had to be alert to as I get older.
|
| janfields |
Those ten hour days for
YEARS have done a number on my hands.
|
| janfields |
So my short bite
working schedule is actually a little easier on me
physically.
|
| janfields |
And mixing work and
family helps me take needed breaks.
|
| janfields |
Otherwise...I'm a
drone.
|
| janfields |
Okay -- we're nearly
done and I wanted to remind folks that we have a great guest speaker
on THURSDAY night.
|
| janfields |
Deborah Vetter from the
CRICKET group.
|
| janfields |
Her topic is writing
young adult fiction.
|
| janfields |
But she's also open to
answering a few questions about Cricket...since things have been
kind of confusing for writers since the shake up.
|
| janfields |
She is a terrific lady
and has edited both short fiction and novels for the young adult
group.
|
| janfields |
So...really, you don't
want to miss that. It'll be great.
|
| janfields |
I know it's a couple
minutes early...
|
| eggamy |
Off topic ? Is the
educational version of word o. k. for wri
|
| janfields |
Any word processor that
can save as .doc files and/or .rtf files is actually
fine.
|
| janfields |
You can use Wordpad,
for that matter.
|
| janfields |
Editors don't
care.
|
| janfields |
Whatever you're
comfortable using.
|
| janfields |
I find I have SERIOUS
trouble with files created in WordPerfect or Works unless the writer
sends it in RTF
|
| janfields |
But RTF - rich text
file -- pretty much makes the world happy.
|
| caq |
I think, in most cases,
the software offered in universities is the same, just offered at
discounted prices for students for this reason....
|
| janfields |
Yes, I believe
so.
|
| janfields |
I mean...there are
different year versions.
|
| janfields |
And whether you buy it
as a suite but really WORD is WORD except for some things about
where the buttons are.
|
| janfields |
My husband just
upgraded my WORD so now I'm having to fix all the toolbars to the
way I like them.
|
| janfields |
But the finished
product is fine.
|
| caq |
When they graduate they
will most likely continue using that software and will pay
non-student prices. We bought word at ND for my daughter and at U of
Maryland faor my other daughter, same exact thing.
|
| janfields |
So...there you have
it.
|
| janfields |
The word on
word.
|
| janfields |
Thanks everyone for
chatting up with me.
|
| janfields |
Next Tuesday we're
going to revisit those evil MARKETING PLAN things that folks are
terrorizing writers about.
|
| janfields |
See y'all Thursday
night.
|