Lesson 4: Manage to Write!
This final chapter tells how to manage your new career through productive reading, time spent, and filing.
Foster It
In order to claim what is yours (your career), you must foster it. You have already done this by taking this course. To continue along the rewarding path, you need to stay inspired and organized. You can do so by following three simple steps:
1) Continue reading the works of others. Prolific horror writer Stephen King says, "Reading is the creative center of a writer's life...the trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows. Waiting rooms were made for books...so are theater lobbies before the show, long and boring checkout lines, and everyone's favorite, the john" (On Writing 147-148). This quote is from King's year 2000 autobiography. He even reads at the dinner table each night (poor wife Tabatha)!
2) Allot time. Not to be confused with "a lot of time," ha! Some of you have kids. Love them first. Get your beauty rest second. Then, in the wee hours (1-3 a.m.) following, work on a writing project. Consider restful moments as potential writing ones. Budget hours by deciding when you are mentally capable for a job and which ones need doing.
3) Log. For instance, keep a daily reminder of what you need to focus on (research, updating a bio, writing, reading). You will thus be able to prioritize, making hourly budgeting easy. Online diaries make great reminder spaces. They make recording seem less like a chore than a free writing store!
