Getting Started on Your Writing Career...

JUST GET IT DONE!
I have struggled a long time with 'focus' and 'stick-to-it-ness'. I've given it some serious thought and come up with a plan. So far, it's working for me...but the first step is the hardest!

1.Set up your workspace: If you're lucky enough to have a complete room designated as an office, this should be a breeze. Some of us aren't that lucky. Oh now, I have a separate office, but I started writing when my boys were little and my 'office' consisted of the space located inside my piano bench. Try keeping several stories, poems and notes in some sort of order when shuffled to one side while the other side is crammed with song books, piano lesson and smiley faces, (yes, I gave piano lessons, too!)

2.Stacks and Stores: Designate some time each week to work on cleaning up your 'stacks and stores'. This is an on-going job for me and one that can overflow and conquor, if not consistently addressed. In my case, I currently devote an hour every Tuesday and Thursday evening to this task. Books pulled out, mail that needs shredding, notes that must be filed--all fit this category. Without paying special attention to this chore, my 'office/project room' would be a disaster.

3. File, File, File: This one was the hardest to set up and required more preliminary work than the others. Not until I finally got serious about my writing projects and took them out of my head and into a paper file did they become 'real' to me. I've lost more ideas by scribbling them on a note pad and promptly forgetting them. Finally, I invested in some hanging file folders. I label each one with a working title when the idea pops into my head. I started out devoting a couple of hours on Saturday to this project, but find it works better as each new idea/story is born. I always keep extra blank folders in place and when the new story is born, I jot it down or type a rough outline--whichever works--and file it in the waiting file, pop the little plastic sleeve out and write a working title on it and position the label. For me, I've given the new idea the importance it deserves. A new story is added to my cache.
As the story develops, a new page is added to the file. Normally at some point, the paper trail gives way to the electronic file as I have
simultaneously set up a file in 'my documents' that matches the one in my office drawer. Each 'folder' bears the name of the working title and I save each 'new edition' with the current date. (JUST REMEMBER TO BACK-UP YOUR ELECTRONIC FILES!)

My method might not work for you, or it might seem redudant; the point is, develop what works for you and stick to it! No great novel was ever sold that didn't find its way to paper. By starting out hard copy, I finally can grow the story to the credibility it deserves. The paper file works especially well for non-fiction articles and stories that require research.
Stay tuned...more hints next week!