Time Keeps on Slippin' by Peggy Borel

“Stop that darn clock!” I don’t know how many times over the past several years I have cried out in frustration that there are not enough hours in the day. Life has been evolving and shifting on me since moving back to Louisiana in 2009, and most days, I feel like a pirogue rocking to and fro on the bayou. I’m ready to plant my feet on solid ground again!

With resolve, I am determined to regain control of the hands on my watch. To achieve this, a schedule must be created and adhered to. Sounds pretty good here on the blog, but who will ever know if I follow through on this commitment? In reality, no one will really care! It has to matter to me, and I have to want to rekindle my writers’ passion for the written word.

There are several steps that I feel are necessary to find quality time as a writer:

Rediscover personal goals - Regain control of time, become a successful published author of a full-length novel within the next year, and find a publisher for my children’s picture book.

Schedule each hour of the day - Create a personal calendar that I keep with me at all times. Must be flexible, however, because life will still worm its way into the day. I recommend a pencil with a good eraser.

Make time to write every day - Can the alarm clock go off an hour earlier? How about lunchtime? Is there an extra thirty minutes between posting messages to friends and family on Facebook and bedtime? Instead of sleeping in on Saturday, how about writing instead? Was the sermon on Sunday a good inspiration for an article?

Decide what I want to write - Novels? Short Stories? Articles? Children’s stories? What genre’? You have to write what you like. Give me a well-written romantic suspense and top it off with homemade fudge and popcorn any day.

Invest in a small notebook - Keep it in your pocket or purse for those brainstorming ideas that jump into your head at the most inopportune moments. I don’t know how many times I have put off writing down the ideal sentence only to forget it by the time I arrived back at my desk. The perfect ending to a chapter has dissolved away, and I’m left with an okay hook instead of a firecracker of an ending for my readers.

Get involved - Join a writers’ group, attend conferences, and find a critique partner. These are all motivational and inspiring. While sipping a latté at the bookstore, listen and watch people, and find a character description that has been evasive!

Read - How many times have you said, “I could write something better than that?” Well, quit saying it, and do it! Motivation and determination are important keys to success. Giving procrastination a swift kick in the butt and out the door is reenergizing and invigorating!

Peggy Borel is an artist and a writer. Visit her website HERE to learn more about her novella, The Bluebonnet Cafe.